Jin
The hero merely stood up after the exchange, undaunted by this opposition he was facing. The monster kept charging relentlessly. While that may be seen as strength, it was also a weakness, for it made it predictable. When something was predictable, it was easy to counter. Striking a pose, the hero prepared himself for the one strike that would bring the monster down yet again. A barrier appeared ifront of him, signaling the start of the technique.
"Empty Sky Form: Winter's Reposte"
With that he moved with an incredible pace, deflecting the monster's blow while slicing through it yea again as it was once more covered in ice.
Archer
Archer was busy cleaning up in the kitchen. Doing things like this can really take your mind off of things. At least for a while. He had just about removed all the plates and was getting ready to clean the table when he noticed that Sakura had returned. She took out a plate and started putting food on it saying it was for Rin. Then she asked him about to pass her the cling wrap which he did, after fumbling around a bit while looking for it. "Do you have any idea when she might be back?"
Jeanne
The servant pouted as Sakura patted her head, a look of annoyance passing her face as her master brushed aside the alcohol calamity like it was a common day problem, it was not, it was essential. Jeanne unenthusiastically waved her master bye when she went back to the kitchen. She then turned to Shirou as he said that she was lucky to have her as her master. "Maybe I am...on the other hand, I told her what we did earlier."
Ron
"Tribes? Origin stories? That sounds complicated," Ron said, frowning at the thought of it. Gods and spirits and all kinds of weirdness were involved, and all he had was comics and second-hand accounts to go on. "Doesn't really feel important. And I think I'm okay staying a guy right now."
Maybe later. If he ever found where his parents put those Asian comics.
"So, I'm curious. How long have you been in the Nexus for, Rikuyo?"
Archer
So Rin was out drinking, Judging by how Sakura said it seemed she did this frequently. "What I think of her? She looks quite a bit more depressed than I remember, almost as if she was thinking the world was against her. At least that's the impression I got." Archer turned to her as he talked, Sakura looked dejected, maybe there was something between them now. "You don't look too happy with how she's acting, or am I wrong?"
Mitsuba
Oh, dear, what it has to be me... The Unchained had honestly quite a bad day and didn't feel up to the task of explaining what this abominable city was, but basic manners demanded that she wouldn't ignore her question. So she at least tried to give her a decent answer:
"I honestly don't have any clue about the supernatural." The demon lied. "But I ended up here pulled away by some mysterious force just like many residents of the city, though some of them seems to be born here. I don't know, it just like pulls people from many different places into one single place."
Rider
Rider's face fell as Oka snapped back at her, obviously upset by what she'd said. The girl looked shocked and betrayed, as if something Rider had said was offensive to her.
What did I say? I thought she liked Pokemon....
Rider was confused and upset, she didn't want to make the girl sad. Still, despite the girl's obvious hurt, she didn't tell Rider to leave and, so, Rider followed her along, looking guilty and pondering what she was upset about.
Finally, after some time, Wormy stopped his movement, turning around and allowing Oka to speak to Rider.
"I'm sorry about that", she said. "So, what's your world like? Is magic real in it? Who is your master, and what does she look like?"
An embarrassed look came over Rider's face at the last question.
"My master is called Sakura and, she looks like, erm..., well, like you", Rider responded, sheepishly. "And, yes, magic does exist in my world. My master is a magus, and I am her familiar. As for the nature of the world, well...."
With that, Rider paused momentarily. She wasn't really sure how to describe her world, it was just as it was. She could imagine, though, that Oka wouldn't know of the magical aspects, after all, most people in her own world didn't.
"It's difficult to explain, really, my world just seems normal to me. It's mostly like this world, except that magic is kept secret from those who do not possess it. I was summoned by my master to battle in something called the Holy Grail War, which was a fight between seven masters, each of which summoned an ancient hero or villain to fight on their behalf. After the war, my master asked me to remain with her, and I happily agreed", she added, explaining her situation.
Then, Rider frowned momentarily.
"Why were you upset before? I thought you considered Pokemon to be your friends", she asked, curious.
Ron
"I mean, most vampires are dead right? It seems hard to digest meat if you don't have a working stomach. Might be able to... I dunno, absorb the blood despite that," Ron speculated, mostly to himself, before getting that other plate. "Or something."
He took a moment to consider Rikuyo's proposal about night hunting. On the one hand, he really did want to get back to that comic store. On the other hand, it was an opportunity to test himself against something new. Both were appealing. He bit into a nice chicken skewer, testing the texture, and nodded to himself with a grin. Definitely the hunting.
"You know what? I'll take you up on that tonight. You, me, Anne, some spirits; should be fun. After this plate. And maybe some ice cream."
Archer
Archer nodded to the statements Sakura made about her sister. " From the time I knew her she didn't seem like the kind of person who would get worn down by self impaired issues. I guess she changed after the war, not that I can predict how as she died in the one I was in." As he finished thinking about the past he noticed that Sakura had slid down into a squatting position, Archer went down on his knees to matche her as he grabbed one of her shoulders "If she doesn't want your help you shouldn't force her. But let's see how she is when she gets back."
Jeanne
Jeanne giggled as she saw Shirou's frenzied look, it was pretty cute how he was reacting this way when Sakura hadn't even said anything earlier. Deciding to end his self imposed misery, the blond spoke up with a soft voice. "Of course there's more to it." She put her hands on his arm, gently gripping them "Please calm down Shirou. Sakura wouldn't have acted the way she did at the dinner if she was actually angry...but if it makes you feel better you can hit me." Jeanne was giving him a small smile the entire time, trying to make him calm down.
Rider
Rider frowned at Oka's words, feeling sad that she couldn't live up to the girl's desire for a "normal" friend. She really hated to be such a disappointment to the girl. As Oka trailed off, Rider continued to look down at the ground, obviously saddened that she'd let Oka down like that. For a moment, feeling like she was unwanted, she was about to walk away, wheeling her bike behind her but, before she could do so, Oka spoke up once more.
"Wait, your so-called master looks like me? Is that why you wanted to talk to me earlier and called me Sakura?" she said, obviously amused. "Really? That's rich! What a freak coincidence!"
Rider looked back up at her, trying to put on a smile despite her obvious dejection.
"Yes", she said, somewhat listlessly, "that's why I called out to you back in the bar."
"It is true that I'm not 'normal', but I am a person. Well, sort-of...", she added, still obviously somewhat upset at her inability to be the friend that Oka wanted.
Kuro
The girl wrapped her arms around Mordred and hugged her tighter. "Thank you Mord." She was relieved that the blonde had forgiven her, she was feeling pretty bad for harming her when she had been so nice.
Kuro was resting her head againt the womans chest but then looked up into her eyes, she leaned closer and whspered so Corbin wouldn't hear. "Your dragon form is pretty cool, do you always have a tail?"
Rider
"I understand", Rider said, sadly. "Sorry for being such a disappointment."
With that, she began to walk off, her head bowed, obviously saddened by Oka's apparent rejection of her. But, despite her sadness, she did not blame the girl. Oka was scared and confused, the last thing she needed right now was to talk to someone as unusual and different as her.
Archer
He sniled at Sakura as she grasped his hand between hers and told him of her thought about Rin. She then went on to say that she wanted things to be normal, normal huh. He had seen too much to truly know what normal was any more. Perhaps normality was just a fabrication of those to inexperienced to know anything else. Anyway he had had to answer her.
"I don't think you will ever be normal, nor will anyone else here. But don't you think being normal is boring? Because of who you are you'll be able to see an experience things an ordinary person could only dream off. Not being normal has it's benefits."
Jeanne
Jeanne shook her head as she heard him say that she shouldn't tease him about Sakura. The blonde couldn't help but give a small smile as Shirou relaxed his grip on her shoulder's a bit and leaned on her. In response she pulled him closer to her, pressing her breast against him. "I wasn't really trying to tease you, I meant what I said. You should hear it from her."
Archer
He sniled at Sakura as she grasped his hand between hers and told him of her thought about Rin. She then went on to say that she wanted things to be normal, normal huh. He had seen too much to truly know what normal was any more. Perhaps normality was just a fabrication of those to inexperienced to know anything else. Anyway he had had to answer her.
"I don't think you will ever be normal, nor will anyone else here. But don't you think being normal is boring? Because of who you are you'll be able to see an experience things an ordinary person could only dream off. Not being normal has it's benefits."
Theodore
Theodore sighed in relief. Well, she didn't try to kill him or enslave him yet, progress. If only nexus girls weren't all so batshit or downright stupid...
"Well, I'm kinda lost. Could you tell me where exactly is here?" He asked drowsily, rubbing the back of his head in embarassment. Really? Was this the best he culd come up with? How pathetic. It was kind of unpleasant to break the ice in such fashion, not that he cared, but one did need some standards. Maybe he should go for something a bit more casual.
"Your daughter's kinda cute." He added as matter of factly, pointing to the tiny old hag.
Shit.
Oren
The ground shook as the two creatures crashed into each other. Oren bashed her head against the spirit's with all the force of a wrecking ball. Its head split, but blossomed into a bush of razor thorns that tore into two of her eyes. An ear-rending roar escaped her, and with terrible ferocity she crushed a paw between her teeth and ripped it off before backing off.
But as they slammed into each other once more she felt her muscles strain with effort as she struggled to hold her ground. Green shoots of new growth were already repairing its face and paw, and Oren was beginning to think this was a really bad idea. But then she saw it. The green light passing up into the spirit's chest.
When she pulled back she let out another roar magnitudes larger than what she had done before. Then, instead of charging back into the elemental, she leaped. Her body crashed down onto the elemental and her short limbs clawed into the roots and burning wood to hold on. She opened her maw and began to eat.
Wood was splintered, and crushed, and swallowed she she tore through the titan of blackened bark to get to the core. But the response from the elemental was just as violent. Its jaw tore chunks out of her side, thorns and sharpened wood pierced scale and the other paw crashed against her underbelly like a wave. Burning cuts were carved into her, but the gushing brown blood only made her more relentless.
Then, just as the last of the lesser elementals were slain and the glimmer of the swirling energy was revealed, a massive thorn pushed out of its chest and sent her flying back with a gaping hole in her belly. She growled almost pitiably but remained prone on her side as the elemental advanced on her.
Erica
A contemplative look overcame the blue haired girl's face. An aching curiosity drawn out by the similarities in the smaller being. "But you are not human. Why desire to become something that you are not instead of advancing what you already are? It seems unhelpful. We do not need to become humans to be real and have our own will."
She moved with him through the districts with deadly purpose. At the sight of certain gang insignia the Mantle reformed into the Needle and mowed them down like cattle without a moment's hesitation. Certain threats were unacceptable risks considering her current charge.
Numina
The cultist's eyes widened as the sleeping child instantly woke up in the presence of the man and slipped onto her back faster than she could react. That was certainly disconcerting, and a few tales her mother told her of dark spirits and strange creatures that got the unaware lost came to mind. Small children in forests that led the overly kind astray. Presences that you should never open your door too.
But there was no proof of that. She would just need to make a few tests. She reached behind her back to gently push Sakura towards her front as she said, "Well, you're in a mall, obviously. This city is called the Nexus but I have no idea where it is physically. And thank you, but she isn't mine. I'm just watching her for a bit as I help her find her mom."
Numina focused her attention on the dark haired girl and almost whispered, "What's wrong? Is there something scary about this man?"
Irisviel von Einzbern
Some Time Later…
Irisviel fiddled with the key for a bit before she opened the door the the apartment. Inside, there was a small living area with a large couch and an old looking television, one of the big boxes. She walked inside, sighing in comfort to be inside a heated building once again. "Ahhhh… This is nice." She turned to face the other four. "Let's go see how many bedrooms there are!"
Archer
Archer listened patiently as Sakura spoke of her problems, he let go of her shoulder. There was really only one thing he could tell her at this point. "Sakura, you can only be happy if you allow yourself to be happy, blaming yourself isn't going to help anyone. Not me ,not Shirou, not your sister and least of all yourself."
Jeanne
Jeanne smirked as shirou backed off, this was going to be a challenge. The blonde woman looked away from him and suddenly started talking "Sakura is a pretty good kisser....it was quite wonderful." She then looked at him again, right into his eyes. "Yes, I'm sure she won't mind what you did Shirou~"
"Of course not! She is a loyal and faithful subject, and a precious friend. I don't believe she'd be that cruel." He stated abruptly, shaking his head to reasure the great creature. He fidgeted nervously, but then averted his eyes to the posters displayed.He turned to the posters and back to the skull-armored man, "I suppose so? I don't know what a mover is." Really he was just looking to try and find something active to do, and being inside with frightened, wary humans wasn't exactly a pleasant activity in his book.
"Are you interested in those movers?" He asked.
Archer
The man in red let out a gasp as Sakura sat down on his lap and wrapped her arms around him. She was so soft and he felt his length give a small twitch at the thought that passed through his mind briefly. No. calm down. He breathed in and centered himself. She whispered to him something about who he'd contract, but was her tone sensual or was he just imagining things?
She looked into his eyes as her grip softened, he needed to get away from her, get away from this. So he moved his hand to her hips intent on
lifting her off. Only to find that his hands stopped obeying him and were now glued to her hips. As if this couldn't get worse.
"W-Well S-Sakura you see...I'm not really sure what you're suggesting."
Archer
The man in red let out a gasp as Sakura sat down on his lap and wrapped her arms around him. She was so soft and he felt his length give a small twitch at the thought that passed through his mind briefly. No. calm down. He breathed in and centered himself. She whispered to him something about who he'd contract, but was her tone sensual or was he just imagining things?
She looked into his eyes as her grip softened, he needed to get away from her, get away from this. So he moved his hand to her hips intent on lifting her off. Only to find that his hands stopped obeying him and were now glued to her hips. As if this couldn't get worse.
"W-Well S-Sakura you see...I'm not really sure what you're suggesting."
Jeanne
"Hehehe" The blonde couldn't help but giggle at seeing Shirou turn so red, this was even better than she had expected. She was quite surprised when he hugged her however, by his own will, even if was because of some form of exhaustion. Jeanne let him rest against her, not bothered in the slightest by his weight. "You're even cuter than Sakura like this." She teased him mercilessly.
Archer
"I'm sorry for that, I-I didn't expect you to jump into my lap like that." He nervously explained himself before clearing his throat. He gave Sakura a serious look to match hers as he thought over her question.
"Are you suggesting to act as that anchor?"
Jeanne
She pouted at him as he flicked her head. Her pout quickly changed into a grin as she went on the offense again. "No. You're definitely cuter, we should try getting you some dresses later to see how they fit...hehe just kidding." She cast a quick glance towards the kitchen. "I wonder what's taking her so long?...Hey Shirou do I look cute in this?"
Archer
"I'm sorry for that, I-I didn't expect you to jump into my lap like that." He nervously explained himself before clearing his throat. He gave Sakura a serious look to match hers as he thought over her question.
"Are you suggesting to act as that anchor?"
Jeanne
She pouted at him as he flicked her head. Her pout quickly changed into a grin as she went on the offense again. "No. You're definitely cuter, we should try getting you some dresses later to see how they fit...hehe just kidding." She cast a quick glance towards the kitchen. "I wonder what's taking her so long?...Hey Shirou do I look cute in this?"
Ron
"Right. Shopping it is," he concluded. Then it was just a matter of going up to the counter, paying for the buffet access, leaving a tip for the waitress who brought the water out, and keeping Rikuyo from grabbing a fish from the display tank by the exit when she inevitably changed her mind about not wanting food to go.
Could be he was projecting; he'd gotten some odd tastes himself lately when he stayed out of human shape for too long.
"Now, I'm not sure where around here we could buy stuff, so I'm going to take you back to my part of town and we can go from there. Okay?"
He didn't wait for an answer, instead allowing the power lurking within him to fill his muscles and bones. Ron leaped up to the rooftops.
Rider
Before Rider could even finish turning around to leave, Oka grabbed hold of her hand, practically begging her to stay. Immediately, Rider stopped and turned back to the girl, glad that she had misinterpreted Oka's feelings and that the girl wanted her to stay after all.
However, seeing the tears in the girl's eyes and the desperate tone in her voice, a feeling of guilt came over Rider. Her misunderstanding had obviously hurt the girl deeply, and Rider felt awful about it. So, trying to comfort her, she grabbed the teary-eyed girl into a hug, allowing her bike to fall to the ground.
"Of course I'll stay", she said, still full of guilt, hugging the girl gently.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you like that. I'm truly glad that you want to be my friend."
Rikuyo
Damn it, it was obvious he knew the terrain better than she. After all, she had hanged out mostly in woods and mountains so far, training herself to overcome her flaws. On another hand, she did train how to use her chi more skillfully (many trees dying in the process), and that included better sense of auras that all living creatures had. And a werewolf's aura shone more radiant than a man or a wolf's so he was like a spiritual beacon.
Rikuyo tried to "see" Ron-kun with her mind and heart then, rather than rely on so easily fooled senses. She still didn't catch up with the barking scoundrel, but neither he managed to throw her off with everything he pulled off so far. "Oh, just wait, ya running rug!"
Archer
"Fine, Fine if you're gonna be like that." He gave her a a small smile in response to her earnest outburst. "But don't you think your sister will get jealous of you?" Archer stopped momentarily before continuing with a teasing tone. "Or maybe you want to gather all the Shirou Emiyas? Have an army of senpais."
Jeanne
"The blonde woman smiled brightly at him, her eyes almost lighting up from the comment. "Thanks Shirou, what a nice thing thing to say~" She looked straight into his eyes as she started leaning up on her toes while pulling him down towards her. She slowly moved her face closer still looking into eyes until their lips met.
Archer
"Fine, Fine if you're gonna be like that." He gave her a a small smile in response to her earnest outburst. "But don't you think your sister will get jealous of you?" Archer stopped momentarily before continuing with a teasing tone. "Or maybe you want to gather all the Shirou Emiyas? Have an army of senpais."
Jeanne
"The blonde woman smiled brightly at him, her eyes almost lighting up from the comment. "Thanks Shirou, what a nice thing thing to say~" She looked straight into his eyes as she started leaning up on her toes while pulling him down towards her. She slowly moved her face closer still looking into eyes until their lips met.
Mitsuba
"I don't know anyone psychic in person. I'm just an owner of small bar, my clients are mostly ordinary people, aside from rare troublemakers. I forgot to say that you should be on guard from vampires and werewolves, they are like a local plague, so people going out during night keep to safe places or carry around weapons." This time the demon was honest about not knowing any psychic. "And I wouldn't hope in your place that there's a way to leave the city. If there was, many people would take the option unless they were cityborn."
How she wished there was a way to kick out all troublemakers and make Nexus bearable again.
Archer
Archer walked a bit closer to her. "If you say so. But are you sure you can handle that many servants, wouldn't that be rather taxing for you?" He asked her with concern in his voice.
Jeanne
"Awww...I just wanted to know who was a better kisser." Jeanne's disappointment could be felt as she withdrew from the kiss. "You didn't seem to mind rubbing my thighs earlier Shirou~" She breathed out his name sensually, almost moaning as she said it.
Archer
"No that's true, if you think it'll be alright I suppose we can do it." He said agreeing to her offer. That just left the actual contracting part however. "So how will we do this?" He asked her, making himself ready.
Jeanne
She suddenly found herself turned around with her back pressed against Shirou, she leaned back against Shirou, relaxing in his hold "Mhm...That sounds pretty nice, please, feel free to indulge yourself Shirou."
Archer
"No that's true, if you think it'll be alright I suppose we can do it." He said agreeing to her offer. That just left the actual contracting part however. "So how will we do this?" He asked her, making himself ready.
Jeanne
She suddenly found herself turned around with her back pressed against Shirou, she leaned back against Shirou, relaxing in his hold "Mhm...That sounds pretty nice, please, feel free to indulge yourself Shirou."
Archer
Sakura grabbed his hand and explained what he had to do, he gently squeezed it as he began speaking. "If that's the case thne I agree to form a contract with you Sakura." Archer said with a determined voice. "So what now?"
Jeanne
Jeanne yelped as he pulled her down with him into a chair, she landed on his lap as he started working on her thighs vigourously. His hand felt great as moved across her legs, touching them through her jeans. She shivered as he leaned forward and whispered into her ear.
"It's wonderful...absolutely wonderful." She whispered back to him, having to breathe in halfway through it.
Rider
Rider held onto the girl, soothingly stroking her back as she wept.
"I didn't think you would be mad, I just thought you didn't want to talk to me", Rider said, obviously feeling extremely guilty.
"I'm sorry for making you cry", she added, her voice full of sadness. "I'm really, really sorry."
Mitsuba
"I'm Mitsuba, Misaka-san."
A handshake? Was she really Japanese? Mitsuba was instilled with Japanese customs before she had a fall out with her creator, so Japanese culture was something that felt natural for her and with which she identified strongly. She really wouldn't like take a Cover of an identity that was not Japanese if she could help it. She as strongly grew to see herself as a woman and was attracted to men even if she had bad luck so far. One could argue it was artificial in a sense, but the border between what was real or fake was blurry. Even if it was a conscious decision of her to look a bit awkward and hesitant when shaking Misaka's hand.
"Ah, sorry, I'm not used to Western customs... Were you born overseas, Misaka-san?"
Mitsuba
Oh, great. She was probably from some world where Japanese gave up on their culture completely and yielded to overseas barbarians like Americans. At least she could appreciate about British people that they enjoyed things such as tea. Not showing her inner concern about Misaka's upbringing outwardly, she reached for the phone she had in her pocket, outdated and sturdy model, but still advanced enough to let her check if the signal was still reaching her from a tower in East Asian Ward. Seems like the place was still in one piece.
"Oh, there is one. Curious about genuine Japanese food? I run such a place, and I won't charge you much." Of course, the demon hoped that the girl actually had little clue about the prices in Japan and that she could somewhat fix prices in her own favor.
Jeanne
She quickly pulled him into another hug as he got up from the chair. "Thank you Shirou that was most enjoyable." She let him go again. "Oh yes, Do you happen to know where one can get that type of liqour here?" She asked him suddenly, remembering why she had dragged the two of them out of the kitchen to begin with.
Liseth
The moment she saw the look on Sakura's face Liseth pulled up her phone and started shifting through some texts for a bit. There was nothing new at all abut it was a convenient excuse to make some distance between whatever drama was going on. Still, she was a bit curious. She played with reality a bit and whispered a question that only Rin would hear. "Is your sister always this touchy?"
After Sakura conveyed whatever she wanted to say and turned to look at her Liseth quickly put the phone away and paid attention. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a handful of gleaming gems. If Rin could take them her sister probably would too, right? "Is it fine if I pay up front? Oh, and no thanks, Rin. I had more than enough today at the bar."
Rin
I'm getting a little tired of this emotional manipulation, Rin thought to herself as Sakura flinched and looked as if she was going to cry. The other magus reached out and tugged Rin's shirt sleeve, motioning her aside. Rin looked over at Liseth, who was finding her cellular device rather interesting.
Sakura looked into her eyes and said in their native tongue, "Please."
Rin felt her eyes narrow before she replied, "Fine."
"Is your sister always this touchy?" she heard Liseth ask her, probably using her unique ability. Rin smiled and sighed and then her eyes widened as Liseth brought out another large handful of gems. Eyes widening, she spun around to the other girl and reached for her hands.
"Yes, Sakura and I are safe, but even though the supernatural is acknowledged as existing here, it's no the best idea to flash in the open like this," Rin said as she looked around, making sure that there wasn't any unsavory elements watching. She gave Sakura a wide eyed, pleading look and hoped that Sakura got the message.
Rider
After holding onto each other for a little while, Rider and Oka let go and began to journey back to Oka's house, Rider pulling the bike alongside her. She expected it to be a fairly short journey, after all, most humans couldn't walk at this pace for that long but, to her surprise, not only was it a significant distance, but Oka did not even seem to be getting tired. In fact, after some time of walking in silence, simply enjoying each other's company, Oka suddenly broke into a jog.
"Hey, what's your real name, anyway?" she said as she jogged off. "Rider can't possibly be legitimate."
Following after her and quickly catching up, Rider smiled.
"Hey, 'Rider' is my official name, it's on my driving licence", she said, chuckling slightly.
"But, yes, you're right", she added, a little more seriously. "'Rider' is the name of the class I was summoned into, not the name I was born with. My birth name, well..."
Rider paused slightly, feeling a little anxious. She wasn't sure what the girl might think of her true identity. Ultimately, though, she decided to trust Oka's kindness and willingness to accept her.
"My birth name is Medusa", she finished, looking at the girl for any signs of a reaction.
Then, without waiting for a reply, she continued.
"You know, Oka, you're really fit", she added. "I don't know many humans who could walk this far without feeling at least a little tired."
Jeanne
"Of course, I'll inform her." Sakura, Shirou and I are going out on a walk. he said he wanted to explore and we might find that liquor. Will you be alright? She turned back to the red haired man and followed him to the door. "I told her....so do you have any way of paying for it in case we find it?" She asked him as they walked out through the door.
Jeanne
Of course Master and I promise I'll keep him safe from threats. Can't promise he'll be safe from hehe.... The blonde skipped through the door as Shirou held it open. She spun around once she was out, her hair flowing freely around her. almost shimmering in the sunlight as she faced him. "I'm glad you're doing this, Just tell me if there's anything you want okay~"
Rider
Rider smiled at Oka's retort, just keeping herself slightly ahead of the girl as they approached the door to the house.
"I doubt you could beat me at endurance either, though", she said, smiling, knowing that she could literally run forever if necessary.
Rider stood there and waited for Oka to unlock it but, instead of doing so, she simply turned the handle, before frowning and exclaiming that she hoped 'he', presumably her boyfriend, got home soon.
"Would you like me to help you with that?" Rider asked, knowing that she could simply pass through the door and unlock it from the inside, despite the magical barrier that appeared to be present.
Before she could do anything, though, she noticed an attractive, young blond man approaching, presumably Oka's boyfriend.
"Oka, Nice to see you again", he said. "Who might you friend be?"
Not wanting to be impolite, Rider waited for Oka to introduce her, smiling politely at the girl's boyfriend.
Jin Kisaragi
The blonde turned around and looked at the chained man. "Because I believe in you." With that he turned back and left the cell behind him for now. He went back to his apartment at a nice pace, he had managed to save someone today ad for the first time in a long while he felt like he was doing the right thing. A hero isn't someone who burn down a city.
When he came back to his apartment he noticed something off, well rather two things. Oka was there, she looked cute even when she was frowning. However she was accompanied by a woman who had exceptionally long hair. "Oka, Nice to see you again. Who might you friend be?"
Gadreel
"If the worst does take place," the exile said in acknowledgment of Sir Julius' points, "well, such is why I keep a blade on hand."
Gadreel carefully patted the sheathed weapon he kept by his side, the deadly and bloodthirsty cursed sword that had once slain him centuries ago. He had underestimated its human wielder at the time, believing himself impervious to the man's attacks. The angel quite quickly lost his head for that, and had to take time to reform.
Quite convenient, basements. Do you have to actually sleep during the day, or is it simply a matter of light avoidance?
Jeanne
The blonde smiled at his words and quickly catched up to him. She grabbed his hand and started tugging him along, clearly wanting to go faster. "Come on Shirou, There's a whole city to explore!" Her smile grew more devious as she noticed the massive blush he was sporting. "Ease up Shirou or are you going to be like this every time we spend together...looks like I'll have an even easier time beating you the next time we spar."
Rin
Rin blinked as Sakura took her hand and smiled as she squeezed it. She found herself squeezing it back before lightly nudging her, hoping to help put some life back into Sakura's dead eyes. Then Liseth reached up and touched the wall of the mansion.
"So, Sakura, is all of this yours? Rin only told me that it was your house that we were going to. Are there other members of your family here?"
Rin nudged Sakura with a grin and said, "Well there's Sakura's bodyguard and the members of her ever growing harem."
Liseth
If anything her blush only deepened at Rin's words. Well, at least she didn't say use. Exploit just managed to dodge some of those connotations. She was jarred out of her thoughts at the squeeze the other girl gave her and the heat started to fade from her cheeks as Sakura grabbed onto Rin and moved towards the door.
Instead of waiting just behind them she moved to the side and just placed her hand on the wall next to the door. As she moved the appendage down the structure she felt as if she'd done it a thousand times before. As if she had put it up herself. But it was more than that. She had never walked in the building before, but she knew every hallway and room it held as if she had built it with her own two hands. All of that information in an instant, almost as if it had always been there.
The hand drifted down and slipped into her pocket. Then she asked," So, Sakura, is all of this yours? Rin only told me that it was your house that we were going to. Are there other members of your family here?"
Jeanne
Jeanne's movement came to a halt as she heard what he said. "Oh...unrealistic you say?" She quickly spun around and pressed herself against him, her arms was on his shoulder as she leaned closer to him and whispered. "Because I can think of a lot of things to make it harder for you...the question is, do you want it?"
Liseth
She raised a brow at the mention of a bodyguard and let out an amused snort at a harem. Although, part of her felt a bit nervous afterwards. Was that offensive to people? It was just a joke, right? But any fear like that died down as Sakura continued without interrupting or showing any distress.
Her face did look kind of weird and uncomfortable when she talked about her family but Liseth was sure it was probably fine. The gamer started paying much more attention when the purplehead mentioned magic though. "So you mean like pets? Or are we talking about something bigger than that?"
Rin
Rin smiled as Sakura nudged her in return and the light came back in her eyes. She then spoke of them; that disgusting worm and Shinji. Zouken had been given something precious in Sakura. She should have been the key to the Makari salvation; bringing the Tohsaka line in should have been the jolt to bring the Matou family back into glory. Sakura should have been properly trained and cared for, but Zouken abused her and worse.
Then there was Shinji, who was lucky that he was already dead or Rin would have gone after him herself.
"Calling them 'pets' would be an insult," Rin said with a smile, "They're much more complex than that, but they think and feel just like we do. However they're a lot more powerful."
She turned to Sakura and said, "Also, we met someone very interesting today. Apparently the Church even has their Keys here too."
Jin
"Still you have my thanks for that." He said to Rider as he wrapped an arm around Oka's waist pulling her closer. "Mhm I'll open up now, I put it there to stop thugs from breaking in."
He took a step closer as he begun removing the Ars barrier, strange symbols appearing in the air for a brief moment as he did so. The barrier shone brighter for a moment and then faded away allowing him to open the door. Letting his guest in he then closed the door behind them. "So how did the two of you meet?"
Jeanne
She drew back slightly and released her grip around him. "Alright if you say so. I'll have to pay you back later then...Anything you'd like?" One of her hands drifted around his back and went down past his hips and stopped by his thigh, waiting there for the moment. "I know, I'll give you a nice massage later~"
Jin
"Still you have my thanks for that." He said to Rider as he wrapped an arm around Oka's waist pulling her closer. "Mhm I'll open up now, I put it there to stop thugs from breaking in."
He took a step closer as he begun removing the Ars barrier, strange symbols appearing in the air for a brief moment as he did so. The barrier shone brighter for a moment and then faded away allowing him to open the door. Letting his guest in he then closed the door behind them. "So how did the two of you meet?"
Jeanne
She drew back slightly and released her grip around him. "Alright if you say so. I'll have to pay you back later then...Anything you'd like?" One of her hands drifted around his back and went down past his hips and stopped by his thigh, waiting there for the moment. "I know, I'll give you a nice massage later~"
Rider
Rider smiled as Oka and Jin continued to cuddle each other affectionately, Oka explaining to him what had happened before asking him to open the door. Weird rune-like symbols appeared in the air as he disabled the magical barrier Rider had detected earlier, before opening the door and showing the two of them inside.
"So how did the two of you meet?" he asked once they were safely inside the house.
Rider turned to him, a smile on her face.
"Well, I was on a date with that moron Oka mentioned, and she showed up. The three of us got talking, then he acted like a collossal moron and frightened Oka off, so I dumped him and went after her", Rider said, frowning slightly at the memory.
Ugh, if she hadn't shown up, I might have actually ended up going out with him, Rider thought, disgusted by the concept.
She turned to Oka, a smile on her face.
"Thank you for showing me what an idiot he was", she said. "If it wasn't for you, I might have ended up going out with him."
Liseth
The dark haired girl slipped comfortably into another chair opposite from the side that Sakura was sitting on. There was a slight slouch to her posture that she was sure someone would have chastised her for if she was at home but she felt comfortable enough here. She considered the ideas of magical familiars and wishes. It sounded pretty far-fetched, even for magic. Although, the idea of servants was...
Something resonated in her with that idea. A thought that pushed the machine inside into a grinding motion. Servants, servants, servants. They could be really helpful and could keep her safe when she's alone, but servants sounded so demeaning. What would be a better name?
But as gears spun into eternity she snapped her attention back to the conversation with a bit of a shock. Kind of like someone who was about to fall asleep but suddenly woke up. She tried to think of something to fill up the silence and make it look like she was paying attention. "Aren't wish granting things kind of silly though? You can't know if something can actually grant your wish until you've won the prize, and there's always the chance you put all that effort for nothing. Besides, almost every myth and legend always makes those kind of things sound like they'll screw you in the end."
Rin
She started unbuttoning her coat as she looked at Liseth. "Yes, it didn't work. It should have worked, but someone summoned something they shouldn't have as a Servant."
Rin sighed, turned to Sakura and said, "Her name was Petra. Or at least she said her name was Petra. She also knew quite a bit about magi and magecraft, and she makes me think she knows more than just, 'I fight Dead Apostles for the Church'."
She met Sakura's eyes and said, "And a guy we were with at the beginning, even though he was a bit touched, mentioned the name 'Saber' and he wanted to beat her. So your cadre might not be the only Servants in town."
Jin
So they two of them had met while Rider was out on a date and Oka had crashed out. It seems like it had turned out for the better however. Oka also appeared interesting in learning "magic", but he doubted she had the actual devotion to learn it. "Not really, learning Ars Magus is a dedicated process that takes a long time, it requires you to have real devotion to it. You don't just wake up one day and can do magic."
Oh right, he couldn't just ignore their guest, so he turned to the woman called Rider. "Would you like to have anything to eat ot drink?"
Rider
Rider chuckled slightly at Oka's excited question to Jin, finding the girl's enthusiasm cute and endearing, and wondering if she realised she had been talking to a magical being. At the same time, out of the corner of her eye she noticed another little creature watching her somewhat nervously. It looked somewhat like Sylveon, with the same, unusual, ribbon-like tendrils next to its ears, but it was obviously a different species, albeit a related one. Sylveon, following Oka into the house, walked over to it and they began making strange noises, presumably conversing with each other in their own language.
Whilst Rider was watching this, Jin addressed Oka, chiding her a little for her somewhat spur-of-the-moment attitude to magic, something Rider could fully understand given Sakura's experiences, and even Rin's. Then, he turned to address Rider, asking if she would like some food or a drink. Turning to him, Rider smiled.
"Yes, Oka mentioned something about pizza, if that's OK with you", she said.
Then, she turned to Oka.
"Hmm, is that another one of your Pokemon?" she asked, looking in the direction of Sylveon and the creature it was talking to. "It looks a lot like Sylveon, are they related somehow?"
Jeanne
The blonde hand move teasingly over his inner brushing past it as the hand moved up. it moved all the way up to his crotch stopping just before actually touching it. Her hand was instead rubbing back and forth slowly in the same place. "You're so cute when you're embarrassed."
"Very well. Erm, MORTAL, I DEMAND YOU TO GRANT US ACCESS TO A MOVER!!" He ordered the lady with a fiery roar.The dragon felt further exasperation at the Count's antics, for he couldn't take the skeletally-armored man seriously after he had fanboyed at not one but two dragons. Granted, the wingless one had no room to talk when it came to Bellatanus. Either way.
"Very well, that will be ten dollars for a ticket."
The incredulous lord cried out in outrage, fire and flame bursting from his terrifying armor. "T-TEN!? YOU IMPUDENT MORTAL, HOW DARE YOU DEMAND A LORD! YOU SHALL PAY FOR YOUR ARROGANCE!!!!!!"
"H-Here!" He mumbled, holding out twenty dollars that were so graciously lent to him by a couple of his gentlebones.
"Would you take a popcorn and soda with that?" She asked.
"OF COURSE!!"
Jin
Jin shook his head at Oka's enthusiasm. Puppy eyes wouldn't work on him, he was a professional. "It would take hundreds or thousands of hours of learning depending on how good you are." he patted her head in consolation. He then turned to Rider "Sure take as much pizza as you want, the taste might surprise you though!"
Sylvaeon and Chuck were chatting to each other, that reminded him. With how many so called evolutions these pokemon had, there was no telling how many of them there actually was. "How many different types of pokemon are there even, eevee seems to have a mutliple different evolutions, do al pokemon have that?
Jeanne
She didn't mistake the visible bulge in his pants, Jeanne couldn't help but giggle at how fast he got hard. "But Shirou you look really pent up, are you sure you don't want me to help?" Her hand trailed up from his thigh and travelled across the length of his bulge, applying gentle pressure along it.
"But I think you're right, it's about time we started looking." She pulled away from him, her hand leaving his crotch as she walking towards a shoppin district.
Jin
Jin shook his head at Oka's enthusiasm. Puppy eyes wouldn't work on him, he was a professional. "It would take hundreds or thousands of hours of learning depending on how good you are." he patted her head in consolation. He then turned to Rider "Sure take as much pizza as you want, the taste might surprise you though!"
Sylvaeon and Chuck were chatting to each other, that reminded him. With how many so called evolutions these pokemon had, there was no telling how many of them there actually was. "How many different types of pokemon are there even, eevee seems to have a mutliple different evolutions, do al pokemon have that?
Jeanne
She didn't mistake the visible bulge in his pants, Jeanne couldn't help but giggle at how fast he got hard. "But Shirou you look really pent up, are you sure you don't want me to help?" Her hand trailed up from his thigh and travelled across the length of his bulge, applying gentle pressure along it.
"But I think you're right, it's about time we started looking." She pulled away from him, her hand leaving his crotch as she walking towards a shoppin district.
Rider
If Rider hadn't known for a fact that Oka had never met Sakura, she would have sworn that the girl had been taking lessons from her master on how to make yourself irresistibly adorable to your boyfriend. As it was, though, she smiled and chuckled gently at the display, the fact that she was aware of this display not preventing Rider from being mesmorised by the girl's cuteness. However, the spell was broken when, seemingly out of nowhere, Oka reacted to her comment about the Pokemon in a teasing and very non-cute way. Rider blinked for a moment at the sudden disconnect, before her mind began to process what she had said, a look of confusion coming over Rider's face as she did so.
"Fairy type"? "Ice type"? What does she mean? Does that denote how they fight, perhaps? And, how can one Pokemon evolve into different forms?
Whilst Rider was pondering Oka's words with confusion, she noticed Jin nodding his head and rejecting Oka's pleas, confusing Rider further. Shirou had always found it almost impossible to refuse Sakura when she did that, and Rider too found it very difficult, yet Jin appeared to be unfazed by the look despite obviously genuinely caring for the girl, as was evidenced by the consolatory pat on the head that he gave her.
Pausing for a moment to confirm that Rider could help herself to the pizza, although making some odd comment about the taste being "surprising", he then turned to Oka once more, asking some of the questions that Rider herself had been pondering.
"How many different types of pokemon are there even, eevee seems to have a mutliple different evolutions, do all pokemon have that?" he asked.
Rider, interested in his questions but also having some of her own, then addressed Oka as well.
"Yes, how does Pokemon 'evolution' work, exactly? How can they evolve into more than one form? And, what do you mean by "ice-type" and "fairy-type"? Is that related to their fighting style or something?"
Then, she turned to Jin.
"Thank you", she said. "Where is the pizza?"
Archer
The man in red was enjoying the calm he was now expriencing. Sometimes just watching tea get ready could be relaxing. It seemed like Sakura had brought the guests to the the living room, from what he could hear Rin had brought someone else with her back. He didn't have much more time to muse as the tea was about ready now. He put the teapot along with 3 cups on a plate and went to the living room.
When he arrived he noticed Sakura and Rin sitting in chairs talking to each other, along with another dark haired woman who was rather tall. "I've made some tea for you." He said while holding the plate with the teapot and the 3 cups. He then turned to newcomer "I believe we haven't met before, I'm Archer."
Liseth
The girl was about to talk about her dislike of tea when another guy with white hair strolled in with several cups and a teapot. He called himself Archer and introduced himself. So if he was like 'Rider' and also a familiar then that meant actual people belonged to Sakura, right? And if they belonged to Sakura then they had to do whatever she wanted.
Liseth's mind drifted back to what Rin had said about harems and a few doujins she had read last week and blushed a little bit before crossing her legs and sitting up straight. "Oh, uhh, I'm Liseth. Thank you for the tea."
Rin
Rin blinked very slowly at Sakura mentioning that Saber was a cop of all things. Her last memory of Saber was when she had been corrupted under the Grail's influence as she attempted to kill them. Then she remembered the former King as she had first seen her, almost impossibly radiant and beautiful.
The magus bit her lip and shook her head with a bemused chuckle.
Then Archer came in, in his natural state with an almost ever present pot of tea and tea cups. He sat them down before them and introduced himself to Liseth. Rin felt something like a hot spike though her chest and felt as if she had tasted something bitter and stale after the promise of something sweet.
She did not look at him, nor did she take one of the offered cups of tea. She did notice Liseth blush and eyed her. Rin thought, Trust me, he's not worth it.
Five years pining has been enough. It's time I should move on from Emiya Shirou. I can do better than him.
She sat quietly, not really having anything to say at the moment.
Kuro
"Alright if you say so....showing me where your apartment is would be a good idea, it's not like I'd be able to find it by myself. Still thank you Blondie you're nice, which is more than I can say for some." The two then made their way to Mordred's apartment.
Jeanne
Jeanne gave Shirou a look of interest as he stopped in front of a building and declared that it would do. "Wow your sensing ability is great. I wouldn't have found it without you!" Her excitement was somehow even higher than before as she wrapped an arm around Shirou's waist and pulled him with her into the store.
Jin
"Hmmmm....." Oka's fingers felt pretty nice running through his hair. He barely paid attention to Rider a she left for the living room, going for that pizza obviously. "Let's see...I apprehended a criminal who had destroyed a police station, it was a though battle for. The man just kept getting up...over and over again." Jin got a far away look on his face as he thought back on the fight. He didn't really know why he had said he had faith in the man, it just felt like the right thing to say for some reason.
Jeanne
Jeanne just skipped along seemingly unperturbed By Shirou worming his way from her grip, she let go of his hand as they entered the store. It was filled to the brim with different kinds of liquors. Any kind you could possibly think of, some of them were even glowing with either a red, white or brownish hue. The blonde rushed over to a counter that had a selection of wine bottles at display. "What amazing quality! I'm feeling dizzy just looking at them, Shirou you have to come over here!" She was holding onto the counter, almost bending over as her whole body was squirming, whatever was in these bottles just couldn't be legal.
Jin
He Kept rubbing her hair, twirling his fingers around in it. The feeling of her large breasts pressing against him was quite enticing but he managed to keep himself in check. "Oh it was quite hard, the building was in ruins by the time we finished. He put about 50 people into the hospital too, thankfully I arrived before anyone perished." He then looked into her beautiful eyes. "Team Rocket, who's that?"
Jeanne
"Of Course I want it all!" She was still squirming around with her eyes glued to her prize she answered him. She suddenly turned her head and looked up towards him, from this angle he was pretty far up. "Shirou, you gotta pick something too! I won't have any if you don't...I won't!" She was shouting in excitement for some reason, her cheeks flushed and her eyes clouded over. She looked completely into...whatever it was.
Jeanne
Jeanne sank into his embrace, and the warmth was nice. He appeared to be embarrased about being tiuched there in public...but that was in public. She looked up at him, smiling innocently as she did. "How about in private then? "
Jeanne
The woman kept smiling innocently while appearing to be thinking about it. "Maybe...Do you prefer beds?"
Rin
Rin blinked as Sakura stepped forward and gently wrapped her arms around her. She said, "What's family for, Nee-san, if it isn't for helping each other in times of need?" Sakura didn't seem upset or even judgemental.
She watched as Sakura went to the pink ribbon nestled in the violet locks of her hair and untying it. Then the length of pink satin was placed in Rin's hand as she said, "Remember when you let me borrow your favorite ribbon? Here you go, I think you need it more than me." Her smile was a little awkward, but it was probably the most honest that Rin had seen the entire time she'd been here.
Rin looked at the pink ribbon in her hand, not knowing what to say or do. She'd replaced her ribbons years ago with the garnet earrings she was currently wearing. She'd grown up; she wasn't a little girl anymore. However, she remembered when she had made these all of those years ago. She had worked so hard on them and wanted her father to be proud of her. Then she had given it to Sakura right before her younger sister was taken away and Sakura had kept it all of these years.
She clutched it in her hand before throwing her arms around Sakura and hugged her tightly. "Thank you," she whispered.
Rin
Rin smiled, nodded, and gave Sakura one last squeeze before letting the other woman go. She stroked Sakura's hair out of her face with a smile. It was nice to have Sakura here like this, but Rin didn't know what to say to her.
Instead, she squeezed Sakura's hand and said, "Let's go back out there."
She took a deep breath and said, "It maybe time for me to get over Emiya Shirou in all forms and move on."
Rin
Rin sighed and said, "The one in this time line has you, and the other version apparently wants nothing to do with me so . . . It's not simply 'sure' but not wanting to chase something that doesn't want me in the end."
Then she smiled at Sakua's request as she absently began to wrap the ribbon around her palm. "You know, I'd like that as well. To talk without the others skulking around."
Rin
"Not just that," Rin said with a sigh and the shake of her head, "The politics, the fucking intrigue, how almost everyone is out there to stab your back and steal your work. Or shun you because you're 'Filthy Japanese' or 'Filthy Asian'."
She gritted her teeth as she said, "I had one magus of some renown lament the fact that, other than being Asian, I would produce him the 'perfect' heir, but because I was Japanese he didn't want to muddy up his precious gene pool."
Rin
Rin sighed and said, "Not everyone at the Clocktower was like that though. Even though she's my rival, I'd still - not to her face mind you - call Luvia a friend. Roderick didn't care either . . . Even though half of the time he'd show up to my lab half beat up asking if I'd heal him. Even though there were better mages at healing than me . . . "
She placed her hand on Sakura's shoulder and said, "Well, if Faust wasn't the lech that the legends paint him as, I probably would."
Rin
"Well, some of those 'old school magi' are completely clueless when it comes to hand to hand," Rin said with a smile before snorting. "Except Luvia. I swear her family line is part gorilla . . . And sometimes it's just good to have an extra trick up your sleeve. Apparently one of the top tier magi in the fourth war was taken out by literally a man with a magic gun."
Jin
He felt that Oka climbed onto the, most likely leaning over him, then he felt something soft start touching his back.
"Ohhh....fuck Oka, your hands feeeeels sooo good." Jin was drawing out every syllable. Her hands felt so good, the way they were apllying both gentle yet firm pressure was really doing wonders working out all the knots in his back. There was something odd though.
"Wait...start with?"
Jin
Her hand moved down his back, spreading the exquisite feeling of the massage further. "Mhhhm...A good plan, I think I'll have to promote you." Jin mumbled something incoherently as he was clearly enjoying the feeling he was getting.
Jin
"Of course you deserve, I'm fair and stuff ahhh..." The massage was so relaxing he was almost falling asleep. "I'd love to do that but you see, my cute girlfriend gave me such a good backrub... I can barely move, but I'll try." He got support with both his hands, slowly raising himself to a sitting state.
Jin
His cute girlfriend actually liked it, what a naughty girl she was. Then she started talking about how much she like things, like lolipops and popsicles. Even in his current state what she was implying was quite clear, especially with where her hand was going. "You like this a lot more than popsicles don't you? You naughty girl."
Shinobu
Shinobu immediately pulled back from the blue haired girl's neck when she heard her response, pushing the now complacent girl she rose from the bed. "That was certainly disappointing, quite the mood killer I might say." The excitement that had been in her eyes just moments ago was now gone, as if it had never been there in the first place.
Jin
He groaned slightly as Oka's "special care" of him was starting to make his once flaccid member begin to rise up. It swelled up to it's full size as a drop of precum started leaking from the tip. "Yes my naughty little girl is good, no the best. But, you're getting ahead of yourself. Naughty girl's don't just get treats, they have to ask nicely and spell out what they want."
Jin
Oka was in the postion she belonged, on her knees about to pleasure him and it turned him on. He grabbed the back of her head with one hand and pushed her down on his hard cock, her open maw accepting his length easily. It was hot inside. "This is where you belong Oka. Sucking on my cock like the good girl you are. Every day when I tell you too, you'll do it. Every morning you'll wake me up like this. Sucking my cock is the only thing that tight little mouth of yours is good for."
Rin
"Honestly, I wouldn't mind traveling to America sometime," Rin said with a shrug, "I'm perfectly fluent in English and even though the Clocktower thinks of it as a heathen land, there's probably a lot of untapped potential there too."
She nudged Sakura and said, "You should go though. You're the Matou head, technically now. You have every right to go there and study if you wanted. Hell, you can take Shirou as your apprentice."
Rin
Rin blinked at Sakura's tone of voice, the sadness and disappointment behind it's guarded tone.
If we get out.
The magus clutched the pink ribbon tightly. Biting her lip, she said, "I don't know if I can find a way out in this generation. Especially with all of my research gone, but maybe it might be good to search other avenues. I mean, tonight I went to a bar where even I was impressed by the anti-violence and calming charms placed upon it. I know it's a taboo to share one's knowledge as a magus but maybe here . . . we should try."
Rin
Rin took Sakura's hand and smiled at that. She said, "Thank you Sakura, and I also mean other people here as well. If we can find out there trust worthy. There's a reason why I brought Liseth here, well other than she was lost, but she has an ability if it fell into the wrong hands . . . And with all the Servants, you, and Shirou she'd be safe."
She sighed and shook her head.
Rin
Rin stilled at Sakura's words and giggle until Sakura giggled again and asked, "Did I get you?"
"Yes," Rin answered before nudging her with her shoulder. She stretched out and tilted her head. "Kidding aside, this place is pretty safe."
Kuro
Hah not as tall as you, just wait Blondie. Kuro matched the blonde's grin, with one of her own. Then Mordred continued her story, most of the story was just about her working as a bodyguard but then she mentioned "that incident". What might that even be? "That incident? Did you find out your mentor actually lived a double as vampire clown who dressed all in pink?"
Rin
There's that hatred of vampires again. I should really ask her why she hates them so much, but not right now, Rin thought.
Rin smiled as Sakura took her hands and replied, "Thank you." She figured protesting that she could take care of herself, which she could, would possibly ruin this moment. "Now if you can protect us from idiots, we'd be doing good. Honestly, I'm surprised that there's not nightly witch hunts here."
She suddenly frowned and asked, "Are there?"
Rin
Rin nodded and replied, "Or any magic user down. I figure if there's vampire hunters, then . . . I mean, no one's going to expect the Spanish Inquisition again."
Rin
"I mean, it's part of the reasons why magi are so secretive. They're afraid of what would happen if magecraft and magic were discovered on a wide scale," Rin said with a shrug, "I mean, knowing that something exist doesn't mean you accept it."
Gabriel
Gabriel stroked Emily's hair and said, "A long bath might be in order. They might have something where I can add bubbles to it."
Rin
"I've seen what a few 'rogue mages' can do and it's sort of terrifying."
Rin grinned and nudged Sakura. "Oh, say like bringing the spirits of heroes back into existence and having them fight a mythical war for the Holy Grail for you."
Rin
"Like vampires?" Rin asked with raised eyebrows. She knew Dead Apostles were dangerous, yet she was the apprentice of one. However, she had heard rumors of a "White Princess" who had extraordinary powers.
She tilted her head and asked, "Why do you hate them so much anyway?"
Jin
He felt completely relaxed as his climax finished, it left him completely exhausted as he almost slumped back on the bed. He noticed that Oka got up and wrapped her arms around him before kissing him, he returned the kiss with as much passion as he could he could at the moment. One of his hands pulled her towards him ath the waist, while the other sneaked up her front until it grasped one her breasts, squeezing it gently. "That was great, your throat feels amazing."
Jeanne
He was right about that, if you went to a bar with your own alcohol you'd most likely get thrown out. The saint gave pause for a moment to think before giving a slight bow to him. "Then lead me to a hotel my brave knight."
Rin
Rin listened to Sakura's not-answer about why she hated vampires. It seemed, not quite a generic hatred, but a generalized one. She wondered if her sister had gotten attacked by a vampire here and was just projecting her other issues and loathing onto them.
Not that she'd say anything aloud like that to Sakura.
Due to her dealing with Zeltrech, and the fact he kept her from being found guilty all of those years ago. Which had saved her from having her lands stripped away and divided to greedy magi while, the best case scenario, ended up the broodmare for some magus and in the worse case her crest stripped away, sealed and studied. She knew fully well that there were always exceptions to the rule and not to judge someone on their group but their own merits.
"That painting sure is something, isn't it?"
Rin looked at it, chuckled, and said, "I'm really the worse person to ask about art or music. It's pretty, yes, but not something I'd give a lot of attention to."
Rin
Rin leaned into the embrace and eyed Sakura with a sardonically amused look.
She answered, "Well, I doubt it was Emiya-kun. The only thing he finds truly beautiful other than you are swords. So I'd have to say Faust."
Rin
Rin blinked at Sakura's suggestion and tapped her chin.
"You know, that might actually work," she said in a soft voice. She looked Sakura square in the eye, her aquamarines locking with Sakura's violet eyes. "I will say this though, I will have to live my own life. I do want to be close to you, but I need something of my own here at least."
Rin
Rin bit her lip, toyed with the ribbon, and then looked down at it.
She answered, "You . . . you have all of these people who you're literally the center of their world. They're happy to be a part of your life and nothing else. Like Rider for example. Your needs and wants will always be above hers to her. Then you have Emiya and . . ."
I didn't want to become just the latest edition to your collection of people.
Rin
Rin smiled at that and stroked Sakura's hair. "I'm sorry I doubted you, Sakura," Rin said.
She started to play with the ribbon again. "Follow my dreams, huna?" she mused in a soft voice before shaking her head. Cracking and building the Jeweled Blade was one of them. Having a family of her own was secretly another. She wanted the sort of love that Sakura and Shirou had, but highly doubted she'd ever find it for herself.
Gabriel
"It should be highly enjoyable," he said with a smile that made his eyes gleam. Then he stepped into the tub and winced. "I believe I made the water a tad warm. If it's too hot let me know and I can cool it down."
Rin
Rin tilted her head, sighed, and shrugged. "Maybe, maybe not," Rin replied.
Rin
Rin laughed at Sakura and asked, "And why did you think that was what I wanted? I didn't say anything of the sort, other than I needed to move on."
She reached out and playfully flicked the tip of Sakura's nose.
Rin
Rin sighed and said, "It's almost every girl's dream to find someone nice to partner up with."
She leaned back into the chair and snorted. "I'm almost Christmas Cake."
Jin
"That's nice...Yeah...tomorrow...." He consciousness was fading pretty fast as sunk back into the bed. Tomorrow there was a lot of thing to do wasn't it? He didn't really know right now nor did he care enough to find out. The bed was so tempting right now.
Archer
"I see, you look like you do that a lot, with how fast you are." the gamer was indeed working fast, as she changed values at an incredible pace. That reminded him, Liseth had requested water and it would look bad if he didn't deliver, and the other two had been gone for a while. "I'll go get that water and see what those two are up to, I'll be back in a moment."
With that the man in red withdrew from the living room to find the two sisters. He managed to track them down to the study, where he overheards bits of an interesting topic, christmas cakes.
"She's right, Christmas Cake? You're far too attractive for that Rin." He spoke loud enough for the two of them to hear him.
Rin
"No it's not, four years is a long time. You'll find someone by then."
Before Rin could reply, a familiar voice said, "She's right, Christmas Cake? You're far too attractive for that Rin."
Heat immediately filled her cheeks as she spun to see Archer standing there. She pointed and asked, "H-how long have you been standing there?" She looked at Sakura and asked, "Do you know how long he'd been standing there . . . You would have told me, right?"
Dante
While he didn't exactly agree with the choice in location, what with the lack of nearby pizza places, the demon hunter followed Petra as she went through the steps of getting the apartment together. They were inside soon enough, with the honey-haired girl sitting down at the table next to the large collection of booze. Somehow, Dante had the feeling that they'd be hard pressed to work their way through all of it even with this drinking contest, but there was nothing wrong with a little uncertainty. Sitting down besides Petra, the half-demon laid the guitar case down next to the chair, leaning up against it as he relaxed where he sat.
"Yeah, pretty much," Dante admitted, "So I guess now would be the perfect time to start."
Jeanne
"Alright then...Follow me!" The saint shouted as she grabbed his hand and pulled him in the direction he had been pointing. she quickly broke into a run that would be hard for regular humans to keep up with. "Come on Shirou, get moving." She yelled back at him.
Following Shirou's descriptions through the help of his phone, they eventually arrived at a fancy looking hotel. Jeanne snuggled up against him, leaning against his shoulder as they approached the reception. "This place looks really great don't you think?"
The entrance hall had a massive crystal chandelier hanging from the roof, and the decoration in the lobby gave it a real classy feel. Jeanne nudged Shirou's arm making him stop just before they reached the reception. "I'll be happy with whatever room you pick Shirou." The saint paused for a moment and then continued with a much more uncertain tone to her voice. " Buying all that liquor for me just because I asked, I don't know how to repay you to be honest."
Auspicious Breeze
That's a knight, huh? Fighting for good reasons, helping people, being nice to ladies? All the things that basically made you a good person to begin with? The things that she was pretty sure she was Chosen for?
I could do that. That's what this power is for.
Auspicious Breeze clenched her hands into fists and pressed them together at the knuckles. Her mouth turned up into a grin at that, and she nodded to Mordred. "Then I guess I'm gonna be a knight, then! Oh hey, we can be knights together, then!"
I'll definitely be mistress' knight - when I get back.
Denial was a sweet breeze, pulling sand along to cover our losses beneath the dunes.
Archer
"Yes, I'd agree, you don't need to be so down on yoursef Rin." Archer couldn't help but shake his head again at Sakura's antics. "I came to see what you two were up to, but I guess I worried over nothing. On the other hand, it's an interesting friend you brought back Rin, she pulled out a laptop and started modding a game."
Rin
Rin twisted the ribbon between her fingers and bit her lip. She said, "I have dated. Or tried to . . . Just never mind."
Then, finally doing something right, Archer brought the conversation back to Liseth. She shivered at the thought of programing, video games, and her bane, technology. She eyed Archer and said, "Liseth has an extraordinary ability that I really don't want getting in the wrong hands. That, and she's a young girl lost in a place like this."
Jeanne
"Of course I'll protect her." She smiled back at him whil patiently waiting for him to pay for the room. After he had done so she then pulled him into the elevator. "So you picked the smallest room you could find, you're a frugal person at heart, aren't you Shirou?"
Jeanne
She heeded Shirou's command and stepped out of the elevator. She turned around to look at him while beginning to walk down the hallway. "While being frugal may been seen as a virtue, having a large amount of wealth and not using it for some good is a sin in of itself." The saint told him with a serious expression on her face. "So where's the room?" She continued with a bit more of a light tone.
Archer
"Ah yes computers, a miracle surpassing even Noble Phantasm, a mere servant like myself is but powerles in in the face of them." Archer went along with Sakura's teasing. He then took a quick glance at the clock and notied that he'd been lounging around enough, there was work to be done. "Well if you excuse me ladies, Liseth didn't quite take to the tea, so I was going to get her some water. See you when you've finished your chat." With that the man in red left the room.
Rin
"He seemed pretty pissed off what the other me who was his master did," Rin said with a sigh and a shake of her head. "Which wasn't me exactly . . ."
She studied the ribbon with a frown and said, "I don't know if it would work out anyway."
Gabriel
Gabriel chuckled and replied, "Part of that is genetics and another part is that I was forced to learn how defend myself. And a bit of vanity too. Even though I'm not overly fond of the work this requires, I am pleased about the results."
Rin
Rin sighed and said, "I would like to try . . . "
What if I mess it up though? What if I screw up at the worse possible moment?
Rin
Rin tilted her head and raised her eyebrows at Sakura's encouraging words. She chuckled and said, "And with someone as dense as Emiya is, you'd have to do most of the initiating . . ."
She twisted the ribbon in her hand again and smiled. "I'm going to. Try I mean. Even though I have really no idea what I'm doing."
Rin
"That's the spirit, the worst that can happen is you fail!"
Rin sighed, waiting for a moment to strike wasn't her forte. She was used to guys coming up to her, not the other way around. She asked, "How do I know when the moment is right?"
Gabriel
"That's true," Gabriel said with a smile, "Sort of like why I learned to bake; it can be tedious, but the reward is more than worth it."
Rin
Rin leaned into the petting like a cat and sighed. "You know telling someone not to worry means they're going to worry more, right?" She then stuck her tongue out at Sakura with a grin.
She twirled the ribbon in her hands and eyed Sakura. "However, Emiya and Archer, while having the same origin, are different people now. After all Emiya-kun has you and his life with you. Archer's doesn't."
Rin
Rin blinked then nodded. "Okay, that makes more sense," Rin said with a sigh, "Uggg, too bad we don't have some worldly sempai guide us through our romance problems. And of course Emiya-kun could keep a secret. I mean, I really don't see him and Archer discussing their relationships over tea."
Rin
Rin blinked at Sakura's question and then shrugged. "He's not that much older so I really didn't notice honestly. However, this place is pretty insane."
Lucy
She giggled a bit as the holy woman tried to attack the guy with her sword. This one was pretty fun! Still, she moved forward and tried to catch up with the other girl. There was a note of bemusement as she asked, "Don't you know that those who live by sword die by the sword? I thought saints like you knew that there is a right time to draw your blade. Is this really it?"
Mammon stood on her shoulder and crossed his arms while dismissively shaking his head. "Come on, let's get you back inside. You're definitely going to have a pretty bad hangover. I can fix that."
Rin
Rin laughed at that and said, "That would be a lot of fun actually. Start work together on various things. Maybe even become magi for hire."
Julius
"Ah, yes, kindness. Kindness and compassion should rule the world, and not power, yet even well intentioned people cannot avert all tragedies. I know I cannot save everyone, but it still weighs on my heart. I shall take my leave. Seems like my companion has retreated to safety, though I'm not aware where she is now." Hopefully somewhere safe.
"Please send my regards to your lady, I wish you best fortune."
So the nobleman bowed, and wandered off into the streets of Nexus. What else possibly could await him this day?
Rin
"And blow, we'd need blow. Honestly does this place even have a support network for magic users?" Rin asked, sitting up with a thoughtful look on her face.
Maybe we can make sure that the thing that happened to you Sakura never happens to anyone again.
Jin
He rather liked having his girlfriend cling to him like this but there was one thing he enjoyed more. "Nu uh, secrets makes it all the more fun Oka." He wrapped an arm around her as he started tickling her stomach. "you'll just have to learn to wait, patience is a virtue, with that attitide you're never going to learn Ars." He continued teasing her, with no end in sight.
Jeanne
After hearing Shirou's approval, the saint snatched one of the wine bottles and presented it to him. "This looks good don't you tihnk?" She then opened before promptly putting it to her mouth and tasted it. The taste was absolutely divine, and it was strong, really strong. She didn't know if Shirou would be able to handle this, but they shall see.
Lowering the bottle, she jumped onto Shirou's lap while pushing him down into the couch, her mouth closed on his as she kissed him, letting some of the wine that she'd kept in her mouth go into his.
Jin
He grinned as his girlfriend jumped onto his pack for a piggyback ride while trying to tease him with her sweet body. He grabbed hold of her legs from underneath to give her more support as he answered "If you're gonna be like that I might forget where it is we're going my dear." He sounded serious when he said so, or perhaps he was just lying to get a reaction out of his girlfriend. "Oh, and you know what I like..." He added almost as an sfterthought.
Rin
"Why don't you think it would be useful? So what if there are different 'magic systems'? That means there's only more to learn and master. Or at least work into one's magecraft," Rin replied.
She took Sakura's hands and said, "Think about it, a group of others, maybe not exactly like yourself, but who understand what you can do. And instead of one upping each other with a bunch of vicious backstabbing and thievery, they actually share knowledge and maybe, just maybe, want to help in a time of need. What's stupid about having a support group for magic?"
Jin
"It's actually quite uncomfortable, I'd rather not strain my neck this early in the morning." He chastised his girlfriend, sounding a bit annoyed at her antics. He continued on walking while speaking to her. "Actually could you please climb down, I don't think I can carry you all the way, it's quite a way to go left."
Rin
"Well, it would take some work, obviously, but I think it could work somewhat. I don't think everyone is going to sit around hand and hand and sing, but a general support group, in a place like this would make sense," Rin said.
Her eyes narrowed and said, "We'd be starting fresh from the ground up. Quelling stupid stuff like the blatant racism and archaic hierarchies that are present at the Association.
"Not to mention, if this did get going, Sakura, we could form our own protection force. Sort of like a police force but for the supernatural, and instead of trophy hunting like that stupid Lorelei Barthomeloi and her murder squad who only go after the Dead Apostle Ancestors. They can stop things before they get out of hand instead of the Association doing clean up, and helping those who lose control of their abilities or experiments before it overtakes them."
She pounded her hand into her fist. "Your Shirou wants to save everyone; that's impossible, but maybe we can generate a new Association here that will help instead of breed stagnation."
Jeanne
Feeling that Shirou's hands had snuck in under her shirt and was unclipping her bra, the blonde saint looked up at him as she gave playful glare while withdrawing from his mouth. "You shouldn't be so naughty~ I might get the wroooong idea..." Her tone was deliberately teasing, but her face still maintened the innocent smile.
Mitsuba
Something slumbering in the sword she picked up called out to her. The normal reaction would be to get spooked by it, and indeed Mitsuba was surprised by the message, but Misaka was around. It didn't hurt to pretend nothing really happened. After all, if she realized that this sword was still possessed, who could predict what she would do to banish the spirit. Her inn suffered enough.
So I was mistaken about you passing away. I don't like the sound of it, but go on. If I ignore you will keep talking anyway Mitsuba answered in her mind, while maintaining facade of nothing happening. This talk could last even mere seconds, no matter how long it was. After all her mind processed data fast.
Muramasa Katase
The pace of Mitsuba's thoughts was quite absurd, but it was convenient for this purpose. It meant that Katase would be able to explain her offer in more detail after getting a sense for what the swordswoman wanted.
I am no mere restless shade. I am the demon of the Muramasa blade; we are thousands of souls harvested from thousands of deaths. The man who died in your bar today was my beloved wielder. His killer must die and be added to our ranks as payment for her crime.
There was a pause of the slightest fraction of a second.
We are prepared to bargain with you to see this happen. I must see justice done.
Muramasa Katase
This one was annoyingly perceptive. She had seen right through Katase's entire scheme and proposed an alternative that gave even the demon blade pause. She, it had never considered the notion of having children of its own before. Its many victims, who were not part of it, had known such things and so she had a firm base of knowledge about the subject - intellectually. The emotions behind it though, they were lost in the maelstrom of sorrow and death that gave form to the mind of Muramasa Katase.
It would have preferred to do this with its beloved Kenzo. It, she, was supposed to be his wife and marry him and butcher his enemies for daring to oppose him! If he had wished for her to birth his children too, then she would have gladly done so.
You have a year and a day to see to the girl's death. The body and blade will be returned to us as soon as possible, before the night is done.
Doing this with someone else felt like a betrayal. But, she needed to do this; needed vengeance, needed to reclaim what remained of him. He had known her so perfectly, so he knew Katase would do this for him as he died. He had to have known.
Mitsuba
"I really should have made you work off that but the bar is such a mess that it will take time to restore it to working condition. So let's forget about that." Mitsuba sighed. All that damage and no way for her to repair it overnight. She probably had to find a way how to make money as soon as possible. Her Cover had to eat after all. She would take the sword to a pawn shop if she wasn't concerned about any possible retaliation from the afterlife. Walking up to the sword, she grasped its handle to grab it.
Jeanne
"If I want this? I think you're taking things for granted here Shirou." His teasing hands did have an effect on her though, as her breathing got heavier and she even felt a familiar wetness spread from between her legs. After taking a deep breathe, she turned him around and pushed him down on the couch while ending up on top herself. "It's my turn now" With that she started kissing him with an intense passion.
Rin
Rin sighed and reached out and embraced Sakura, stroking her hair.
I am worried about this vampire fixation of hers though. There are worse things than Dead Apostles, but maybe I could talk to Rider to get her to talk about that.
"Well, we can work on it together, maybe make a compromise about how to do things," Rin said.
Rin
"Well, we should get back before Liseth explodes around Archer. She's kind of shy from what I've seen of her, and a guy like that would probably start teasing her because he can," Rin said with a sigh and a shake of her head.
She smiled and said, "And I'm kind of hungry, the strawberry sundae I got really wasn't enough."
Jin
Oka looked pretty sorry as she started apologizing for teasingly him so earlier. "Don't worry, maybe I over...." He suddenly stopped talking mid sentence as he suddenly whispered instead. "We're being watched." He said it quite fast and much lower than his previous tone. He appeared completely calm as he said so, not giving away any signs of suspicion.
Jin then continued in the same tone of voice as before, clearly in attempt to make it seem that he had just been gathering his thoughts."...Overreacting Oka, we should get back on track. You'll really like the surprise."
Rin
Rin yelped as she was flicked before pointing at Sakura. "Shirou wouldn't, but Archer might. Archer's older, he got over that whole awkward shyness phase. You have really no idea of how much of a tease he is. When I first summoned him I burned through a command seal to get him to 'obey' because he wasn't listening to me."
She chuckled at the memory and shook her head. "Luckily, it actually kind of worked so it wasn't a total waste. Now, as for eating desert first, I can. Because I'm an adult."
Rin
"Sugar has it's place in a balanced diet," Rin said, rubbing her head where Sakura flicked it. "As for cleaning my plate, if it's something I won't like I won't."
Rin
I've been living in London for almost five years. My tastes have changed; which honestly happens when you get older. What's the adage? Every seven years your tastes change, Rin thought.
Instead she smiled and said, "Well, I will be the judge of that. And you don't have to make something special if you happen to have something I don't like. I do know my way around a kitchen."
Shinobu
The blond vampire got onto the bed as she answered the blue haired girl's question. "No you are not, you are quite undead now Medaka." Shinobu smiled at her before continuing. "To answer your question, it did work." The vampire poked the girl's stomach, wanting to see if she would give any reaction.
Kuro
The white haired girl gave the tall man a serious look as he stepped down from his horse and itroduced himself. "As I stated earlier Lord Richter, you shouldn't treat me as a mere child..." Kuro disappeared into thin air while talking to him, suddenly her voice was heard from behind him. "...Now tell me what this urgent issue is."
Her clothes had changed, she was wearing something that was both red and quite revealing and definitely not suited for the climate, yet she wasn't showing any signs of being bothered by it.
Jin
Jin put his hand around his girlfriend's waist pulling her against him as he set confident pace for them to leave the place. While he would have normally enjoyed the feeling of her soft body up against his, the current situation made him to tense to really notice. "Don't use it yet." He whispered to her." Referring to the pokeball in her hand, he'd rather get through this without a fight. If they projected a confident enough front without being overly provocative that migth work out.
"Hey maybe you should cut down some on the eating, eating too much isn't very healthy." He said out loud, commenting on her usual eating habits.
Archer
Archer thought he heard some voices from the staircase, it sounded like Sakura and Rin were approaching. Apparently Sakura was making Rin think she had made the entire meal, how utterly unacceptable, there's only one master in the kitchen. They finally came through the door, Sakura predictably wondered where Liseth had gone.
"When I returned to the living room she had mysteriously vanished. I must say Rin is making some rather interesting friends." His eyes took in their forms as they approached, enjoying the sight of both of the cute girls, his gaze staying an extra moment on Sakura's chest and Rin's thighs.
He stopped looking over them as he suddenly changed the topic. "You'll indeed be in big trouble if you don't finish it, I did the main dish after all." He said with an undeniably cocky attitude.
Rin
Rin blinked as she saw Archer in the kitchen. She looked at Sakura and said, "She maybe looking around. She seems like the curious type if a little shy."
Rin snorted and Archer's comment about her interesting friends and said, "Well, at least I'm making friends."
She noticed that Archer was looking at both of them, his gaze lingering on Sakura's breasts and her thighs. Then he said, "You'll indeed be in big trouble if you don't finish it, I did the main dish after all."
"Oh, so you didn't cook the main dish then Sakura?" Rin asked with a grin, "You were going to take the credit from Archer and lie to your sister? I mean, Archer does need help keeping his ego in check, but don't steal his credit."
Jin
Jin put his hand around his girlfriend's waist pulling her against him as he set confident pace for them to leave the place. While he would have normally enjoyed the feeling of her soft body up against his, the current situation made him to tense to really notice. "Don't use it yet." He whispered to her." Referring to the pokeball in her hand, he'd rather get through this without a fight. If they projected a confident enough front without being overly provocative that migth work out.
"Hey maybe you should cut down some on the eating, eating too much isn't very healthy." He said out loud, commenting on her usual eating habits.
Archer
He didn't fail to notice that Sakura had caught him staring, it was quite obvious with the way she was puperfully leaning forward to let him get a better view of her very generous breasts, their roundness were simply enthralling. Sakura looked at the ribbon for a moment and then walked closer to him where she requested that he'd braid her hair for her.
He took hold of her long hair with one of his hands and raised it up to take a closer look at it, it felt rather soft almost what he'd describe as a silky feel. "Are you sure you want me to do it, I might not be that good at it?" He asked her with a tone that had a hint of caring to it. "And for that matter, what are we supposed to do with Rin's new friend?" He voice was back to normal, as he questioned them.
Rin
Rin raised her eyebrows at Sakura's antics and mentally sighed. Yeah, I really can't pull the, 'hee hee could you help me do this?' act because most of the men I would be interested in, including Archer, would already know I'm fairly capable. Especially with something like that.
However, she remembered Archer asking her to bend over earlier and smiled. She placed her elbows on the table with her arms resting on it while bending forward. It just looked as if she was just lazily leaning across the table, but she had her legs crossed at the ankles and the angle highlighted the supple curves of her rear and made her legs look even longer.
She sighed and answered, "Well, she'll should stay here for tonight at least. Then Sakura was talking about giving her a place to rent. I doubt she'll have a problem making rent, but I want to make sure her apartment is heavily warded. She's a good kid and I wouldn't want her powers falling into the wrong hands."
Sakura and Shirou
The two of them couldn't help but notice Irisviel's blush as she moved to cover herself, the two of them blushing in return as it became obvious that their embarrassing conduct had been noticed. Their faces reddened further when Irisviel addressed them, calling the very revealing dress "obscene" in a manner that made it even more obvious that she had noticed them staring at the very-attractive sight.
"N..no, it's fine", Sakura stammered, obviously embarrassed, as Irisviel continued to stare at the sofa for a moment before coming to a sudden realisation.
"Oh, right… I'd forgotten you have to do things yourself when you don't have help...", she said, causing the two of them to chuckle slightly at her obvious lack of experience in the real world, lifting their embarrassment slightly.
"Can you two help me find a sheet and blanket?" she continued. "And maybe a bed pillow."
Shirou smiled, still trying to avoid staring at her as best as he could.
"Of course", he said, wondering where they might be.
The two of them quickly began to search the room, Sakura beginning with the place she thought was most likely which, to her disappointment, was empty.
Jeanne
The blond saint looked up at him with clouded eyes as he put a finger on her lips. She opened her lips as he told to her slow down and took it in, tasting it's interested texture as she sucked it in. Her tongue swirled around it before she withdrew, a trail of saliva connecting it to her still open mouth. "Then tell me what you want me to do Shirou~ I'll do....whatever....you'd....want...me...to~" She deliberately stretched out every syllable as she starred up at him from his chest.
Jin
He pulled Oka with him, holding her by the waist. They were almost out of there now, he did notice that she was fidgiting nervously however. "Hey, lucky you it's actually going to the right places, have you seen how outrageously sexy you are?" Jin deflected her accusation. While he did do so to put on a show, that didn't change the fact that what he said was true.
"How about pasta then? If you want to feel so healthy." He said with a teasing tone as they finally got out of the shady part of town that theyhad happened to wander into.
Archer
"Your confidence in me is a bit unfounded there." Nevertheless the man red started to slowly work on Sakura's hair with his hands, twirling it in the way that made braids. As he did so, he couldn't help but notice the way that Rin was leaning over the table and thusly showing her he long legs and her shapely butt. "We would still need to find her, or do you know where she is Sakura?"
Rin
"Maybe I should go find her. You two might make her nervous; she seemed to warm up to me that's all," Rin said, tapping her foot against the floor ever so slightly.
She stretched up a little bit, noting Archer watching her, and went back to the reclining position. "Plus I brought her home so I should take responsibility. After I eat."
Rin
Rin eyed Sakura and said, "You know, people might be creeped out if they knew you were spying on them. Just a bit."
She watched as Sakura brought the plate out to her with the shadows. She couldn't put the plate in the oven, but using the microwave was out of the question. It had settings and buttons and flashing lights. She didn't know how long it should be in there or what setting. If she reheated something, she usually put it in the oven or on the stove.
She took the plate and flashed Archer an awkward smile. "Hey Archer, when you're finished could you help me out, please? Microwaves and I don't work well together." She leaned over, pushing the dish over towards him, arching her rear up more.
Heh, if Sakura can ask him to braid her hair while showing off her cleavage, at least I can do this.
Archer
Sakura was quite forcefull with the way she almost shoved the plate of food in Rin's face, he couldn't help but twitch at the sudden appearance of the shadowy tentacle from her sleeve, but he managed to keep himself from reacting outwardly in any greater way.
From the way Sakura said she would tell him, she had was probably keeping Liseth "bugged". The Matou did specialize in those pesky little things after all. He finished the braiding of Sakura's hair as Rin made her request, he wasn't quite happy with the result but he doubted he could do any better.
Rin was still bending however, in fact she was doing it in an even more conspicous way now, to the point where only someone truly oblivous would miss it. Not to say he didn't enjoy the view, because he did, quite thoroughly at that. Her matched Rin's smile with a geniune smile of his own as he took the plate from her. "If you ask so nicely I just can't refuse Rin." He let go of Sakura's hair as he patted Rin on her head, ruffling the cute woman's hair. "I believe I'm done Sakura, Don't know if it lives up to your standards."
With that he took the plate and walked over to the microwave, putting it in and setting the correct time for it to get reasonably hot. He then walked back and took a seat on Rin's side of the table as he leaned back. "So Rin, where did you find her? And more importantly what even caught your interest, I doubt it was the laptop." He asked with a calm tone.
Jin
He flicked Oka's forhead in response to her silly statemnt "Of course you want the gigantic plate. Are you hoping they'll grow even more?" He said it with a teasing tone and then grasped her hand. "Pasta it is then, I won't dare defy you when you're hungry." He smirked at her, obviously not serious. His cute girlfriend was so easy to tease, he had to remind himself to hold back or it would probably get ugly, she was quite the prankster after all.
Rin
Rin smiled and felt her cheeks heat up as Archer ruffled her hair as he took the plate away from her. She smiled at him and said, "Thanks. Electronics and I still don't get along. I'm pretty sure they're conspiring against me."
She tilted her head at Archer's question and said, "Honestly, we met at a Tavern. I ran into this bitch from the Church and this guy with fake fangs who wanted to have a drinking contest, that's a long story. Anyway, Liseth presented me with this."
She pulled the ruby Liseth had given her that she had started to store prana into out from her pocket and sat it on the table. "Which made me realize how dangerous that ability could be in the wrong hands. Someone could force her to pull enough weapons grade plutonium out of her pocket to level this place. Plus she's an innocent kid; I didn't want to leave her with the bitch from the Church."
Sakura proclaimed that she was going to teach Rin how to use the microwave. "You know, I don't use a coffee maker either. I still drink tea for the most part," she said with a sly grin.
Rin
Rin sighed and then chuckled as Archer continued to ruffle her hair. She found herself leaning into the caress and raised her eyebrows at Sakura's comment. I wonder if Sakura's Rin had a mug like that.
"If I did, you know you don't need a coffee maker to brew coffee, right? You can pretty much brew it in almost the same way you brew tea," Rin said with a shake of her head before looking at Archer.
She replied, "You've never served me coffee. However the Servant I summoned liked to show off his exceptional tea skills. As for knowing about nuclear weapons, I did pay attention in school you know."
Archer
He met Sakura's gaze with a smirk, Oh...could you come over here? He then turned back to Rin. "I am quite certain I served it to you Rin, but maybe I'm wrong." His hand once more went back to ruffling the black haired girls hair as he spoke.
"What I find more interesting is how you know the main component of nuclear weapons." He asked Rin with a disbelieving voice.
Rin
Rin snorted and said, "You know how much coffee makers cost? I have to spend my money on other things. Well, not so much because I've found Liseth, but I still don't like needless spending, you know."
She realized that Sakura was right behind her and Archer beside of her, almost effectively trapping her. Heat began to slowly fill her cheeks as she realized that they were ganging up on her. She took a deep breath and looked at Archer with a smirk.
"I'm very much Tohsaka Rin, and why couldn't I've known that? I do have a friend in the Association who comes from a long line of warrior mage craft users. He sort of picks up knowledge on weapons from anywhere from martial to mass destructive. He pointed it out in a class one day when we were discussing the reasons why magecraft isn't the same now as it was a few hundred years ago," Rin said with a shrug.
Archer
Rin leaned against the hand that was stroking her hair just as expected, before she had a chance to react the trap was sprung. From behind her, came her sister, locking her in place for a two front massage attack. Archer chuckled at the sight of her helpless position, there was no escape now. Now, hug her from behind so she can't escape!
"You can't possibly be Rin, tell us who you really are?" He declared with an incredibly dramatic voice, playing it up as far as he could. "Rin couldn't possibly have known that."
Rin
Rin yelped as Sakura pounced on her from behind, wrapping her arms around Rin. Shadow tendrils were added to the affair, the sight of them causing Rin's blood to run cold. "He's right, who's possessing you, we need to quickly exorcize it from you at once! My sister can't even use a microwave!"
"Yes I agree, she has clearly been possessed, possibly in London by this so called friend of hers who sounds like a complete warmonger," Archer said with a stern look on his face.
Rin squirmed and said, "I am not possessed and Roderick isn't a warmonger. And Sakura, why did you bring your shadows into this?"
Damn it Sakura, couldn't you figure out I was doing that so I could have Archer reheat it, Rin thought.
Archer
He kept up the charade as Sakura jumped her sister. To his ever growing amusement she even wrapped tentacles around her, if someone were to walk in they might misinterpret what was going on. Some things had to be dealt with however, he cpuldn't allow this to go on unanswered. "Yes I agree, she has clearly been possesed, possibly in London by this so called friend of hers who sounds like a complete warmonger." He gave Rin a stern look as if lecturing her.
Are you enjoying groping her? Archer couldn't help but tease the other person involved, she had herself to blame for taking out the black tentacles after all.
Jin
Jin sighed at the utterly ridiculous things his girlfriend was implying. "Of course I'm not, what would ever give you that idea?" He stopped on the stop as he saw her walking on he tiptoes, showing off like that, he'd turn it against her. He quickly wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her off balance, against his chest. Her massive soft breasts were squished against him.
One of his hands stroked the lower end of her back while the other went to her head to stroke her beautiful hair. "And don't call them mounds of fat." He looked into her eyes as he made the most serious statement yet.
Sakura and Shirou
"Of course", Sakura said with a smile, still trying not to stare at the attractive woman's exposed cleavage.
The two of them then moved to grab the sheets, all the time trying not to stare at her as they helped her put them onto the bed.
Archer
Rin yelped as the tentacles wrapped around her, Sakura's tentacles then begun an unstoppable tickle assault of a calibre never before seen. "All the evidence are pointing to the contrary and the tentacles are besides the point. You're clearly trying to divert our attention!" He followed Sakura's over the top behaviour, as he joined in with more accusations.
We wouldn't know...until you did it. Besides, you need to thoroghly search her. He answered her back, anticipating the outcome.
Rin
Rin rolled her eyes as Sakura went on about her being possessed. Then those shadows started to tickle her, making her squirm underneath them. She shook her head as she started to giggle in response to the tickling attack.
She laughed, shook her head, and said, "I'm not though! If you don't stop, I'll be really mad!"
Jin
His lips was met by Oka's as she pulled him into a passionate kiss, the girl was so spontaneously romantic some times. He matched her passion with an intesity of his own, his tongue going into her mouth, pushing againts her tongue playfully.
As quickly as he started he pulled away from her in a gentle manner. "I know you do." He told her with the same confidence as earlier. "Now on to that restaurant". Jin pulled her along with him not accepting no for an answer.
Jeanne
Jeanne watched with surprise as the Apostle appeared really angry for some reason or another, she didn't expect for the brown haired woman to just rush over towards the naked woman and then throw her out of the window. While the blond had no trouble following the speed she had moved at with her eyes, the surprise at seeing a saint act like that caught her off guard.
However she didn't make a move to stop her as the naked woman and her pets just felt...well wrong was the only way she could put it. There was something awfully off putting about, something beneath the surface that you couldn't quite grasp.
Then the man with the gun put it away as he turned towards them and almost apologized for the mess that they had happened upon, she was almost convinced of his sincerity but there was something strange about this whole circumstance. She was just about to answer when she felt something forcefully drag her arm down, almost causing her to tip over. It could only be Shirou, that accursed liquid must have been too much for him.
It was all clear now.
With a incredible grace she twisted her body around, while going down on a knee, she managed to catch Shirou just before he tumbled onto the floor. She then wrapped one of his arms around her shoulder as she straightened him up again."Calm dawn Shirou nothing here is dangerous...except for that."
As she she had been busy catching Shirou, one of those things had stayed behind. It changed form and grew into some hideous monster that resembled a man. It's gaze was locked on the man who had a gun out earlier.
"I am God's holy monster. I drink from humanity."
With that the creature made itself scarce, going out the window to follow it's mistress most likely. She believed she could have followed it if not for the burden of supporting this drunken man.
God's holy monster, that drinks from humanity.
What could it mean by that. Are there even any monsters sanctified by The Lord himself? Could it be some bloodsucker, no that doesn't matter now. Cryptic messages will only serve to cloud you from the truth.
"Are the two of you unhurt? That thing looked dangerous." She asked them with a concerned expression on her face.
Petra
Oh great, another person already stumbled into her apartment. One drunkard out, but unexpected visitors kept stumbling into the place. And one of the drunken oaf's familiars shifted into monstrous like form and spouted some cryptic stuff that didn 't make any sense. Other than it reeked of demonic presence. But before she could take more direct action against that demonic familiar, it fled.
The man accompanying the Servant must have been a magus since she could feel a surge of magical energy coming from him before he tripped and stumbled. Well, nothing to worry about, she was virtually untouchable by any magus that could rear his head here. And he wasn't surely a Master, Ruler class Servant were Masterless after all.
"I just took justice into my hands. It's not like I shoot the burglar." She shrugged. After all, she merely ended up where she belonged. In a dumpster.
Liam
That was wrong.
Whatever that was, whatever had just mocked Liam O'Mailey, was something very wrong. Had it read his mind? Was it some kind of demon? Was this a hallucination from some Nosferatu worm, or a random visitation from some kinda weird angel? Something in Liam panicked, and for the first time in decades he found himself hyperventilating for a moment, hand clutching his chest. This only ever happened when he was pretending to live and breathe like he'd been to keep Petra from figuring him out, but he thought he'd gotten over all that... psychowhatever nonsense years ago.
Calm. Down.
He took one more breath, and then forced himself to relax.
He turned his attention back to Petra and her uninvited guests. "Considerin' the mess she left for the little Miss here," he said with a nod to Petra, "I'd say the lady got off easy."
Archer
He got up from the chair as heard the microwave beeping. "I Think you two will be perfectly capable of taking care of each other." With that he moved over to the microwave and checked on the food, it was perfectly warm. He took it out and quickly returned, placing the plate infront of Rin. "Even fakes have to taste this delicious food right Sakura?"
Rin
Rin relaxed as Sakura stopped tickling her and just leaned on her in a hug. She reached back and stroked Sakura's long hair as they quietly stood there. Then the microwave dinged, signaling that the food was finished.
"Nee-san~" Sakura sung out. "That beeping means your food is done!"
Rin raised her eyebrows and said, "Gee, thank you for telling me, I would have never known."
"Even fakes have to taste this delicious food right, Sakura?" Archer asked as he placed the plate in front of Rin.
"You know all about 'fakes' right, Archer? Shouldn't you over anyone be able to tell I'm the 'real' Rin?" Rin asked as she took up her chopsticks and eyed the food. Clicking her chopsticks together, she said, "I want to cook sometime this week. Something Chinese."
Jin
"We will never arrive if you just keep asking, can't you keep your stomach in check, what a great pokémon master we have here." He teased her as he poked while poking her stomach with enough force to push her back.
He then turned around and looked at the place next to them, it was indeed the restaurant they had been walking towards, a nice small Italian restaurant. "If you paid more attention to your surroundings instead of complaining you would have seen that we had arrived." He took her hand in his. "Now, now...no point in sulking. Follow me in so we can eat."
Jeanne
"Jeanne nodded at Petra's explanation. It seemed reasonable given what appeared to have happened here. The naked woman had most likely broken in and with the suspicious servants she had, the action was justified. "So you took justice in your own hands by throwing the heathens out of the temple, that's fair I suppose." She made a subtle reference to one of the actions of the messiah in a teasing tone, to see how Petra would react.
Shirou who was probably still drunk complained about how it had been her that had made them drink it. "Need I remind you that you're the one who decided to buy everything. I said so, you couldn't handle as much as me, I doubt you'd even be able to beat her." Jeanne motioned towards the brown haired saint as she said so.
While it looked like the unknown man was shaken by the odd statement made by that demonic entity, she didn't know him enough to know how he'd take comfort or even if it would be appropriate, so she decided to introduce herself instead. "Sorry for barging in here in such a manner, I felt a calling...my name is Jeanne if you were wondering."
Liam
He shook his head again, one more time, to make sure that it was clear of whatever nonsense that devil thing put in his head. He'd go after it, but Liam didn't want to give his cover away to Petra just yet. Not when things were so promising.
"Perhaps some water, a place to sit, for the dizzy couple?" Liam suggested to Petra quietly, nodding to the newcomers. "Just until they sober up a touch while we clean the place up."
It was the least he could do to help the little lady.
Petra
Liam did not take the presence of those critters well as he was being hyperventilating. No surprise though. Even if weak demons, they were demons after all. They must have felt wrong and off to anyone mundane.
Judging from what the red haired magus said, he was pretty drunk. Honestly, what he was thinking if he really got into some sort of drinking contest with a Servant? There's no way someone like him would stood a chance.
"No, religion didn't have anything to do with it. Anyone in my position would get angered by a drunk burglar like her. So you know, better watch out for your drunken friend, I won't be happy if he stumbles somewhere and breaks something." Petra sounded a bit threathening, but you couldn't really tell if she was joking, or was serious. "And oh, I'm Petra. Apology accepted. Just make sure it won't happen again, okay?"
Archer
Whether or not he could tell if she was the "real" Rin, what could have made her say something like that? He wasn't really sure what kind of answer he'd give to that. He did know her during the Holy Grail War, but that was five years ago for her, and it wasn't her .
"Are you so sure I'd be able to tell. People change over time." He lectured her, trying extra hard to sound important. Maybe she idolized an image she had of him, that was probably it.
"Good job Sakura, still making sure she doesn't escape, what a good girl." He once more stroked her purple hair as he praised her.
Liseth
She was just about to relax when she heard Sakura's voice right in her ear. Liseth shrieked. Loudly. Then she shrieked again when she turned her head to see a spider right on her shoulder. Her shirt went flying along with the arachnid across the room as she tore it off and stood up on the bed. "What the fuck, Sakura? That was not okay! You're not putting bugs on me!"
Liseth took a few moments to try and relax because she absolutely hated having bugs on her. It was revolting. And kind of scary. She slowly settled down and took a seat on her bed before deciding to consider what she was asked. "Well, uhh, now that that's out of the way."
She paused. Phrasing things well was never her strong suit. "It's just that it wasn't real comfortable being there. It's not anything you did but it was just the fact that you all knew each other well. I wasn't a part of that."
Liseth wanted to stop. She really, really did, but she didn't want to offend someone who had only been nice to her. It was almost like she felt obligated to tell her. She hated feeling ungrateful. "I'd rather be by myself with all my things than be an outsider with other people. I don't know if you get that but it's why I left."
She frowned and looked down at the bed. She didn't have any problems being alone. That was a choice. She could choose to be alone in her room playing video games all day. That wasn't a problem. Other people couldn't make her be alone. That was her choice. But isolation was different. People could isolate you. It was something they had the power to do, even if it wasn't intentional. And there was no part of her that would ever choose being isolated over being alone.
Jeanne
The blond saint tried her best to ignore the drunken behaviour Shirou was exhibiting, the way he was not so subtly ogling her assets wasn't the appopriate response to what was going on right now.
With the strange appearance of the demonic being and their encounter with another servant, the situation was tense indeed, although it seemed both of the men was unaware of it, one being drunk and the other probably frightened.
She couldn't ignore that Shirou had outright called attention to Petra being a Servant, that had to be smoothed over somehow, the other saint already looked angry. She guided Shirou over to the couch and sat him down before turning back to Petra.
"I come before you as a servant of The Lord and I wish to extend to you all the respect you so deserve." Jeanne bowed in reverence to the brown haired Saint. She hoped that the woman would understand she wasn't there on Grail War related business, that however didn't make the act itself any less genuine as she did possess a fair amount of respect for who the woman was.
Petra
Crap, her cover was blown up before the two. At least maybe Liam didn't figure out who she was yet. Anyway, she had to act before the Frenchwoman said even more!
"Come with me, we need to talk." The brown haired woman grabbed the blond haired woman and told her in no nonsense manner. She should tell her to be careful about her identity as the most urgent thing to do.
Liam
Now something just weren't right about that. What exactly did the busty blonde girl mean by all that stuff with Petra? Well, it weren't Liam O'Mailey's need to figure that out just yet. He'd have time with the girl he'd escorted home to get all the particulars later. He turned to the only living man left in the room and frowned.
"I think you oughta sit down, son. I know an old remedy for this kinda thing you've got goin' on," Liam said to... was the boy kinda Irish too? He certainly had the hair for it.
Jin
Did she have to flip like a switch, she went from complaining about being bored to overly excited in the blink of an eye. Oka quickly rushed into the restaurant essentially dragged a waiter with her, the poor man looked stressed enough as he was. Jin calmly followed her in and sat at the table she had chosen.
"You should calm down some more or you won't be able to digest the food, or enjoy it at all. Eating is supposed to be a pleasure you know." He told her with a straight face, not entirely amused by her sudden mood switch. Then he gave the waiter a slight bow, to apologize for his girlfriends eagerness.
Jin
Exquisite food was hard to come by and a well earned treat for anyone lucky enough to do so. The food in this place was just that, a rare treat that one didn't come by too often and therefore should be enjoyed to it's fullest. Common sense is what most people would call that. Yet. So few actually took the time needed to, being far too caught up in their worries that wouldn't matter in the end.
His girlfriend had calmed down now, or at least restrained herself to a more proper level for the setting. Leaning back in his chair Jin took the time to drink in his surroundings.
"if you run too fast you're going to miss half of what life has to offer."
Rin
"Damn it," Rin all but hissed as Archer decided to "help" Sakura, blocking her path with his body.
His body that was several centimeters taller and kilograms heavier than hers, not to mention he was a Servant. Rin watched as Archer took the spoon from Sakura and brought it to her lips. "I'll be really disappointed if you refuse my cooking like this Rin, are you saying I'm a bad chef?" Archer asked her.
Rin felt as if someone had lit her cheeks on fire and said, "I'm not refusing it, I'm just saying I can feed myself."
She looked between the two of them and asked, "Come on, who other than me would fight this hard and be this stubborn? Anyone else would have just accepted the bite by now." Then making a little hissing sound, sounding like an irate kitten, Rin leaned forward and took the bite, chewing it and swallowing it.
"There, happy?" she asked, "And yes, it was good."
Liseth
Well, that wasn't creepy at all. Nope. Not one bit. And it wasn't just the spider doing things that its anatomy wasn't really designed to do. Rin sounded really clingy. "Well, uhh, it's fine, really! If she's worried I can just open a door back to your place anyways so she can come over. It's not an issue. I'll talk to her if I need to! I'm fine. I think it's better for me to have a place of my own for a bit, y'know?"
She slowly settled back onto the bed although she did scoot a good distance away from the arachnid.
Archer
Ignoring Rin's complaints about being able to feed herself, the man in red refilled the spoon and brought it back to Rin's mouth. "Rin, you shold relax and enjoy the service you're getting. But if you insist on making such adorable noises...." Archer paused for a moment, seemingly to think about something before he turned to Sakura.
"Do you have any fake cat ears? Don't you think that would fit her? There was a hint of enthusiasm in his question, like he was looking forward to where it may lead.
Jin
Jin noticed his girlfriend's critical mistake and chuckled. Thinking the drinks menu was the actual menu was only a mistake someone not used to restaurants did. "Haha, you're really eager for that aren't you, I remember that being one of the first things you asked for when you visited me."
Still he might as well poke some fun at her expense, she was the one who said she went to restaurants all the time after all. "The drinks menu is something they usually leave out on every table so that the guests can order it and well drink while they wait for the food. You're not that used to actual restaurants are you?"
Liam
"Really think ya ought to drink that, son," he said to the stubborn drunk redhead. "It'll take the drunk right outta ya."
Still, the vampire shook his head and took a seat himself. These were the sorta innocuous questions that could lead to places the dead didn't really want to answer. Normally, at least. In this strange place he could honestly say he'd only gotten here...
"... about a week or so ago? Not much more than that. It's a mighty strange place, though I gotta wonder why you just assumed I'm not a local."
Jin
Oka looked pretty sad after the last exchange, she was probably being hard on herself after the mistakes she had made. The girl was trying so hard to appear mature, it was almost amusing sometimes, right now however she needed to hear some nice encouraging things.
"No need to feel so down, you'll learn eventually, time is something you've got plenty off, so just relax." He gave her a reassuring smile as he tried to comfort her.
Jeanne
Hearing that celibacy was abnormal from the Pope herself was a pretty silly idea, she would have stared in disbelief at the incredulous if someone had suggested it yesterday. Hearing it from the woman herself though was another deal entirely, It was so absurd Jeanne just filtered the information away for a later date and showed no outward reaction to the surprise, maintaining the bright smile as if everythign was alright. "No, no, he's a friend, or rather he's important to someone who's important to me."
She waited until Petra had reached her by the door, The blond's smile grew mischievous in an instant. She quickly reached out and grasped the brown haired Saint around her waist pulling her soft body close as she leaned up and whispered in her ear. "Are you sure you're not attracted to him? he's pretty handsome."
(...)
Taking a proper look around, Michael found himself a bit surprised by how much his surroundings had changed. Wondering when he'd started getting this sloppy, the immortal took in his surroundings with a smidgen of curiosity. There was something different about the place. Most of the people and some of the attire, first off, but also the signs, most of them in different languages than what he'd seen in the part of the city he'd been in before. The supernaturals walking around, aside from being a bit more open now here, were also of a somewhat different sort. Honestly, this place almost reminded him of a city in one of those Far Eastern empires he'd visited a few centuries back. Or was it a few millennia? ...Wait no, there had been empires there during both of those time periods.
Huh. Well, I can't say I wasn't expecting this, at least a little. In any case, might as well start looking here.
Obviously, a school within the hustle and bustle and the general pollution of the city would be out of the question, but nonetheless, there were usually a few types you could rely on in regards to real estate. The first of those was usually the nearest thing this place had to authority, but from what he'd seen, such and authority would be spread far too thin over a city like this. Not to mention that, of the many things Michael was prepared to deal with today, bureaucracy and its fondness for the red tape was not amongst those things. The other option, of course, would be whatever organized crime reigned in the area, and the immortal was all but certain there would be such a hive of scum and villainy in a place like this, if not multiple.
With the practiced ease born of repetition and boredom, Michael looked around for the nearest possible hub. It's not like the trends usually differed much regarding the kinds of places they liked to gather, and there were always certain signs that the practiced eye could pick out. This wasn't likely to take long.
Jin
He hadn't expected her breaking down like that, nevertheless he tried his best to comfort. "It's alright, nothign bad had happened."
She eventually calmed down and wanted to know what he would recommend. Hmm...there was quite a lot to chose from when he eyed the menu, he wasn't really sure yet what to pick either.
"Chocolate, lots and lots of chocolate...with ice cream." He gave her a smile as he said so. "No actually, think about what you like."
Liam
It wasn't even anything ominous. Why did all these kids have to be paranoid about the old remedies? Didn't make a lick of sense, and that was saying something since they were in a magical city and Liam was a vampire. Well, the vampirism made perfect sense but he wasn't about to go into the Testament right here and now.
"Well, suit yourself kid. But that blonde of your's? She don't seem like the killin' sort," Liam said with a little grin of his own. "Of course, eyes can be deceivin'. And you got eyes on that fiancee of your's right firm."
-----------------
Liseth
Nah, fuck that. She wasn't going to touch that spider even if it was the kindest thing on the planet and could cure every disease known to man. But she nodded anyways. No need to be a jerk about it. "Yeah, that'd be nice. If you need any more payments I can always make them easily. I don't know how much the stuff I gave you was worth here."
But Rin hissing sounded pretty strange. Maybe it was a family thing? When people were close they could get pretty weird.
Auspicious Breeze
Her face lit up all warm and rosy from the attention, and supporting Oren's weight like that was easy. Breeze didn't stumble even a little bit from it! Nope, she just kept standing straight up and smiling. "Aww, you're sweet!"
But Mordred did have a point. It was pretty chilly out there, so it would be kinda weird to go out in just this. Not that it bothered the Solar much, but people would look at her funny. "Should I wear something else over this then, Mordred?" she asked, tilting her head toward Oren's face and blinking at her fellow knight.
-----------------
Liam
"Your fiancee know you go drinking with a nice lil' lady like that, then?" the vampire asked him with a bemused look. "She's a mighty understandin' sort if she do. Good on you, in that case."
Of course if it were adultery, he'd be paying this lad a visit later. With a hammer. Adulterers didn't need working kneecaps.
------------------
Muramasa Katase
"I normally present myself as the woman you saw before," Katase said while her puppet presented the slightest of shrugs. "But if you have a preference for the sake of your new 'Cover,' then speak now. Otherwise I will simply return to that default."
In all honesty the demon sword would prefer not to take that form again. That was the form she first spent time in with Kenzo. There were now memories associated with the feeling of being that girl that she did not wish to linger on. It was... difficult, despite their time together being so short.
Perhaps because it was so short.
----------------
Ron
A deep growl escapes the 'dire' wolf's throat, laden with meaning that only spirits could pick up on. He'd take on the entire forest at once if it wanted to pick that fight! Come on then, who else wants to be my prey? I'm just getting started!
He was, perhaps, getting just a little too into things. So Ron did a very canine thing and attacked the giant burning tree with his face full of razor sharp teeth.
Jeanne
So she did have a sense of humor, well she'd better train the delivery though as it did come of as a bit stiff. But that was a topic for another time, they'd taken enough time and should really go back in, she just hoped there wouldn't be more naked women and demons in there when she got back.
"Please don't make wishes like that, knowing who you are they might come true." Jeanne jokingly complained as she held open the door to the aartment, offering the bown haired Ruler to go in first.
Kuro
Impossible.
The young girl jumped back as if stung by a bee when the boy suddenly disappeared into thin air. How could such a thing happen? Then she felt it.
A menacing gaze.
whoever was responsible was still here, watching, watching them like prey. the count beside her went on some cliché spiel about "punishing unforgivable evil" or some other thing like that. while he did the young girl got ready.
A bow was conjured up in her hand, from it a hail of deadly arrows were released towards the window where she felt the evil presence was coming from, even if none of them hit, the sheer force behind them would cause a ruckus that would draw out the culprit.
Jin
Oka leaned her head againt his, thankfully she stopped crying, he didn't want to see her feel so sad, it felt ´wrong.
"I refuse to answer that...as for the meal that'd might be fun. If you think you can handle all that food." He challeneged her. The meal did indeed look huge, he had no doubts that she would take it if he phrased it like that though.
Archer
Rin looked adorable with the cat ears, of course she started throwing baseless accusations against him, maybe her self confidence was just that low. Archer sighed as he thought about how he should respond.
"And tell me what you're basing that on exactly? What's so wrong about wanting to see something cute? Don't you agree Sakura?" He turned slightly to the other sister as he adressed her.
Liseth
Ignoring the spider was hard but possible. For the most part. It still made her shudder a bit. "Yeah, it's pretty handy, isn't it? Since I don't think there's any real way to track people her I can splurge as much as I want to!" She was just a bit excited about having all that freedom.
It wasn't that Liseth was dying to use her powers. It was simply the knowledge that she didn't have the absolute freedom to use them which bothered her. She should at least show some small bit of gratitude. "Hey, has your spider eaten yet? I've got something for it..."
She took the pillowcase off a pillow, shook it a few times to make sure it was nice and empty, and then she reached in. When she pulled her hand out it had a small sack that had squeaking noises coming out of it. She tossed the captured mouse right in front of the spider as she backed away a bit. "Here you go."
Oren
The Fae looked pretty amused at the thought that someone wouldn't want to see Breeze all nice and wet. She leaned in close so that her breath could tickle the other girl's ear as she whispered, "You know, I and a bunch of other girls could really appreciate it if your clothes were nice and soaked. Clinging to your body and showing off while leaving just enough to the imagination."
Oren kissed the edge of Breeze's mouth as if asking her to kiss back. Then she gave Mordred a passing glance and a slight tilt of her had that practically asked, "Why aren't you joining us?" She didn't think that she seemed too possessive. Breeze was nice, and warm, and easy to share.
Lucy
All that the blue eyed girl gave at the twisting was a glance. She didn't even seem that surprised. In fact, she didn't look surprised at all. Instead she stopped and put a finger to her lips. "Well, if you wanna impress me you should try carrying me to the mall. It would be even better if you were running!"
Auspicious Breeze
She did want to please Mordred rather than make her all uncomfortable, but Oren had a good point too there. A good, fun point. After a moment Breeze picked up Oren, gently put her down next to Mordred, and grinned at them both.
Then she rushed off into the clothes, and looked for something that'd just go great with the top and bottom. She came back wearing a black jacket over the shirt, and posed with her fists held up. "And, I'm back! How's this go with it?"
------------------
Liam
The vampire managed to whistle without extending his teeth. Not that he couldn't get some dandy tunes out of fanged whistlin', mind you. "You got it bad, son. You hold on to that feelin' now, you hear? Don't go straying from that path."
Liam considered breaking the kid's elbow just to be sure, but it didn't have the same panache. He seemed like a decent enough sort that the mobster couldn't justify it much anyway.
Rin
"And tell me what you're basing that on exactly? What's so wrong about wanting to see something cute? Don't you agree Sakura?" Archer asked, turning towards Sakura as he did.
Rin sighed and said, "Well, you didn't get past your denseness when it came to . . ."
"I think our pet cat is making baseless accusations against Senpai's good name," Sakura said before she placed . . . a collar with Rin's name and a bell on it around Rin's throat. "Hmmm… Archer, what do you think of this new look? Be honest."
The bell tinkled when Rin glared at Sakura before she forced a smile on her face. "I'm sure it's bloody adorable, but if you don't take it off . . . I'll rip it off myself," she said, her voice dripping with sweetness.
Archer
The collar truly completed Rin's look together with the fake ears, she was now a splendid example of pure cuteness. If not for one thing, her mood which was rapidly ruining the image of cuteness. "I think it suits her, it would be so much more adorable if she wasn't in such foul mood."
He lowered himself until he was face to face with Rin, his hands grasping her shoulders as he spoke once more.
"You look really cute Rin." He told her while looking into her eyes.
Rin
I think it suits her, it would be so much more adorable if she wasn't in such foul mood," Archer said as he lowered himself until his face was level with hers.
His warm hands gripped her shoulders as he looked into her eyes. "You look really cute Rin."
Her cheeks heated up as she bit her lip and looked away for a moment. "Geeze," she said, not knowing how else to respond to such a thing.
Jin
The blond blond gave her a short glare at the way she compliemented him, it was obviously fake, and the malice behind it was at a level that was just pure silly. In other words, somewhat annoying.
He crossed his arm at the bet she made, clearly not amused. "I don't take bets I know I can't win. So no, don't think so, if you had your way you'd eat my food too."
Jin
The blond blond gave her a short glare at the way she compliemented him, it was obviously fake, and the malice behind it was at a level that was just pure silly. In other words, somewhat annoying.
He crossed his arm at the bet she made, clearly not amused. "I don't take bets I know I can't win. So no, don't think so, if you had your way you'd eat my food too."
Archer
He joined Sakura in rubbing her sister's hair, it felt really soft to his hands. "If you don't relax you won't get the rest of the dessert" He jokingly threatened her.
Try to be friendly with her, maybe she'll reveal how she got there. There shouldn't be any reasons to provoke her yet as she hasn't done anything offensive yet, so be carefulo ok. He repiled to Sakura.
Rin
"You're really not giving me a choice since you're holding me down," Rin said more as a grumble than anything as Archer joined in on the petting of her head. She felt her cheeks heat up even more at that. Damn it, I'm outnumbered . . . And out gunned.
She sighed and said, "Fine, you win, you win. Could you at least let me go though? I'd really prefer to feed myself."
Oren
The dark haired girl hummed at Mordred' clarification of why she didn't like having fun. It seemed like she came from an entire society where people din't like having fun! That sounded pretty sad. "You know, Mordred, we should get to know each other better later. I know we both like Breeze, but it's not really a three person relationship if it's just two people kept together because we both like one person. And I think Breeze would like us to get along so..."
But her voice died off a Breeze came back. Just a little smile and brightened eyes and the Fae plastered happiness all over her face almost on instinct. "Yeah, you look even nicer than before, Breeze." Lying, even more than breathing, was second nature to Oren.
Liseth
"Oh, sure!" A least she managed to sound pretty interested. Because she was. Just a bit. Magic was cool. "So how does it work?"
Rin
Rin shook her arms as soon as Sakura and Archer had let them go before stretching them. There was a slight cramp in her left arm that she began to rotate to loosen it up. She eyed the both of them and picked up the chopsticks.
"This is a lot of food," she said to Archer as she gathered up a bite, "I just hope it doesn't fill me up until I feel bloated. Then I'll have to find a way to hit a weight set twice as hard."
After she chewed, relished, and swallowed the bite she eyed them. She remembered all too well what it was like to have a bond with a Servant. Geeze, they're probably talking about me . . . Lord knows that the Sakura I left behind and Rider did it all the time . . . This is worse because . . . It's Archer.
Archer
The man in red let go of Rin at the same time as Sakura did, the satisfaction gained from this made him feel a little bit better after his previous treatment. There was still the matter of Rin's new friend however, which Sakura pointed out. Rin did indeed show a perplexing level of interest. "Good, It's should fill you up completely, I might have made it too rich in proteins hah."
Hmm...Any ideas on why she's like that?
Petra
"Say, you really don't want to stay a bit more as guests? Don't worry about this Sakura person, can't we phone her? If I'm not wrong about that she is your girl," Petra adressed Shirou "I can assure her that nothing will happen. I mean, if you did something that really would anger her, I would just bag and tag you and bring back to her place if you didn't come to her obediently."
Petra sounded too like she was not joking about that. "You don't see any problem with such arrangement, right Jeanne?"
Then she finally turned to the guest that arrived earlier than the duo. "If you would be so kind, any help would be appreciated, yeah." Yeah, he really seemed like a honest guy.
Liam
The secret vampire just nodded his head to his guest and possible future convert. He would get that out of the way quick, for politeness' sake of course. "Just lemme know where where the supplies are, Miss Petra."
-----------------
Muramasa Katase
"I do not particularly care how you plan to kill the various creatures around us, as long as you do not intend to hang me like some sort of ornament from your mantle," the demon's tall and elegant shell said before waving her hand dismissively. "And I have gotten by quite well over the centuries without announcing my presence to all and sundry."
She cleared her throat, and then smiled. It did not look like a fake smile, even though it was.
Jeanne
The blond leaned up against the other Saint and whispered in her ear. "See what a nice guy he is, you should thank him later~" Her tone was teasing so you couldn't really tell if she was serious or not.
She then walked over to the couch, Liam had stood up and was trying to make himself helpful again while Shirou appeared clearly happy to see her. The short blond woman turned to Liam and spoke. "It looks like it helped him, thank you...however it's getting late and the two of us should be going. Sakura might kill me if anything more happened to him....ha-hah" The Saint tried laughing it off as a joke, not quite succeding at it.
Jeanne then finally turned to Shirou, she took hold of one his hand and pulled, intending to pull him to his feet. however she used too much force on purpose, making it so that he would fall over on his face if he wasn't paying attention.
Archer
Rin naturally didn't take Sakura's comment to well and went on the assault. He saw no option but to step in before this got nasty. "Now, now, don't start a fight here girls," Archer admonished the two of them.
It really depends on their quality, you know, the objects I make are practically worthless, they're 'hollow' so anything that's actually complex won't work.
Jeanne
A look of dissapointment flashed on the blond saint's face for a moment as her prank failed, there wasn't much she could now...later however was entirely different matter.
She suddenly found herself yanked away by the one she'd tried to prank, the two of them now heading for the door. It looks like they wouldn't be staying after all, Shirou was rather determined to get home.
"Our Apologies, but it appears the two of us are heading back, I wish you both a a pleasant evening , free of demonic encounters~....." the final word getting stretched out as she was pulled out of the apartment in a comical fashion, reminiscent of a Chinese cartoon.
The two of them eventually returned to the mansion after an uneventfull trip, except for the fact that Jeanne had been clinging to his arm the entire way, making sure he didn't trip on his own feet.
As they walked through the frontyard She spoke to him hesitantly, her voice containing a hint of regret. "I'm-... I'm sorry for trying to trip you earlier, you...well you just looked so cute when you were stumbling around." She pressed herself against him further as she spologized, looking up at him with eyes that didn't match her words at all.
Paladin
The armored man was beginning to get the feeling that today was going to be a very strange day. It was the crack of dawn and yet- crash -he was fighting some sort vampiric creature. Possibly a heart construct? The bash from his shield hadn't even sent it reeling! It was already upon him again as if the strike hadn't hurt it at all, but Paladin had seen the same moves a thousand times before.
He sidestepped over the drained corpse of the motel owner as a mass of teeth and fangs lunged past him and crashed into the wall of the building. Then Paladin charged with a sudden burst of speed. His sword sank into the monster's flesh and it wailed as blood froze into spikes and its flesh grew cold.
This close he could smell its meals as it thrashed and struck at him over and over again. His shield held back the brunt of it, sharp fangs doing nothing to the righteous scale, but a few shadowy tendrils slammed into his armor. A jarring feeling that he knew was going to bruise as he struggled to hold the twisting creature in place. Then he let out a wave of chilled air that left frost upon the wall and froze some of its thinner extremities.
That did it! It managed a burst of strength to knock him back, but he had been ready for it. It merely sent him skidding back a few feet as the twitching mass of twisted flesh began to move again as if it wasn't impaired at all. It shifted away from the wall as he drew back and lashed out with a score of tentacles coated in sharp teeth as he began to charge in.
Hah! As if that was enough to impair a warrior of Stribog! The blade of ice sang through the air as it amputated appendages intending to grasp him and covered the stumps with painful bursts of bloody ice. Anything else was irrelevant. They left scratches and dents in his armor, but his shield was left nice and whole as he held it in front of him and crashed into the beast once more.
That numb feeling in his arm meant that the beast had braced itself. The fact that they were currently in broad daylight and covered in dusty plaster meant that he had performed the charge at the right time and was not being eaten right now. Which was good!
He managed to get in one more cut that forced itself wide open with miniature blades of ice before kicking the monster away. And then he realized that he had very nearly missed crashing him and his bloated foe into a young woman. That was quite shameful. Without removing his gaze from the creature that was quickly gaining its bearings he announced, "My apologies, citizen, but unless you are capable of reducing men to meaty pulp and can resist the same force I must ask you to leave while I finish dealing with this creature."
JeanneShirou Emiya
"Oh so you want to lie to her~" The blond complained. "Lying is very very bad..." Jeanne pushed him down on the grass suddenly, pinning him down in a way reminiscent of what they had done here earlier in the day.
Looking right into his brown eyes, she smiled at his apparent helplesness. "Now what should I do with someone who's been as bad as you?"
Jin
A swimpark, how did she manage to find a swimpark in the middle of this. Did he somehow pass through the boundary while he wasn't looking? No that can't be he wouldn't be alive...
"They...they have waterparks here?" The disbelief was clear in his voice, after all how did such a large public place manage to keep open in a place like this?
As if on cue, one of the patrons approached Michael, sitting down nearby. He spoke amiably enough, even if the double meaning was clear enough that the man might as well have spoken plainly.
Let's see, how to present myself...Confident, definitely. A little cocky, perhaps? Probably shouldn't be too subtle, wouldn't want to risk him missing it...
"In a place like this, I can't fault that observation," Michael said, his own tone just as amiable as the man before him, "But I'm not lost, merely looking for something that isn't wrapped up in the usual red tape and this seems like a good place to start looking."
With that, the immortal allowed a smile brimming with confidence, allowing it to reach grey eyes that watched the man carefully.
Lucy
She tapped her fingers together. "Well, it'd be great for assassinations! Just get close enough and poison right in the mouth! Or hot sauce I suppose. Whatever you feel comfortable with. Knocking people down a peg or two is always fun for me."
Oren
The Fae actually managed to look legitimately (and oddly) hurt at that. As if she was insulted that the blonde thought she was just trying to get in her bed. Her furious whispering was almost indignant as she said, "That's not what I- I just wanted to see if we could be friends."
But she was very quickly distracted by the talk about motorcycles. "Well, those aren't really big enough for all three of us, right? You could just ride me instead! I'm a lot faster than them anyways."
Liseth
She just sort of watched. Although the whole thing was making her feel a bit funny inside. All neat and orderly. The sound of pistons and steam echoed in her mind. "Nope. Can't feel a thing."
Oren
The Fae's face looked just a bit cold as she smiled at Mordred. It was a particularly curious thing on her face. As if she was perfectly aware that the blonde was not being entirely sincere and deliberately showing off that she knew . But that was alright. Oren was a liar too. The most deceitful liar who ever lied and always lies. So how could she hate a fellow liar! "Well, alright. I don't forgive you! But I'll remember that you tried."
And that was that. The coldness didn't quite creep away but there wasn't as much tension than there was before. Or Oren was such a flawless actor that it simply seemed to be the case. The distinction didn't really matter.
Paladin
The armored figure let out a hearty laugh as the creature was thrown into the air and sent then crashing into another building. He jogged up to the girl and gave her a pat on the back that would have left any normal person in some pain. "Excellent work! It certainly wasn't expecting that kind of thrashing. But that probably wasn't enough to put it down."
And sure enough the creature was rising up again. The parts of its body that had been turned to mush were already almost healed. Thankfully, the frozen wounds had remained so but it was already cutting itself apart to free itself from that particular restriction. At the same time it was beginning to make a hasty retreat at it suddenly realized its predicament. Paladin would not allow that to happen.
"Citizen, throw me at it! I'll distract and slow it so you can crush it into pulp!" He was completely ready to be manhandled and tossed like a projectile through the air.
Archer
Archer let out a sigh as he heard Sakura's misplaced praise. You should really stop idolizing me so much. Being good at using my magic doesn't mean the magic itself is actually good. I'm sure Shirou would appreciate honest praise more than something he knows isn't true." He advised her.
Liseth
The girl busied herself with some mundane things as the spider wrapped up its business. She cut her nails and fixed the bed up a bit so it wasn't as messy before going back to looking at the magic. "So, is there anything else you need to do? Or was that it?"
Paladin
He let out a triumphant yell as he was sent hurtling through the air at the creature. Paladin crashed into it with enough force to cover his chest in bruises, but that didn't stop him from shoving the entirety of his sword into the creature. It tried to dislodge him as its insides froze, but the warrior of Stribog was stubborn. He kept a grip on the weapon with one hand and used another to grip its main, wriggling body.
"Pulverize it!" That was the only thing he said as he maintained his grip. Tentacles dented and scratched his armor, but nothing would move him.
Liseth
The girl busied herself with some mundane things as the spider wrapped up its business. She cut her nails and fixed the bed up a bit so it wasn't as messy before going back to looking at the magic. "So, is there anything else you need to do? Or was that it?"
Paladin
He let out a triumphant yell as he was sent hurtling through the air at the creature. Paladin crashed into it with enough force to cover his chest in bruises, but that didn't stop him from shoving the entirety of his sword into the creature. It tried to dislodge him as its insides froze, but the warrior of Stribog was stubborn. He kept a grip on the weapon with one hand and used another to grip its main, wriggling body.
"Pulverize it!" That was the only thing he said as he maintained his grip. Tentacles dented and scratched his armor, but nothing would move him.
Oren
The Fae melted like warm butter in Breeze's hold. But that didn't stop her from giving Mordred a look and mouthing a tidbit of information. 'If you lie to Breeze and hurt her I will eat you.' And then she cheerfully smiled and sank right back into the bliss of the hold.
Paladin
The creature had been smashed to a fine red paste very quickly. That was a pretty good fight all things considered! Paladin poked at it a bit to make sure it was nice and frozen before finally moving back. Guh, these were going to leave a few bruises. Regardless this was good work. He held out his hand to the blood covered girl with rather jovial body language. "Excellent work, citizen! You've done good not only for myself but everyone else in this city. Thank you for helping me. I am Paladin, Senior Captain of the Paladins of Stribog."
Jeanne
She held him tightly as he cried against her, patting his head ever so gently. "Then we'll just have to be there for her okay" She answered him. Sakura connecting to her fast was another thing. "Maybe she just wanted more servants to boss around." She joked at that.
Paladin
The warrior shook his head gently. "I apologize, Sakura, but I cannot allow anyone to see my face. It is one of the vows I took when I became a paladin. When I have my meals or drink I must do it in solitude. But we can certainly do something about all of that blood. My home isn't too far from here. It shouldn't take long at all to get you cleaned up, although I don't have much involving clothing. I will warn you that it is quite cold, but it'll serve your purposes if you wish."
Jin
The Gigantor huh, pretty inflated name for a ride that wasn't even that big. Some guy even started talking to the in the line, tipped his hat and everything. He was so short though, was he even allowed to go on it?
"I've seen longer, Hey are you actually allowed on?" He voiced his opinion.
Jin
This was bad, a terrorist attack in broad daylight and it had to happen now of all times. He looked at Oka as he answered her question. "Does it look like I have it on me? I'd rather not fight that man unarmed." Indeed, they had demanded him to hand hand it over when he went in, not wanting to cause a scene he did so, while also telling them exactly what would happen to them if it was even scratched when he got back.
The 'kid' was worried about other people there, that did sound like a better idea to be honest. "Probably, It might be best to check it out."
? ? ?
The crowd had calmed down somewhat, some of them had picked up there phones, to call people, others who were more daring where blatantly filming him. That suited him just fine, in fact he counted on it.
They didn't escape his notice of course. There was a girl who summoned strange by tossing objects on the ground, most intruiging, were those balls used as a medium in a summoning ritual, drastically shortening the process? Or perhaps they store the creatures as energy inside of them, he had certainly heard of such things being possible before.
Thus he strode over, the crowd parting for him, like the sea for a certain man. In but the mere blink of an eye he had reached them.
"Strange creatures you posses, were you intending on fighting me with such a poor showing? While the process behind them getting here is most intruiging, the creatures themselves are...a bit lacking."
Paladin
The man nodded to confirm that he did indeed have a washing machine. Then he led her to his home. A modest little building that was abnormally cold despite the rather warm weather. There was no hum of an air conditioner but it was still freezing and even the dryer somehow managed to cough up chilled clothes instead of warm fabric.
To Paladin's delight his new ally didn't seem bothered by this in the slightest! As he showed her where the small laundry room and the shower were he made himself comfortable on the couch. A nice coating of frost had covered the fabric. Something he appreciated as he took a pen and began to write down a summary of the latest encounter in his book.
Jin
He put an arm around Oka's shoulder as the terrorist approached them, luckily he didn't appear to be in a mood to kill them. Then of course something had to go wrong, the kid named Malcolm decided to be smartass and told the obviously dangerously man off, before turning his back to him and nonchalantly began walking away
Is he trying to get himself killed?
? ? ?
The little blond brat definitely had his attention after that stunt, it was as if he had no care for his life at all. common sense would tell you to not him off, yet this boy had done so in such a brazen way, it was almost commendable. He completely lost interest in the couple as his attention was fully occupied by the arrogant brat.
It was most likely the pitfalls of youth trapping him, causing to commit such an error. It could be overlooked, and it wasn't like he had planned to kill the boy or anything. However, as a responsible adult it fell on him to educate the boy on proper manners.
In a flash he was behind the arrogant boy, grabbing hold of both the boy's arms with inhuman force as his foot met the kid's back forcing him to the ground.
"And who gave you permission to just walk away boy? You shouldn't interupt adults when they're doing business, or did your parents teach you nothing?" His voice was calm, unnaturally so in fact, more fitting of a person discussing a topic they found incredibly boring yet had no choice but to partake in.
Paladin
"Hmm, not too long. It should only be a little longer." He was proven right by the beeping of the machine. Paladin reached into it and pulled out the dry albeit freezing clothing. Then he approached the door and stuck the hand with the clothing into the smallest gap possible. "Here they are."
Archer
Sakura apologized to Rin for the undeserved squeezing of her shoulders, seeing that he decided that this time was as good as any. "Regardless, I was going to pick up a book earlier...so I'll be doing that, again. See you later." He spoke out loud, before walking out of the kitchen.
Jeanne
She grabbed his hand and pulled herself up, thanking him for it. "We should really head in now before it gets cold." She said as she appraoched the door.
Opening it, she waited for him holding it open for the second time that day.
jin
"Whoaaaaaaa....."
He was suddenly janked off his feet by Oka's ghastly pokémon. They were quickly dragged away as Malcolm served as bait for the dangerous man. They were dragged all the way to the entrance of the waterland before he shouted out.
"Wait I need to pick up Yukianesa!"
Jeanne
She followed Shirou in, not suprised to see that Sakura ambushed him with a hug, she felt let down as she was seemingly excluded from the happy reunion. Rain clouds gathered above her head to announce the oncoming bout of despression that struck her, she looked truly pitiful as she stood there by her lonesome.
"It went well...until Shirou made me drink something that got me drunk, the mercilessly made fun of me like a twisted monster, he stole my virginity too, he was the cruelest of the cruel." She said with a fake voice accompanied by dramatic gestures.
Paladin
He waved off her concern. A door was only a door. It was not something that was difficult to fix, especially when the damage seemed all but negligible. Besides, he had done far worse when he had gotten his blessings. "Well, when I am not ridding the streets of beasts I usually meditate or pray. But when I find myself without work I do volunteer at various establishments. After all, the purpose of the law is to make the world and its inhabitants better. Even if I am not enforcing it I work towards its goals."
But then Paladin noticed that she was already making preparations for her departure. He let out a soft chuckle. "Yet, I am fairly certain you have better things to do than striking up some conversation with an armored zealot just to be polite."
Liseth
Sakura had just left her with the giant spider. Nope. Not staying in this room tonight. She engaged the arachnid in a staring contest before it simply crawled off the bed along with the mice bag. Then Liseth carefully, calmly picked up the blanket, pillows, and her clothes before running over to the door and opening it right back into the mage's home.
"Goddamn spiders, fucking insect mages. What's wrong with out of sight out of mind? I don't ask for much. I can stand their presence as long as I don't have to see them." She curled up on a chair, slapped on a sleeping mask she pulled out of the pocket of her shorts, and tried to rest.
? ? ?
The kid thought he was some kind of hero, nobly sacrificing himself to let the other two escape. What a fool he was, it was only proper to enlighten him on just how much of a mistake he'd made, if only for the satisfaction of seeing his regret. The chain that linked them together was off little concern to him, something so trivial could never bind the darkness.
"Taking hostages was never part of my plan, I was planning on letting them go after I was done talking, but you just had to go and throw a tantrum like a petulant child." His boot pressed even harder into the kid's back.
He was about to break free, when he was rudely interrupted by a short blond woman, presumably from the police force going by her uniform. Giving orders to him? How utterly pathetic, the woman didn't look like she was capable of harming a fly.
With an astounding show of strength he flexed his muscles and snapped the chains before delivering a lightning fast bone shattering kick to the boy, sending him flying away into the distance.
"Why is a cute girl like you here? Are the Police truly so desperate? Their situation must be graver than even I had predicted." He began to brazingly stride towards the tiny blonde as he spoke.
Jin
Oka was in a real to get out of there, was she that scared by that man? As they came to the entrence he noticed that a blonde woman in a uniform rushed....wait who is she?
He got distracted for a moment and noticed that Oka was heading to get they're stuff. "Okay then..." He picked up his stuff as he was still thinking about the strange woman he had seen.
Jeanne
"Oh yes a magic most foul and vile, it defiled me thoroughly." She said as she followed them in, Sakura being carried by Shirou. I've been teasing him the entire time, he must feel really frustrated right now~ She told Sakura mentally, while giving them a cute smile.
? ? ?
He kept dodging their pathetic attempts at hitting him. It's about tim I wrap things up, she's starting to predict my dodges. Indeed, the blonde had gotten ever closer to landing a hit, whilst he had continued doing the silly loking pirouettes, mocking them with ever move It's been a good warm up exercise, so let's see how you deal with actual attacks.
In the next move he rapidly dashed to the left, trying to strafe the blonde while closing in at the same time, then in an equally abrupt switch he went straight at her at blinding speed. Appearing before her as he perfomed a splendind technique, where he delivered a knee to her gut forcing her to keel over and then grabbed hold of her while spinning around only to toss her straight at the boy with full force at the end of the spin.
Jin
Oka was in a real to get out of there, was she that scared by that man? As they came to the entrence he noticed that a blonde woman in a uniform rushed....wait who is she?
He got distracted for a moment and noticed that Oka was heading to get they're stuff. "Okay then..." He picked up his stuff as he was still thinking about the strange woman he had seen.
Jeanne
"Oh yes a magic most foul and vile, it defiled me thoroughly." She said as she followed them in, Sakura being carried by Shirou. I've been teasing him the entire time, he must feel really frustrated right now~ She told Sakura mentally, while giving them a cute smile.
Paladin
The man let out a deep belly laugh. He had thought of the law like that not so long ago. It wasn't really mocking. Just a good-natured bit of laughter. Thankfully, it didn't take him long at all to settle down and start talking again.
"Oh, perhaps. I have helped break the laws in many cases where they were unjust, yet I have seen places where the law was used as it should be. Where all were equal under it and free to do as they please so long as they did not infringe upon the safety or freedom of others. There were more of the former than the latter, but I find it better to say that we are progressing towards the true purpose of the law with many footfalls rather than the law itself being corrupt. You can call it idealism, but I prefer to think of it as learning a bit from someone more skilled in the law then I am."
Lucy
She began to lead Mobb right into the other building at his suggestion. Her Messengers played with the mind of everyone who would have seen them, and they made their way to the roof pretty much undisturbed. And as they moved she just talked. "Well, that doesn't sound too bad. It probably depends on the favor, but if it's something you really want to do then I'll help you. Humans should help each other achieve our desires! Trying to get it all done by yourself can be kinda lonely, y'know?"
Oren
While Mordred went to go introduce herself to Stick Man Oren began to confide in Breeze. After all, it would be bad form to keep their girlfriend ignorant, right? So she leaned in close to the other girl;s ear and began to whisper, "I don't think Mordred likes me a lot. Okay, I was a little mean, but it was for a good cause. When Mordred said she wanted to make up and be friends she lied. So I didn't want to be friends with her or forgive her. Especially since I already tried. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to mess up!"
And there it was. Just a touch of panic and desperation. That she might have ruined everything and lost what she had actually enjoyed having. The Fae didn't cry, but hr eyes were just a smidgen wet.
? ? ?
The blonde went through a weird transformation as she crashed into the dying boy. Her new outfit was a lot more revealing to say the least, did she think she could sway him with that? Hah, what a silly notion.
She did however conjure eight swords and four drones from out of thin air. Surrender, me? A deathly silence fell on them. Then it happened, he released it, released all the power he had been supressing.
"Who do you think you're ordering around girl? I am William Hightower, the greatest mage on the continent!"
It was an explosion.
His suppressed aura sprung forward like a waterfall crashing on you. The initial shockwave hit them like a powerful gust of wind. The ground itself trembled and the sky darkened. Large circles with various occult symbols spun around the man. A pillar of pure darkness erupted from him, reaching the clouds high above. In the places closest to him, defying all common sense, small rocks had burst out from the ground and started to float upwards.
The power that he exuded was monstrous. No. It was godly.
Jeanne
Sakura was pretty excited by the looks of it, she snapped out of it though as she then introduce Liseth who appeared to be resting in the living room. Her sour mood had dissapeared completely now as she thought about Sakura's response.
Maybe you can think of something master. She suggested.
Jin
The pillar of darkness rising up behind them was ominous, He almost felt like rushing over but something was preventing him, telling him that it wasn't time yet. Yes, the time will come for you, but it isn't here and now.
"There's no need to worry, it's over now." He didn't really know how he knew, he just knew. He took Oka's hand as he reassured her. "Come let's go."
Jeanne
Jeanne turned to Shirou as she heard him complain, flashing him a cute innocent smile. No it couldn't be, the smile merely appeared to be innocent, it was the same she'd given him earlier when she made him drink.
"Master Sakura was telling me how she'd buy me a lifetime supply of alcohol for my services. Maybe I should get serious with my training of you?" She turned to Sakura once more. "Am I allowed to tie him up and whip him if he fails to meet my expectations? The blonde asked with a straight face and a serious tone.
Mordred
Five months later
And so a whole season passed. She juggled her time between assignments for the law enforcement and her training. Michael was not someone with a compelling enough personality that she would treat as a role model or her true teacher. More like a hired specialist for the sake of managing and supervising her training. If it wasn't for the company of Breeze she wouldn't even consider that option no matter what result it yielded. Paying bills of that shady dojo wasn't a sign of gratitude but more like financial compensation for services rendered.
As for her times with Elites, it seems like Noel transferred to the police force due to her personal preferences. Seeing that just doing assignments for Elites wouldn't help much her secret goal, she transfered to Enforcers herself hopefully to get some more say and influence in the law enforcement. After few months of largely impeccable service and impressive achievements like melting faces off skulls of troublemaking vampire trash by decking them right in the face (honestly, the rung bottom of the vampire scum was unimpressive enough that she really didn't bother to try hard. How pathetic they must have been considering her own track record, indeed.), she gained a rank of a junior officer within Enforcers which meant better pay and authority to order around even weaker people than herself. Well, she figured out that in a need she could always use help of Breeze if the situation demanded so as long as she didn't reveal anything confidential to her.
Sitting on a bench and waiting for her appointed meeting with Breeze while smoking cigarettes idly,
she noticed a familiar looking woman coming over and getting on nearby swings. Where she saw her last time? Oh, those three Stooges! But maybe that was just a coincidence. "Hey, you look familiar. I feel like I've saw you somewhere before..." She tried to strike a conversation while Breeze seemed to had been delayed by something.
Mordred
Yup, she was likely wrong. That other Sakura didn't seem so eccentric and hyperactive in her memory. As far as she remembered. That was ages ago. Months felt like years for her as if her time was compressed from, as she guessed, living too dangerous and intense life.
"Oh, hello, I'm Mordred, but just call me Mord" She shook the hand of the shorter girl. She didn't mind some company to pass the time.
Jeanne
Sakura called her bluff marvelously and responded with a veiled threat in turn after which her mood suddenly changed and the purple haired woman pulled her into a hug. Shirou was noticeably annoyed by their secret conversation. Not wanting to annoy him to much she responded to the threat with a serious look. "If you expect me to properly train him, I can't gurantee he'll be entirely unharmed."
She then answered Sakura's question. Do you really want me to join that badly master? You might not be able to keep up~" she teased the lust filled woman.
Henry Barthow
This was one of those days where Henry thought life was out to get him [more so than the usual, and more than his paranoia did to impale him in a cage of uselessness], and he did not think that simply because of a chain of unfortunate accidents. No, it wasn't just that Rick had barreled against him at the start of a late and rushed morning, nearly spilling all of the six lattes he was carrying over him, it wasn't that he had nearly gotten bodily intercepted by a truck swerved off-course in the process of a criminal disagreement that he then had to pay attention to, it wasn't that pipes were leaking down on his connections room [and though it was rationally very low priority, the unseen verisimilitude of his identity demanded his concern], and it wasn't that the fuel prices in his district were fluctuating wildly again.
It was that all of these things bore down on his mind [and his perfectly simulated biological seeming, which was yet constrained by human limits], and that he was currently racing in the direction of a terror alert with confirmed damages, where he knew his new partner had also been headed before she shut comms off. But where he was, racing through the streets deprived of more updated information, he could see thinning billows of smoke rise, and he did not plan on heading in blind. Or not knowing if she was currently engaged with the troublemakers.
"Vermillion, do you copy? What's going on at your end?" He barked at his earpiece mic.
Noel Vermillion
Noel had just finished dealing with the unconscious, barely alive idiot who had apparently tried to fight the monster and was undressing in the bathroom, putting on a fresh set of clothes, when she got a call from Detective Barthow.
Noel sighed audible as she heard what he was asking. "Nothing anymore..." She admitted sadly. "I was forced to retreat. Whomever he was, he's a monster. He's ridiculously powerful." Noel hadn't bothered to untransform, and had simply taken off what was easy for her to take off, leaving her floating off the ground in a police uniform with metal sticking out from the bottom of her pants.
"Heh, I look ridiculous." She said to herself, forgetting to mute the call.
Jeanne
She nodded at their acceptance of her words, Sakura then asked her once more as she opened the door. The blonde decided to answer her verbally in an act to confund Shirou. "I think I'll pass this time master."
She was about to leave the two of them alone when she remembered something. "Do you know where Rider might be?"
Mordred
Oh, wow, if that was Sakura that Mordred met back then, she clearly worked out a lot in those past 5 months. So yeah, that confirmed that it wasn't the case once more. After meeting so many strong people and being subjected to so many beatings from superior enemies, the Changeling developed a somewhat accurate skills at estimating her opponents and (hopefully) allies. And damn, it was obvious for her that she could have more raw strength than Breeze! Her arm ached from being shaken so vigorously, but she tried to not show it in the presence of another absurdly strong woman.
This Sakura looked on her with clear interest, though the Changeling had no clue what was the reason. "Uh, fine so far. Nothing unlucky happened to me so far even with my notoriously poor track record." Mordred sat again on the bench.
"I'm waiting for a certain someone, but I don't mind hanging out. I'm also sure the person I'm waiting for will appreciate your company." The Changeling tapped on the bench, gesturing to Sakura to sit down with her as well.
Noel Vermillion
Noel had just finished dealing with the unconscious, barely alive idiot who had apparently tried to fight the monster and was undressing in the bathroom, putting on a fresh set of clothes, when she got a call from Detective Barthow.
Noel sighed audible as she heard what he was asking. "Nothing anymore..." She admitted sadly. "I was forced to retreat. Whomever he was, he's a monster. He's ridiculously powerful." Noel hadn't bothered to untransform, and had simply taken off what was easy for her to take off, leaving her floating off the ground in a police uniform with metal sticking out from the bottom of her pants.
"Heh, I look ridiculous." She said to herself, forgetting to mute the call.
Henry Barthow
The detective smothered a 'damn' behind his teeth, smacking the wheel once with a clenched palm. He opened his mouth in time to say "Listen," but the radio chose that time to blare with information from their home frequency. The old speakers scratched in update, a conflicted voice confirming the disappearance of the perpetrator and pointing available units to disaster relief on the scene.
This city had enough madness and misery without walking disasters doing their best to be heard and seen. They had lost enough people to things like that already. Bystanders and people who made it their duty to help alike. Noel had made the right decision backing off when she did, but it raked at him. He was certain it tore even deeper at her, and he didn't need to understand her tone to come to that conclusion. She had struck him as lingering painfully on her mistakes, even if it did not affect her spirit to make up for them.
He lowered the radio volume to focus on her situation for now, and was confused from his lack of visual input over her words. "What do you mean? How hurt are you?" He asked, making a steep turn through an intersection before the lights went red. "I'll pick you up, so tell me your location."
Mordred
What she was made of, out of lead? Normal human body really shouldn't be that dense. It was good anyway that she was resigned about becoming the strongest Enforcer or any such idealistic bullcrap. She was content with her own pace during those 5 months. Some effects of her training were visible to the naked eye as she finally had noticeable muscle tone from all that general training. Boosting her own strength to supernatural levels was now less straining.
"Uh, well, in terms of pure strength, she is roughly equal to me, but her skill and potential means she is full of surprises. If I actually cared about fighting for the sake of fighting I would have been jealous."
Auspicious Breeze
Five Months Later
A lot of things happened! There was probably too much to talk about it all, but some of the important stuff needed to be said. Most of that time got spent learning how to fight even better than Auspicious Breeze already could. It took a lot of time, and there were a lot of sneak attacks and timed courses the former gladiator had to get through. She only had a little time to spend with her new friends, but she didn't let those cute girls down there! She made the time even if she had to punch her way to it, which she usually did. Michael was kinda strict about schedules, but punches grazing the face were apparently progress so that got her some time. Spending time with Mordred and Oren was fun.
She got faster that way. It was like her body could keep up with her sense of danger now, and she could keep up her speed for more than just a moment. It was really cool, but it left even Breeze kinda sweaty for a few moments before her collar cleaned her body up. Michael got his best hits in when she got distracted by her mistress' gift doing its job! Well, that and when he attacked her while she ate; that was almost mean but Breeze had experience fighting to keep people away from her food.
Sometimes she helped out with the monsters she knew Mordred was trying to go after. That part was pretty sad; they looked a lot like people. But as her mistress had always told her, sometimes monsters would pretend to be cute girls so you wouldn't want to hit them. They weren't really cute girls, though, so there wasn't any reason to let herself feel guilty about it. Thinking about her mistress just made Breeze upset though, so she got a little more angry than she meant to while they were fighting things like that. She paid for the broken window at least!
Now Auspicious Breeze was just running late for a meet up with Mordred, and the Exalt swallowed the bad things she wanted to say about the crowded streets of this crazy city. Making her late for a meeting with one of her girlfriends, could you believe it?! Ah well, there she was by some neat looking swings that Breeze couldn't help but run up and hop onto, planting her shorts-covered butt there to get comfy. The muscles in her arms flexed as she grabbed the chains.
"Hello! Talking about me behind my back~?" She settled down on one of the swings and smiled for her girlfriend. And the new girl with the pretty purple hair. "Oh, hi to you too! My name is Auspicious Breeze. You can just call me Breeze."
Auspicious Breeze
The brawler grinned at the new girl and waved back. At least, that's what she did before the bench broke for some reason. The little 'snap!' sound made Breeze snap to attention, and hop off the swing to land right next to this 'Sakura' girl and Mordred. Then she started fussing over the girl with purple hair. "You weren't hurt any, were you?" she asked with a little worried frown.
Of course the girl was heavier than she looked, you could tell that by the way the ground was sinking beneath her feet just a little. But that didn't explain anything! "Don't worry about it. Everything'll work out fine, okay?"
Mordred
There went the bench. The moment the changeling heard the bench snapping under Sakura's weight, she stood up quickly.
"At least the park didn't explode like the last time I was here..." Mordred commented. The grass barely grew back, the signs of the scorched crater got removed and all trees nearby were barely planted and quite short.
"Hey, Breeze, thanks for coming. I've got finally a day off, so don't worry about coming too late." Breeze indeed was a bit late, but that didn't matter as it was still quite early, before the noon. "I guess if the people from neighborhood come bother us about the bench I will just pay for that, Sakura."
Mordred
"Nah, it's okay." Mordred put her hand on Sakura's shoulder in a reassuring gesture. "I'm sure Breeze also wants you to stay with us, right?"
And probably she also wanted to hit on her if she could, knowing her. Well, it was safer to bet that Sakura didn't swing that way than not. 90 % chance of being right.
Auspicious Breeze
She blinked at the heavy girl's question, then smirked when her girlfriend saw right through Breeze's heart. "Heh, Mordred knows me too well. But why would we want a cutie like you to go away, anyway?"
The brawler looked to Mordred as if to go 'you're okay with it right?' but as an actual question instead of assuming things. Okay, and maybe her eyes were just a little bit puppy but she couldn't help that!
Noel blushed a bit in embarrassment. Shoot, I didn't mute that did I? She crouched on the ground and covered her head in shame. Well, she crouched. She was still floating slightly off the hospital bathroom's floor.
She recomposed herself and stood back upright, responding to Henry. "I'm not badly hurt, don't worry. Just a few bruises. I've already taken care of them." Noel looked down at the bulging metal along her legs, and with a snap decision, deftly cut the legs off her uniform, sitting down on the air as she did so.
"I'm at the hospital off 50th street." Noel told her partner. "I'll meet you outside shortly, I'll just finish getting dressed real quickly." Noel told him. She then did the same thing to the forearms of her shirt, and then put that on, buttoning it up quickly. Finally, she put on her hat, threw away the scraps, and walked(floated) towards the exit.
Mordred
"Ohh, t-thanks for the offer..." Mordred was still gasping for breath a bit as she really did feel her strength even if probably Sakura held back. I guess it was her unavoidable fate to meet crazily strong people. After she regained some composure, she continued. "But uh, I have money of my own, so why won't we share the cost in half? That would be more fair that way. I have a good job, so I'm not lacking money myself either."
Auspicious Breeze
Oh wow, this girl was strong! At least as strong as Breeze, and she could crack boulders with her knuckles even before she built up some steam! She gave Sakura a squeeze back with her own arms just to show she wasn't all fragile. She checked for muscles in the girl's arm. "Wow, you're pretty tough, too."
Oh, food. Food would be great. With a big smile she went to make her own suggestion. "Oh, I know! There's this place that... what was it... I think it had steak? I heard it had steak, anyway. Guh, I can't remember the name; anyway, that'd be great. Thank you!"
Noel blushed a bit in embarrassment. Shoot, I didn't mute that did I? She crouched on the ground and covered her head in shame. Well, she crouched. She was still floating slightly off the hospital bathroom's floor.
She recomposed herself and stood back upright, responding to Henry. "I'm not badly hurt, don't worry. Just a few bruises. I've already taken care of them." Noel looked down at the bulging metal along her legs, and with a snap decision, deftly cut the legs off her uniform, sitting down on the air as she did so.
"I'm at the hospital off 50th street." Noel told her partner. "I'll meet you outside shortly, I'll just finish getting dressed real quickly." Noel told him. She then did the same thing to the forearms of her shirt, and then put that on, buttoning it up quickly. Finally, she put on her hat, threw away the scraps, and walked(floated) towards the exit.
Henry Barthow
There wasn't a lot of confidence to be had in her tone in spite of the apparently neglegible quality of her injuries. Was it sympathy? Self-disillusion? If there was nothing you could do against overwhelming circumstances alien to yourself, there was nothing to be obtained from expending all your chances against them. The injustices and consequences which oppressed others for no fault of their own, which would do the same whether you stood in their way or not, were not any one person's fault to bear. Letting that judgement cripple your intentions was useless. There is always something beyond your interference. If you dash yourself against it, any contributions against phenomena within your power to change will never happen.
"I'll be with you in five," he said, before closing the call and tossing the earpiece next to the gear stick. The detective pushed on the pedal.
Even if others did not deserve to be victims, you had to survive to do something about them. It ground his gears, stretched the cables of his emotional understanding to the breaking point, but that was what the demon had concluded. There was no way he could endure without that consensus. Noel should know it too, and she was more powerful - physically, causally - in the traditional sense than him, even if destruction was not a charge either sought willingly.
Five minute and thirteen seconds after their exchange, he circled past the parking lot of the hospital to stop ahead of the main entrance, the weight of the car swinging with the sudden break. Henry opened his window to look around more freely, and after a moment caught sight of Noel. The armaments of her true form peeked clearly out of the adapted uniform.
"Hard-earned choice of clothing," He commented dryly as she floated to the car.
Henry Barthow
He quirked his lips up in a strangled smile at her humor. "Don't take me for a perv," he dissed. Henry had to admit it looked like a far more sensible choice of outfit, but he didn't have the chance to laugh about this prattle.
His forehead furrowed wearily at the promise of danger comparable to that mess they'd last seen months past. At least that one was acting in a contained manner (they had surmised, at least). He had the feeling this one wasn't. Not by the way they had attacked in broad daylight for everyone to see. That spoke of very intentional methods to him.
"Shit, alright. We need to get everyone up to speed," he said, rubbing his eyes. "They said on the comm the site of the attack is being taken of by the enforcers now, so we're headed back to the precinct instead."
Henry looked behind him with an arm hooked over his seat and to the side mirror before he sped out of where he'd parked, and fixed his eyes on the road. "I hope you're up for explaining the bastard's traits in detail."
Jin
The pillar of darkness rising up behind them was ominous, He almost felt like rushing over but something was preventing him, telling him that it wasn't time yet. Yes, the time will come for you, but it isn't here and now.
"There's no need to worry, it's over now." He didn't really know how he knew, he just knew. He took Oka's hand as he reassured her. "Come let's go."
Gadreel
Please do not assault anyone preemptively, Forest. It was all the request he could make of her at this juncture. He could only hope she heeded him.
He did not reach for his weapons, nearly obfuscated from view as they were by his garments, but did comply with placing his hands behind his head. The new officer on site was not intimidating in the slightest to him with her somewhat endearing voice and the tremendous difference in height between them, but bearing was unnecessary. Deceptive, even, for this exiled angel had witnessed horrors and wonders bundled into innocuous packages before.
Then Gadreel spoke, once acknowledged. "Good evening, officer. I will concede to this gentlemen's words; I had detected some manner of horror lurking within this hospital and was aiming to dispose of it. I was unaware that any public agency had... jurisdiction over such concerns. Such matters are typically private from whence I come."
Even after the rise of the Adversary it was considered... prudent to not alert the public to the everyday particulars. For morale purposes.
Forest
I'm being good, not hitting anyone, the vampire replied before she saw the tiny blond with the big gun.
At the Enforcer's command, Forest put her hands on her head and stepped away from her axe, which was already on the counter.
"Sorry, my weapon was already laying on the counter," Forest canted her head towards it, "If you like, I could put it on the floor. As to his story, well, we were at the mall today where that Eldridge horror was let loose. We didn't kill it all. Some of it got away and we followed it here. We're probably on the security footage if you'd like to check our story out. Despite how things look, we really don't want any trouble. What happened at the mall was bad enough. We really don't want it to happen here. However, if you want us to leave, then we'll leave."
Hell, that battle is probably viral now, Forest thought to Gadreel, meeting his eyes. I know some of the people who I blocked started recording stuff on their phone when they regained sense. Instead of doing the smart thing and run away. We might be able to use that to our advantage.
Gadreel
He nodded to Forest before moving to keep pace with this Officer Noel. Her query about his name did make him feel slightly abashed for not volunteering his name before her, but it was nothing to rile himself up over. Gadreel smiled to the... well he was apparently going to be meeting quite a few comely blondes in this city, wasn't he?
"I am known as Gadreel," he said with a small bow to accompany the introduction. "At your service in this matter, Officer. May I arm myself?"
He took the lead, following the miasma of foulness that disrupted the pattern of his essence at the edge of awareness. The presence of the monstrosity within.
Jin
He patted her head as he felt her squeeze his hans. They'd managed to get out of there, his girlfriend had taken his words seriously or was at least trying to do so. Ice cream would do then. Having something cool was never wrong.
"Lead the way then, my great ice cream saviour."
Archer
"Of course, I'll try not to" But you're too easy to tease . He watched with rapt interest as Rin went her way to get a book. What kind of book would she pick? Would it be new or old? Then there's genre too, the possibilities were quite huge. She eventuallly returned with a Western classic romance. He raised an eyebrow as he saw the the name of the author.
"Not Pride and Prejusdice I see." He replied while looking at her blushing face.
Minato
Five months later
The last five months in the city passed quite uneventful without any major incident that would shake up the Unchained's quiet life. That doesn't mean it passed without violence, but any blood shed by her was for her benefit and no incident spiralled out of control. She earned some money from assassination contracts, poisoned few potential competitors to make way for her new business and largely settled down, occassionally taking jobs under her old identity to keep Katase content.
Her pregnancy was already visible and according to the doctor she had twins, most likely girls. Minato made up a believable tale about her newly married husband tragically dying in WW2 like a true patriot, enlisting to the navy and drowning during a naval battle against US Navy. Her 'relative' (and oddly the true father of her children but that was a secret that couldn't leak out) was with her to help her with business.
It was lovely day of the spring and Minato fancied going for a walk with Katase. The sword was cleverly hidden in Katase's umbrella right now.
Mordred
"At least you are considerate enough to not land on the road. I swear, we waste so much money on repairing them whenever something troublesome happens." All those battle maniacs should just fight it out in woods or mountains than wherever they damn pleased. She read some reports during the last half of a year concerning stuff that happened before she enlisted, and she was glad some of perpetrators seemed to had been gone.
The changeling took the arm that Breeze offered. "Alright, let's go, then."
Auspicious Breeze
Breeze looked down at the holes in the ground and wondered how Sakura got that heavy. Then she shrugged, because it wasn't important. If it had something to with why she was that strong then as long as she was happy about it, who cared? She stretched her arms up over her head, letting her chest press out against her t-shirt, and grinned. "Ahh, I think I can almost smell it from here!"
She held her hand out for Mordred to take. She knew her girlfriend wasn't big on her being really cuddly out in the open like this, but hands were definitely okay.
Auspicious Breeze
"We're off!"
Breeze resisted the urge to skip along there since Mordred wanted to take it easy this time. She was just having so much fun already! But the walking was going to take time so she was gonna fill that space with talking.
"So, Sakura, I'm kinda curious: how'd you get so strong anyway? If you don't mind me asking, I mean."
Noel Vermillion
"Well, I'll do my best." Noel said without a huge amount of enthusiasm. She wasn't sure she'd be able to give more than his basic appearance, but she was the best lead they had, other than the unconscious man in the hospital. They'd need to send an officer over to bring him in for questioning once he was stabilized.
"We'll need to send some junior cop to collect the civilian I rescued for questioning once he's released from the hospital, too." Noel added, unsure of what to talk about. She was never good at small talking under pressure.
Gadreel
"I am receiving a better sense for what we are up against, now that we walk through these corridors." Gadreel checked a corner, and then gently tapped one of the walls. "They're... scattered. There's more than one of them in here. They're small, easily hidden. I cannot be sure what, however, they are. Or what they intend to do... or have done already."
His face was drawn with the gravity of the discovery as he led Noel in the direction of the largest concentration he could recognize.
Noel Vermillion
"Well, I'll do my best." Noel said without a huge amount of enthusiasm. She wasn't sure she'd be able to give more than his basic appearance, but she was the best lead they had, other than the unconscious man in the hospital. They'd need to send an officer over to bring him in for questioning once he was stabilized.
"We'll need to send some junior cop to collect the civilian I rescued for questioning once he's released from the hospital, too." Noel added, unsure of what to talk about. She was never good at small talking under pressure.
Henry Barthow
The detective's throat rumbled in acknowledgement. "He's lucky you were there," he said, wanting to defuse the trepidation in the air. And there was no lie in it. She'd rescued someone, she should be glad for it. She should remember that it meant something, even if she had been forced to retreat. "We'll arrange for that when we get to the station. It's going to get busy."
They made an easy turn to a side street and then entered a descending avenue to head the opposite direction. Settling at a moderately high speed though the bustling traffick lanes and keeping his eyes on the road, Henry turned the radio back on and set a connection to report to headquarters.
Jeanne
His resolve was admirable as he stood up once more, ready to get smacked down again. The saint gleefully smiled back at him as he asked her if she was ready once more.
"Mhm...You like it rough, how could I've forgotten? You're deliberately losing so that I'll scold you for not improving," A flag appeared in her hand for the first since they started training together. The blonde was slowly approaching him as she continued her rant. "What a pervert you are, I'll have to correct you~" Her voice came out teasingly as she appeared next to him, performing a sweeping blow to knock him over.
Jeanne
Her blow was dodged by her opponent taking a step back, from the way he was openly he clearly wasn't used to unusual weapons. Her smile just grew even bigger in response to the taunts. They didn't faze her the least, if anything she seemed happier. "A silly weapons you say...." Her balance shifted as she twisted her body, her grip on the flag was reversed while sliding down until she held it at the end.
"You're still within range!" In that single moment, her weapon flew towards shirou at an irregular angle. From the ground up, right in between his legs.
Jeanne
"And here I thought you enjoyed that...you might do better if weren't looking at my boobs all the time~" The blonde started teasing him again. Jeanne's flag then spun around knocking the sword away in a lazy looking way.
Then she was gone, appearing next to him, she immediately launched a flurry of blindingly fast blows, each coming form a different direction than the last.
Jin
His girlfriend hugged him from behind, seeking his comfort after the shocking event. "Of course I don't mind it, but it might be a bit hard walking up stairs like this." Not that there were any stairs in sight, he just wanted to say something to make things appear normal. He was pretty short on subject on though, hmm maybe...
"Are you gonna buy ice cream for Wormy too?"
Auspicious Breeze
The former gladiator made a little 'o' with her mouth, then nodded to Mordred. Nothing more needed to be said there, she could take a hint.
And so they went, and into the steak place they came, and a male server escorted them to a booth and asked them for their drinks, before leaving them to look at the menu.
She aimed to sit across from both of the cute girls she was with so she could look at them. At the same time. Breeze could be smart if she tried! Even if reading was coming along slowly. Then she smiled and asked a different question and hoped it wasn't a bad one, too."So, Sakura! How long have you been in the city for?"
Jeanne
Her final blow sent him flying across the yard, hitting a wall as he then slid dizzily towards the ground, his voice betraying his current condition. "Mhm...why are you so distracted today, you usually block the first one..." Jeanne walked closer to where he lay on the ground as she talked. She started poking his stomach with her flag when she reached him.
"Maybe if you had a bit more fire in you." She said with a devious smile. With that she moved it further down, pulled it back and hit him between his legs lightly.
Jeanne
Pretending to think about, the blonde adopted a thinking pose. "Trying to bribe me to get out early, how clever of you." She appeared to be struggling with the decision, both wanting the tea but also not wanting to let him go. In the end the tea won out. She helped him get up, pulling him into a hug with her breasts pressed against him. "I'll take the tea then, I like it almost as much as you, or maybe slightly more. The tea isn't a walking dissapointment~" She said while teasing him like usual.
Jeanne
Following the man as he strode into the kitchen and started making the tea, she couldn't help but sigh at the comment and he made. "Oh, and are you disappointed I'm not? I thought I knew you, ah to be betrayed by conniving men, what a fate. The Lord has surely abandoned me." She wailed in what was quite clearly faked agony.
"Who even wrote those books cause it sure wasn't me. It was you wasn't it? I'll make you repent heathen!" The blonde saint grabbed him and shook him comically.
Jin
Cookies huh, considering they were going for ice cream too it would be quite hard finding a place that sold all of that. Odder things did occur here, he had been here long enough to know that at least. "I'll see what they'll have, who knows what crazy tastes they might have. And don't worry about it, even I was shocked at how quickly that happened."
Jeanne
The shaking stopped the moment she heard him complain. She looked down with a sorrowful expression, a hint of regret present. "I'm sorry I got a bit carried away, sometimes I forget how strong I am."
She looked up and met his gaze a bit more hesitantly this time. "Do you think I'm a bad person Shirou?"
Jin
The blond man flinched at the mentione of that incident. Stopping in his track, his features darkned for a moment. "That was nothing compared to Ikaruga. People crawling around...begging for their lives as they were mercilessly executed. It was a massacre." He said darkly, finding the topic not entertaining in any way.
Jeanne
A giggle escaped her lips as she saw him adopt the exact same posture she had. Like it would work right after I did it. She smiled back at him, ready for the next round. "Oh....but what makes you think those were jokes?"
She moved closer to were he was handling the tea, admiring his skill in this field. "The tea you make is so delicous, how do you even manage it? How about this, if you make me the best you can I will try not to hit yout crotch tomorrow."
Auspicious Breeze
"Ehh? Well, I mean, the actual city of Ysyr is in the mountains too! It's a really nice place," Breeze said with a smile, ignoring how it was a nice place that mutated people who stayed there. "Are the buildings as big where you're from as they are here, Sakura? That's the part that's weird for me. And the cars..."
Definitely steak, though. She could actually read enough of the menu to pick what she wanted, sorta. Mostly. She had to squint a little.
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Gadreel
The angel took a deep breath to steady himself when he realized precisely where they were. It would not be the first time he had dealt with something that targeted the newly born or their mothers, both very vulnerable targets in their own right. Gadreel did not grow wroth easily in his old age, but this was one of those things that he could just never adjust to.
"I do not believe our target will reveal itself carelessly, Noel. If you see any ventilation or other openings in the walls then be careful; they may be lurking within the structure itself."
At this point it was too close for him to pinpoint precisely where to look... so they were going to have to be cautious.
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Muramasa Katase
Katase loved violence, thank you very much, Mitsuba. That understatement aside, it was a valid concern. A surprising one as well once her wielder brought it up. The demon's puppet frowned at the thought, and moved to stand by the side of her 'cousin.' She spared a smile for the girl with purple hair, bowing politely. "Good day to you."
-------------
Ron
The werewolf blinked as he was abruptly cock blocked by Shinobu, his sense for danger making the hair on the back of his neck stand on end. He backed up, away from the fight about to break out, just to be safe. And then Medaka was climbing all over him again. Ron just knew this would be a terrible idea if he left the two alone to fight it out and cause mayhem.
But, boobs. They were really nice boobs. "Uhh... in public?" he managed to ask, his brain still stuck on sex for the moment. "I mean, more public?"
the ward
When they stepped into the lair of the enemy, there was nothing that welcomed them with open hostility. It looked like that the staff tended to the place as usual, and there was a nurse nearby in the hall that looked concerned about their arrival. After all, everything seemed fine so why the member of law enforcement accompanied by that ridiculously tall man were doing here? Not all members of the staff had heard yet about their arrival.
Now that Gadreel was closer her, he had slightly better idea of the threat. Some of foul beings, whatever they were, seemed to be moving around, and if no one was alarmed, they must have been hiding well from the sight of mundane people. The atmosphere here was tense and bleak as if drained from vitality. Whatever thing was behind this, it operated certainly more subtle than their 'mother'.
The worried nurse approached the duo out of worry. "Umm, has anything bad happened? We don't see the law enforcement here much..."
Mordred
She found it something hard to believe that there could be someone immune to nuclear weapons. Maybe Sakura exaggarated some story from the past, after all she didn't tell how much time had passed. Or maybe they didn't scale up those bombs enough. Nah, they would just blow up themselves.
"I thought that giant monsters immune to nukes was something only in TV shows. There was this one where giant aliens shrugged off anti-matter bombs, but making giant cyborgs out of DNA of those giant aliens somehow worked out fine. But it's a fiction in my world. I don't think anything physical would survive a nuclear bomb back there." Then Mordred turned to Breeze with an explanation. "I'm not talking about some ordinary bomb here. Going into details would be too long, but the short story is that for a brief moment it creates a small Sun that incinerates a city and leaves cloud looking like a blooming mushroom. The land around the site of explosion gets poisoned for years and survivors die of sickness. Some people believe that it also mutates people in blatant way, but that's a myth."
Well, if they wanted to ever meet a mutant, they already met her. Though naturally she would rather be discrete about it. Wait a moment...
"But Breeze, you don't really look any different from us?"
Auspicious Breeze
"Black Beast...? Ohh, that sounds like some kind of Behemoth! Really big, scary things at the edge of the world," she said, grinning and shivering as she thought about it. "I could see one of those surviving that... or gods. I know gods where I come from just reform if you destroy their bodies. Demons, too!"
Not that she couldn't make it so they didn't come back, but she preferred not to. It seemed like going overboard. Except when they were really bad.
Then she was talking all about radiation and horrible things and poison and, huh actually this sounded pretty familiar. "Huh... why would anyway want to make something like that, anyway?" she asked, blinking and tilting her head to the side while looking at Mordred.
Who asked a really pointed question. Auspicious Breeze froze up, looking a little tense now. "Ah, that..."
She didn't want to talk about that. She didn't want to make her girlfriend sad by keeping it from her, but she didn't really know Sakura and it'd hurt pretty bad to show her anyway and there'd be lot of blood and they were about to eat. So it was better not to.
Minato
"Surely, it is. I can't wait to see them born already. Though I'm worried how raising two children will work out in this city even with help of others. This place is so much more violent than Japan..."
This sentiment wasn't entirely an act. While God Machine was insidious, it worked in rather subtle ways only using explosing violence when needed to succeed. But in this city supernaturals tend to use brutal methods for any reason and even without a reason. Well, Katase liked violence, but the Unchained worked out how to humor her without anything escalating.
"Oh, I forgot to introduce myself first. I'm Minato Mifune and this is my cousin Katase." She referred to her tall "relative". "She's kindly helping me running my business while I'm in this state."
Muramasa Katase
Katase loved violence, thank you very much, Mitsuba. That understatement aside, it was a valid concern. A surprising one as well once her wielder brought it up. The demon's puppet frowned at the thought, and moved to stand by the side of her 'cousin.' She spared a smile for the girl with purple hair, bowing politely. "Good day to you."
Jin
Nodding to Oka as she leaned against his shoulder they started moving. They eventually found their way to a place that sold ice cream, looking at all the flavour, there was really any crazy ones to his mild disappointment. He finally picked strawberry and Oka paid for it as she said she would. "So where are you gonna find cookies?" He said while licking on his cone.
Jeanne
"Whaaaaaa"
She felt embarrassed, why say such a thing. She met his gaze as she tried to make a devious but failed somewhat. " trying to seduce me with that? You don't really need that to change my world."
Jin
Nodding to Oka as she leaned against his shoulder they started moving. They eventually found their way to a place that sold ice cream, looking at all the flavour, there weren't really any crazy ones to his mild disappointment. He finally picked strawberry and Oka paid for it as she said she would. "So where are you gonna find cookies?" He said while licking on his cone.
Jeanne
She took the cup that was so gracoiusly offered her and had a sip of it, It tasted wonderfull but she didn't feel like showing it to him...then why? Why couldn't she stop drinking it? she had another sip and then another, until she had downed the entire mug. The vodka spread through her like a fire, a very pleasant fire. She came to herself suddenly, looking at the mug with a shocked expression.
Muramasa Katase
"Ugh, vampires," she said with a not entirely falsified expression of disgust on her puppet's face. "Dead things should remain in the ground where they belong."
Were they not aware of how rude it was to get back up after a sword as deadly as Muramasa had cut them? And where they hunted her own victims had less blood to spill on her blade! The chorus of damned souls within her steel agreed that vampires were truly disgraceful creatures.
After shaking her head and replacing the look with a slight smile, she continued. "As for me, I just went with whichever spot Minato-chan here suggested. She has a better head for real estate."
Minato
Crap, was that a well known rumor? A mistake on her part, but not something impossible to handwave. "Honestly, outsiders didn't visit the place where we used to live much because of its bad reputation and my husband died this year, so there was so much on my head. I just looked for a nice looking neighborhood in hopes it's as safe as it looked like."
Mordred
"That doesn't mean you should eat everything. It's not okay if you don't have any standards. You better listen to me and Sakura about cooking." Sakura seemed to speak with common sense at least about food. "I could then take you both one day to a place where they serve genuine kebab. I'll take a beef steak if they don't have lamb here."
Auspicious Breeze
"Eh? I've never gotten sick from food before. So, it's okay!" Breeze grinned at the thought while flexing the muscles in her arm as if to go 'look how tough I am!' "What doesn't kill you just makes you stronger. Eat enough spices and you'll train your stomach to survive anything!"
Except that 'coffee' stuff. Why would you want something you drink to be hot? The point of drinks is to be cold, so they shouldn't be hot. Good thing coffee apparently came in cold too.
People ate trees here? Wow; they must be really neat little trees. "Welllll, okay! I'll try it. But only because you're recommending it, Sakura."
Henry Barthow
The trip back hadn't been noteworthy except for its constraining silence, but for this time the detective couldn't claim any flaw of his in social engagement. Presumably. It wasn't as if they had any time to talk once they checked in and delivered their report, because they had to prepare to pass it along in the meeting that had been called in a rush as a reaction to the terrorist attack that had been at the head of his partner's information; due to its proximity and amount of active agents, it was decided the forces to deal with the emergent problem would meet at their police station. Which brought them here.
The makeshift conference room was bustling with impatient cops and enforcers alike, who didn't have enough chairs to go around. There were less of them than he thought there would be. But you couldn't walk around without foldable chairs clacking against each other, and in an affair like this there were no few people who wouldn't sit still even with the sargeant glaring daggers at them and a strike leader (for some reason in full assault armor) barking for order in court. Only a couple of seats (discounting those who were just standing against a wall or doorframe) had freedom to swing your arm, and one of them was occupied by an armored stone warrior with an eternal cold flame burning in his eyes. An elite. The other was his own, due to the chair on his left being passingly empty.
Mechanical buzzing made Henry lower his head, scampering his gaze from the returning Noel, who awkwardly tried to make her way to the third row of roughly even seats, while their superiors immediately went back to talking again. After assessing the damages and primary consequences of the initial attack, it had been her role to present her experience with the perp. With the danger of the assignment contextualized to the best of effects as possible, it was determined what each group's place in the coming operations would be; police would primarily handle investigation and PR, and the enforcers would be ready to respond to a follow-up attack while "developing countermeasures". That part was so padded and obvious Henry's stomach grew more bitter than the last coffee he'd had.
He glared at the drone that nearly gave him a haircut as precise roles began to be doled out to squads, and the duo of him and Vermillion was confirmed for interrogation of the other direct witness of the target's abilities.
the ward
There wasn't anything particularly wrong with the woman's body. No sign of a disease. Instead, she was in a state of sleep. If not his supernatural senses, he would feel nothing more than that. But, something was seeping out of the woman, unperceivable to the mundane perception. Something was feeding on her mind, draining enough to force her into slumber like state, but not killing her. The process left subtle traces, and if Gadreel focused enough, he could possibly trace the source of this phenomenon more accurately.
Jin
Ice cream.
"No."
She wanted it, his ice cream. There were many things he would give up for love but not this, not ice cream. He refused her with all his being, resisting even those accursed eyes that could bend any to their whims.
Jeanne
Blushing madly at how he was already holding out another mug, clearly expecting her to finish it that fast. She quickly snatched it from him completely unashamed of how it would look to him.
"Of course I did..."
placing the mug down, the blond pulled him towards her as she crashed her lips against his, giving him a quick kiss. "You're the best."
Minato
Too be honest she wouldn't want vampires burn in the lowest circle of Hell. If Satan existed, he didn't deserve their company.
"Ah, then maybe putting a sign telling vampires to keep out was redundant. It's so fortunate that vampires are not even people. Any insane vampire sympathiser can't accuse good citizens of hate speech. Those people are the worst. Only mentally unstable or mind controlled person would suffer a leech to live."
Auspicious Breeze
Ohh, this was her favorite part of restaurants in this city - there was always a high chance of cute girls taking the orders! Breeze grinned at their waitress. "I'll take the... fruit punch," she said with only one little glance down to the menu. It sounded good, really.
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Muramasa Katase
"Now now, let us be fair to them - the ones who aid in that process should get a clean demise for being reasonable," she said to the cherry tree girl with the gentlest smile, amused by her vicious enthusiasm.
The thought of her... offspring, being in such a safe place and away from danger was strangely comforting. Katase supposed it was better that the only thing that could potentially slay them was herself. Yes, that was certainly the reason why she liked the thought. Certainly.
-------------
Ron
That's not fair.
Some instinct nudged at him through his barely-controlled killing haze to just change back and relax. It must have been the months of having a pretty girl rub behind his ears like he was a domesticated puppy. Yet he still wanted to kill her (did he really?) so he should just bite her arm off since he had her by the leg and it'd be so easy!
Ron got about as far as digging his teeth into Shinobu's wrist and tasting her blood before he realized he only had a few seconds left before he lost control completely anyway. She hadn't done anything wrong enough to let himself lose control just to kill her. So, the werewolf swallowed his fury and hunger and a bit of blood and shed some mass from his body. He released Shinobu's leg as he was settling down onto four legs instead of two, and looked down at her from there.
He was 'just' a magnificently proportioned horse-sized wolf now, growling his frustration with the vampire rubbing at his ear.
Jeanne
She felt her heart pounding as he reciprocated the kiss. An arm was wrapped around her waist, she hoped for more as they kept kissing. When she finally pulled away, it slid down to her butt. She looked up at him with a hint of understanding in her gaze.
"More...I want more." Her head tilted slightly to the said before she continued. " All the times you trailed behind me, you were watching my butt weren't you?" Her tone was more curious than reprimanding.
Jeanne
The hands were caressing her butt thouroghly, making her feel hot all over, she squirmed against his chest as he kissed her once more. The comment he made about being man made her giggle at the silliness of it. She pushed away slightly, giving him an amused look "If that was true you'd have jumped me long ago. Is it better than hers?" Thinking about Sakura, her smile got more mischievous.
Sakura, you should see what your husband doing, he's groping my butt like a starved wolf."
Noel Vermillion
The short blond woman wasn't pleased that she'd been assigned to interrogate the man she'd saved. The first problem was a very simple one. She sucked at interrogating people. She was probably among the worst on the entire force. And as such, she hated doing it. It was no fun at all trying to be the mean cop and drag information out of people.
In her opinion, they should just hire some professional interrogators.
Secondly, she honestly didn't want to be reminded of what she felt was a complete failure on her part by seeing the civilian who was now probably in the ICU again.
Noel scrunched up as she floated out of the room, following about a foot behind Tar, floating above everyone as to not crowd the building even further.
Muramasa Katase
Her, a good person? Katase must be picking up the art of deception from her current wielder quite well to give that impression. Then again, it could just be that her honest opinion was able to play on this girl's biases. Oh well, the reasoning mattered not. "I must wonder how it stays so... safe, here. Would you happen to know?" her puppet asked the Sakura human. "Nothing a duo of girls needs to worry about, is it?"
She did hope the answer was 'no,' however. The everyday peace was only just tolerable enough because of her current wielder's clandestine murders for hire, and a little more excitement would do the demon blade some good.
Jin
"A no is a no." His stern expession not wavering for a second. "There a comes a time, a time when you have to make a choice. A choice that will matter more than anything in your entire life. That time isn't today."
With that he continued licking his own ice cream now that his victory was assured.
Auspicious Breeze
"Ahhh, Mordred is too cool to be afraid of that sort of thing!" Breeze was pretty confident about that, or else her girlfriend would never try to spare against her hand to hand! "So of course you'll do it, right Mordred?"
Mordred
Uhhh, the peer pressure... Screw looking cool and not selfish, then, maybe at least she would get something out of that on unlikely chance that she would best them both. "Then, can you promise to me you won't flirt with any other girl for whole day?" Well, more like not flirting with Oren, but she couldn't just state it directly.
She didn't trust Oren and swore she that she would find evidence for her villainy and land her in a prison, but increasingly her duties as an Enforcer took more and more time. Maybe she should have hired a PI to help her with such a thing.
Jeanne
"Are you sure you want to go there? That's the wrong hole." She told him not sounding entirely sure about the prospect of having to take it up there. "Are you saying you do Sakura there, it's very sinful. I think I need to punish you in that case." With that she pushed him back on the table.
Auspicious Breeze
"Hmm... okaaaaay," she said to Mordred with a knowing sort of look. Those were the sorta stakes that meant they needed to have a talk later. She didn't want to make any girls upset if she could help it, so if there was a problem she needed to deal with that! But later. Right now she had a bet to win.
The huge portions of food came out, and the former gladiator licked her lips at the sight of it all. "Is this the whole thing, or is there more to it?" Breeze asked the purple-haired girl as she reached for the bread. She was ready to dive right into this monster bowl!
Mordred
Mord's eye started twitching from the sheer absurdity of the situation she ended up in. She could even get hospitalized if she continued. But then, fuck that, it couldn't be possibly worse than broken ribs.
She wasn't willing to wait for those two wackos and started devouring her food like a gluttonous monster. Maybe if it didn't kill then the order would make her stronger!
Muramasa Katase
"Well, you know I will do my best to aid you financially, cousin. But as for the birth..." Katase relieved some tension with an exaggerated creepy little laugh with a hand over her mouth, the kind you use when you're teasing someone close. Or so the television had shown her. "Good luck with that one, Minato-chan~."
Minato
Being an Unchained meant that she could express herself however she wished to, so she continued talking with Sakura even if Katase clutching her umbrella made her a bit wary of how the situation would turn out. Minato was even more paranoid than Katase, but could mask it far better. This woman could have some relation to whoever was responsible for keeping local streets clean, but even if she was curious about it, she shouldn't be hasty in solving the mystery.
"It's my first time when I'm expecting children as well, so that's really new experience for me. But I feel anxious about the childbirth though, especially when I have to birth two girls. Oh, and all those expenses, I heard that some stores charge more for products for small children than it's fair. How shameless." Minato shook her head in disapproval. Expecting children wasn't all sunshine and rainbows.
Noel Vermillion
The short blond woman wasn't pleased that she'd been assigned to interrogate the man she'd saved. The first problem was a very simple one. She sucked at interrogating people. She was probably among the worst on the entire force. And as such, she hated doing it. It was no fun at all trying to be the mean cop and drag information out of people.
In her opinion, they should just hire some professional interrogators.
Secondly, she honestly didn't want to be reminded of what she felt was a complete failure on her part by seeing the civilian who was now probably in the ICU again.
Noel scrunched up as she floated out of the room, following about a foot behind Tar, floating above everyone as to not crowd the building even further.
Henry Barthow
Where did the people in charge get off ordering him to go interrogate a half-dead victim at the hospital anyways? It might've called for a gentler hand than his, whose gruffiness would be testified on by everyone who knew him. But his partner - he still had to make an effort to tell that to himself - had brought him in to begin with after saving his life. Henry would be dishonest to say he wasn't expecting it, but it didn't seem like it was going to help. The man was there, and Noel was there, and the former had, by Henry's reckoning, gotten massacred in view of the latter. What else did the brass hope to hear?
Granted -though dubiously-, Vermillion had perhaps not the most acute mind or reliable account in the block, but she wasn't incompetent, and the alternative wasn't in the best of shapes. So that was their quarry, annoying quest that required them to drive back and forth like factory pumps. It was what he had a car for, but he really didn't like driving so much as he was good at it, and being well-embedded in his muscle memory it had that mysterious effect of casually anchoring the conscious effects of his stress while he was engaged in it (without a cybernetic nightmare chasing his cell or the hounding of similar incidents).
And being busy meant things were worse than they could have been. That they weren't as bad as they had the potential to be yet, he thought as they closed in on their location, was a minor consolation.
The demon didn't see the sterile order and sorting of hospitals with welcoming eyes; the immaculate halls in the depths of his mechanical mind were empty of care, and the methodical operations that came with the white coats detached of any sentiment, human faces working with the systems of humanity to harvest it, bereft of heart. Beyond that, hospitals were vulnerable places to be. It was all too easy to be caught defenseless or held up in the system, for someone to take advantage of the busy minds of the staff and the complicated structure of the practice to get rid of inconveniences.
Henry appreciated the hospitals of the Nexus for their lax registration and record-keeping bar the specification of patients. Almost as much as he appreciated that the sargeant had taken care of talking to the hospital about their coming, and they didn't face many obstacles on the way to the man. Time was a different matter, but at least it wasn't waiting for a consultation. He found he got hungry during those occasions. He was starting to need to bite into something now, actually. Something with actual nutrients.
After the nurse left them with the typical warnings, he opened the door to the intensive care room where they'd find the person they wanted. "Ladies first," he said to Noel.
Mordred
Oh, yeah, if she did it too fast, maybe she would lose prematurely? She should calm down, and stall a little for time. "Oh, right, maybe I should drink my tea first, then." Her stomach won't burst open if some of food gets already through by the time she finishes the drink.
Auspicious Breeze
Breeze was just past halfway through the bowl and most of the way through her bread by the time Sakura finished. It was all about pacing! By eating at a quick but steady rate the Solar could keep her body from registering that she'd had too much food and keep enjoying more of it. Not that half a bowl was enough to fill this big girl up!
Mordred looked like she was doing pretty good too! She was curious what'd happen if they all won. She'd owe Sakura a favor, those two would have to feed her dessert, and ... bleh, she wouldn't be able to flirt with cute girls the rest of the day if Mordred won! Breeze picked up the pace a bit.
Malcolm
Malcolm groaned as he dozed under the effects of the morphine. It wasn't much, but the medicine and magic had long since brought him back to near consciousness. Whoever wrote his name in, it sure was nice to have the VIP treatment. He got a lollipop at least, so he wasn't going to complain. As long as he didn't move and resisted his urge to stretch, he shouldn't be yelling his lungs out any time soon.
Suddenly, he heard the door creak open. Good grief, a visit already? Just as he was about to doze off, talk about timing. Grinning, the poor Malcolm resigned himself and sighed. This was going to be a long day.
"Well butter my butt and call me biscuit, mister officer here's bringing me a flower. Didn't have to, but thanks anyway." He said sarcastically, despite pretty much his entire lower body going please let me die. At least he could still talk and had enough oxygen in his brain to try to be witty.
With a friendly look he moved his hand slightly, the most he could manage at the moment, and waved at the girl from earlier.
"Yo. Sorry about the mess, I make a pitiful looking patient, don't I? Good grief, being so pathetic in front of a charming darling like you, I've really done it now." Suddenly, almost as if he changed entirely, his tone turned much more serious.
"I take you're not here just to give me your condolences, right?"
Jin
No. Not my precious. His precious. Ic cream was stolen from him by the forces of evil. Oh what a cruel world.
"Blurgh." He pulled away from Oka as she shoved it back in his mouth."I just wanted some strawberry...you didn't even give me some of yours. This is the worst day of my life."
Jeanne
"It looks like I'll have to teach you not to be so sinful Shirou. You have to repent, understand?" She glared at him suspiciosuly. "I see. You have been possesed by a nefarious demon. I must exorcise you before it's too late." She grabbed hold of his head shaked it slightly. "In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit; begone from this world foul demon."
Jin
No. Not my precious. His precious. Ic cream was stolen from him by the forces of evil. Oh what a cruel world.
"Blurgh." He pulled away from Oka as she shoved it back in his mouth."I just wanted some strawberry...you didn't even give me some of yours. This is the worst day of my life."
Jeanne
"It looks like I'll have to teach you not to be so sinful Shirou. You have to repent, understand?" She glared at him suspiciosuly. "I see. You have been possesed by a nefarious demon. I must exorcise you before it's too late." She grabbed hold of his head shaked it slightly. "In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit; begone from this world foul demon."
Lone Wanderer:
Jeremy became increasingly tensed as time wore on. This man was proving to be rather unsavory...
And then the green-haired newcomer was behind him faster than he could blink. That was not good - the back should never be facing a potential threat. Jeremy quickly turned, perhaps too quickly for his liking. Act casual yet stern. "Now, that's a little personal thing to ask someone you just met." He said guardedly.
Shinobu
He pushed her against the wall even harder pressing his face against hers. The sounds from outside had become even louder but the vampie ignored it as she was too occupied at the moment. Not that she wanted to go outside, with how much fun she was having. Ron on the other hand seemed to not be able to make his mind up on how he wanted to do it. The vampire reached down and grabbed hold of his hard length, her fingers weren't even able to meet around it as she begun stroking him slowly.
"Will you hurry up a bit, I already told you do it."
Mordred
For the love of, if it was Hetap or Nuka Cola Quantum, she would deck Sakura right into her face no matter what. But she couldn't care less about rolls.
"Oh, I guess stolen food doesn't count against me, right, Breeze?" It wasn't her fault that this oaf knew no restraint.
Mordred
For the love of, if it was Hetap or Nuka Cola Quantum, she would deck Sakura right into her face no matter what. But she couldn't care less about rolls.
"Oh, I guess stolen food doesn't count against me, right, Breeze?" It wasn't her fault that this oaf knew no restraint.
Auspicious Breeze
"... right."
Something about seeing someone else steal food lit a fire under the Solar's butt, though. Well not really a fire but it meant she was eating a lot faster! Back before she had real people skin Breeze sometimes had to deal with other gladiators trying to steal her rations; her mistress had tried to get her to eat slower and enjoy her food more, but Breeze's natural speed was 'gobble it up!' The bowl and bread were soon gone, and she was letting out a sigh and patting her belly.
Boss
Before long, a finely tailored man dressed in formal business attire walked towards the table. It looked he had arrived on time, or perhaps he had been here all along. Shining leather boots gleamed along with his sunglasses, and his fierce red hair had just been dressed for the occasion, cropped back in a fashionable manner with the finest hair gel available.
Most striking of all was the Gucci wristwatch he carried on his left hand, fine silver with an antique feel to it. Perhaps it was the ensemble of his refined features and calm, fierce gait that gave the man an alluring feel. Even if he wasn't someone important, it didn't mean he wouldn't dress importantly. Especially not for this occasion.
"Good afternoon Mrs. Matou." He said with a warm smile, letting his freckles pop out from his dimples. Much like a proper businessman, he held out his hand and shook hers in a professional, robust manner, yet it was not without refinement.
Auspicious Breeze
"Uwaaahh..."
That was a big piece of meat. What part of the cow was that even from?! Or maybe a better question was what part of the cow wasn't it from? Wow. Just, wow. Her eyes were pretty big at the sight, and suddenly Breeze knew why Sakura was so confident about winning. Still, this Solar wasn't going to just give up.
So she set on her game face and started to dig in. Mashed potatoes first. Was she even going to have room to enjoy dessert fed to her by two cuties if she did win this? I hope so.
Mordred
She got entangled with another monster, except that instead of getting crushed or beaten up she was now forced to commit grave crimes against her own stomach. She had always some amaranthines and bloodapples to heal up some damage, but that wouldn't help her keeping the food. She did have some petals of tiger mallow, but she had to be careful not to overdo or she would feel very drained.
The waitress brought finally her tea, and Mord thought of dropping a small portion of tiger mallow into the cup. If stealing food wasn't condemned, then maybe she would help her body cope better with such enormous meal. While those two would be preoccupied with eating, she would add tiger mallow into her own drink.
Petra
"I don't have anything like a gun, but I can always kick one of them if I have chance. I'm not too shabby at self-defense, so I'll have a go at them if they can't shoot me." She said, underplaying her abilities. She had to keep this charade, so it was natural for her to hold back against those two thieves.
Boss
Straight to the point, he liked that. Nodding, he followed her lead and sat down.
"Have you pondered on my request?" He asked simply, not willing to waste any more words on this than it was necessary.
Vanguard
Truthfully, Vanguard couldn't find rest. It was to be expected, even now he still hadn't reached that inner peace required to slumber. Perhaps he was afraid of the nightmares that would come when he closed his eyes, or even more horrifying, that he would find himself sealed in that mountain once more when he opened them. That all of this, these months spent here, were nothing but a dream, an hallucination meant to deceive him.
Hmph, how foolish. Even now it didn't matter. Whether the world was real or not, whether he was real or not, even as a memory or a figment he still existed. He could see, he could touch this bed, and to his mind it was real. If he couldn't see it it didn't exist, if he couldn't understand it it was obsolete. The truth of this world was only limited to himself, because it was the only thing he still had.
If it didn't have a meaning, he'd make one up. Until the heavens would be within reach, he could wait a little longer.
Barely an hour passed and the machine rose from the bed, not even bothering to look at Erica, as if it was but a pebble in the side of his road. He reached the kitchen and opened the refrigerator, and what he saw he did not like.
"What is this?" He asked irritably.
Jin
"Mine."
He snatched the stack of ice cream away the moment it was offered to him. Now he finally had some more, ice cream was the greatest and nothing could ruin it. Nothing at all. His girlfriend however needed to be taught a lesson very badly. You don't mess with the ice cream. Or else face the freezing. "i'm pretty sure you just took it... I see. It all makes sense now. Haunter learned from you."
He discarded the half finished ice cream, forgotten in the face of more important matters. Jin then moved closer to her and grabbed hold of her arms while glaring into her eyes. "It seems like I will to bring this little thief in.
Vanguard
A hateful flash flickered in his eyes, and for a second the air turned very cold. The flames in his eyes grew colder, looking down on her like a dragon might look down on an insect. A hand gripped on her face and brought it closer to him with the threat of shattering it with incredible force. It was doom.
"Are you under the impression that I care?" He said with dismissal before releasing her from his vicious grip.
His tone was completely detached, without a shred of care or pity, but his voice turned stern and kinder. He wanted to make something great, something beautiful. To mold her into something she could be proud of, that was what he had promised her.
He would give her a soul, even if he needed to rip her head off and drag her by the hair to do so. So he turned sideways and flicked her forehead with a mighty finger filled with power.
"Know your place! If I have decided to do this it is because I believe you are worth the time. You do not need nutrition, yet you still eat. In that case you have a duty to respect food, more than anyone else. Do not forget that someone somewhere is starving right now, lacking these nutriments you deem meaningless. You will eat with dignity, or I will make sure you never eat again."
Boss
After a moment, the waiter arrived to take their orders.
Tomato Mussels Gray Pinot
"I would have Cozze al Pomodoro, paired with a Pinot Grigio." He asked respectfully.
Boss
Boss smiled at the girl. He'd let her play a bit longer, as long as it suited his needs.
"I am glad you asked. The truth is, I am here to make a friend." He said confidently before handing her an envelope. "Friends should help one another, right?"
Inside was a professional cover letter describing his skills. Presumably he had worked as an information agent for some time, and knew his way around building security and breaking it. He could gather things that were hard to find, and knew his way around places that were hard to get around. No matter how you looked at it, such an ally was indeed useful.
Boss
"I'd like to make a deal. I am sure someone as powerful as you must have rivals here and there. Wouldn't you want to prove my claim in a more direct manner?"
Boss
"Well, perhaps. But you also need to make sure someone else doesn't hire this intelligence expert, no?"
Boss
Boss raised an eyebrow at the japanese sourly. He knew it wouldn't be easy, but her attitude was starting to become tiresome.
"No, but I can keep others from gathering intelligence on you. Do you seriously expect me to just yell out loud the details? Test me if you have to, and we will see from there. I have nothing else to say to you."
Jin
No resistance huh? That just makes it boring. He let go of her arms as she submitted to his amazingness. "On another thought all the cells are full at the moment so unfortunately I can't bring you in. But beware, Justice cannot be evaded forever!" There was one thing she seemed to have forgotten though, while they did get their ice cream. Someone else was left with nothing. "Weren't you going to get cookies for Wormy, he looks hungry." Indeed, the pokémon was currently licking at the ice cream he had discarded, not getting much out of it as it melted faster than he could lick.
Mordred
Sakura really needed to get humbled. Maybe Mordred couldn't win against Sakura, but she could at least set up her to lose against Breeze. She planned to use one of her Contracts to help Breeze win. It would bolster her efforts and even potentially double her chances for victory. The better one individual was at something, the better the outcome of the Contract was, so it was obvious that she should aid her girlfriend instead of using it on herself.
Mordred continued eating at slower pace, not using her Goblin Fruit just yet. She wanted to see first if her blessing really gave enough edge to Breeze.
Auspicious Breeze
She was about halfway done. The Chosen's belly was starting to object a bit. It was fine, though; pain and discomfort were old friends to Breeze! So she ate through that pain, picking up her pace so her body couldn't register the feeling of getting fuller fast enough to try to stop her. Soon! Soon she would win the bet!Except she wouldn't have any room for dessert leftover. How would she enjoy it?
No! No doubts! She would win! She could just call in the debt later, right?
Auspicious Breeze
With a renewed vigor, her stomach settling enough that she didn't feel like she had to force herself so hard to finish, Breeze finally approached the end. The mashed potatoes were gone, and only a few forkfuls of steak were left to take down. She washed what she'd eaten down with more of that fruit punch stuff, and sighed. "Alright. Here's the last of it...!"
Munch. Munch. Swallow. Munch. Swallow.
"Ahh!" She put her fork down and grinned. "I did it!"
Auspicious Breeze
She felt so proud of herself. A cute girl was even praising her for it all! This was such a lovely - hwuh?
The chosen of the sun looked to Sakura, and blinked. "Round... two? Is round two dessert? That was the actual meal, right? Right?" Then she shook her head firmly and put on a serious face even as her stomach screamed at her. "Nevermind, bring it on!"
Hospit-Noel
Noel, to her credit, managed to avoid taking a step back from the large and imposing man. It was a difficult thing for her to do. He was tall and bulky and evil looking giant of a man. She managed to nod and smile, before turning her attention to Forest.
"Your car will be fine. You can either have someone come to collect it or we'll have someone tow it in the morning, at which point you'll just have to pay a small fee for the towing and its yours again." Noel recited these words with a concentrating look on her face, as if she was having trouble remembering the entire thing.
Yes! She smiled as she cheered internally, happy she'd remembered her entire spiel.
Noel then pulled out another pair of handcuffs and slapped then onto Forest's wrists. They were specially enchanted by their esteemed weapon-smith so they wouldn't be just for show against the myriad of supernaturals the force dealt with.
Afterwords, Noel simply said "Follow me." As she walked to her squad car, making sure to walk next to them so they didn't try anything.
Jin
Poffins? He almost wanted to ask but stopped himself at the last second. It's one of those things again. Probably some pokefod made of questionable ingredients. He gave her a lazy nod in response. "Sure poffins, of course it's poffins. How could I forget?" He kept nodding for emphasis.
Malcolm
With such a vivid description one had to wonder if he wasn't his secret lover or something. Not that he'd judge.
"Welllll, I'm no expert in this, but here's my two cents worth. He hits hard, sure, but pretty much anything can hit hard nowdays. If it was just that, I could've dealt with him with a beach ball. The real kicker's his speed, I wasn't sure if it was just that or if he has some sort of teleportation ability. But if it was the latter, he wouldn't have needed to break my rope now would he? This means that we're dealing with the former. Considering he avoided a point black shot from yours truly while dodging a barrage from miss cupcake here, I say you have no chance. Of course, feel free to prove me wrong, I'm rootin' for ya."
Shinobu
The blond vampire made no attempts to hide that she was enjoying the current situation, teasing the poor man as she squished her boobs against him.
"That may be useful some time. Okay.... I will give you the clothes if you answer a question of mine." She was grinning now, getting closer to enjoyment she was seeking. "Would you do it again?"
Auspicious Breeze
She shook her arm out a few times first, then placed it down on the table and took hold of Sakura's hand real tight. She planted her feet into the ground and her tush in her seat, and so even an opponent of superior strength would struggle with her for a moment or two! Some of that meal she'd been eating was even getting burned off from this. Breeze nodded to her. "May the strongest girl win! On three."
Three was long enough for her to channel all the essence she could muster toward the right muscles to reach her full strength, something her body could withstand because of her great hardships and difficult training! The Solar could easily knock over one of those car things outside pushing herself to the limit like this.
Rider
Rider's attack seemed to bring her master the time she needed to react, and the man soon disappeared, dragged inside Sakura's shadow. For a moment, Rider was a little disappointed, worried that Sakura would deny her the chance to have some fun. She was, after all, rather sexually frustrated, thanks to Sakura and Shirou excluding her from their sexual games, and the Nexus seemed unfortunately low on people willing to cater to Rider's tastes.
Fortunately, though, Sakura soon confirmed Rider's wish, and the servant smiled sadistically at Sakura's words, her excitement growing at the thought of having some fun with their unfortunate captive. Her panties began to dampen slightly at the thought.
"Of course not", Rider responded, a slight hint of disappointment on top of her obvious excitement. "When we do return home, though, I will make sure he is suitably punished for his mistake. I assure you that I will make him tell you everything."
Still, as much as Rider wanted to get down to business, she also hadn't spent enough time with her master recently, and she knew Sakura could hold the man prisoner indefinitely inside her shadow dimension, so there was no rush to get home. So, for now, she and Sakura could enjoy the day, assuming her master still wanted to.
"Anyway", she added, cheerfully, "would you like to go somewhere first? That man's punishment can wait."
Jin
When they'd come back to the apartment she had immediately ran off to the kitchen in order to make those Poffins whatever. He followed her at a more controlled pace and saw that she had already thrown an apron on. He stood back and watched as she mixed an ungodly mix of ingredients. He left the kitchen quickly at that not wanting to bear witness to more witchcraft.
Oka came out a a few moment later and hugged him. "Ok, I just hope you didn't mix up the sugar for salt. You looked like you were in a real hurry there."
Medaka
A thought popped into Medaka's head as she watched Ron and Shinobu interact. Ron has a girlfriend. She had thought about it before but somehow she forgot in the heat of the moment. Her "learning" had gotten out of hand.
The young vampire walked over to Ron. She wrapped her self around his arm, her massive boobs encapsulating his arms. "Perhaps its not very wise to stay with a girl that threatens to shoot you." Medaka commented. Then, she leaned in and whispered in his ear. "Im sorry. I got carried away. But it was fun right? She added, somewhat curious as to his response.
Shinobu
A giggle escaped the blonde as she saw what her prodigy was up too. It was sudden but she seemed genuinly amused by it. "Are you afraid something is going to happen to these?" A hand slid down his chest down to his groin as the blonde vampire grabbed hold of his balls. She made sure to only apply gentle pressure as she rolled them around in her hand. She looked at Medaka while her hand continued it's motion. "Maybe he enjoys the treatment. Some people do."
HospitNoel
Noel sighed. "Unfortunately, the police force here is just like any other. Some good, some bad, some competent, some incompetent."
She then opened the door to the squad car, and motioned for them to get in the back.
Petra
"Confiscating from dealers is a given, I don't think I should be present when you are collecting donations. I'm a law enforcer after all, not a volunteer for such enterprises." In a veiled language, she suggested that he should illegally gather whatever arms he could supply without her direct presence and involvement. "When and where we should meet for the start of the operation?"
Mordred
Breeze got crushed by her opponent. Mordred wondered if she'd make any difference if she could still use her Contacts against Sakura. The changeling sighed audibly as her chance to get Sakura pursue one of bounties for a discount went with a wind. But maybe she could still pursue someone for the full bounty.
"Say, are you interested in bounty hunting after all? That way you could make more money with your strength than what you already earn." Would she still be interested?
Auspicious Breeze
What.
Wow. Okay, that was something. Her arm was stinging a bit, and her hand felt like it had been kinda crushed. Breeze winced at her own defeat after staring at her hand a bit. "I uh... I don't normally have this problem," she told them sheepishly while rubbing the back of her head with the other hand. "You're really really strong, Sakura! I guess that means you win."
She'd been looking forward to that dessert, too. She tried not to slump over it.
Oren
A fierce growl escaped the Lycan as the change in style unbalanced her for a moment, and she had a few shallow cuts to show for it. Backpedaling, Oren retreated to the edge of the roof before falling right off. She slammed a hand into the building to form a handhold before swinging herself straight through a window.
Glass shattered as she hurtled herself through the abandoned house, and using her copied movement techniques to their maximum capacity as she ran through the building. The other girl had to give up eventually, right?
IRON=SAKURA
Sakura shook her hand off and smiled sheepishly. "Ummmm..." Words seemed to be escaping her at this moment. Her smile grew bigger and more sheepish. "Uh, yeah. Sorry about that. I got too into it, and it looks like I may have hurt you a bit." Sakura looked sad as she said these words. "I can still feed you the dessert, if you want. As an apology, you know."
She was feeling too bad about what she'd done to really consider Mordred's offer. In fact, it seemed like she'd barely noticed it, she was fretting so much about what she'd done.
Forest
Forest's blank poker face twitched as Gadreel had to look down at Vermilion and then his less than graceful entrance into the vehicle. Then she couldn't help the chuckle that escaped from her lips as she effortlessly ducked in the car. Having her hands bound really didn't hinder her that much, and even though the back seat wasn't exactly spacious, she could comfortably curl up.
You know, if you're that cramped, you could turn side ways and I could sit in your lap, Forest sent, grinning.
Aloud she said, "You and cars really don't mix, do they? At least not smaller cars because you're just so . . . big."
Petra
Petra whistled, impressed by what he managed to acquire. The gift was one of those full auto shotguns that normally were fired in semi-auto mode as they really required great strength to fully utilize them. Well, she'd stick to lower setting just to not blow up her cover. Anyway, this wasn't a cheap weapon.
"You know how to treat a lady well. Blackmailed an arms dealer for that?" The woman commented on the gift. Folks in the force would be both jealous about her gift and grateful if she redistributed the rest of equipment to them. "You're really resourceful about this considering you work mostly alone, as you claim. I used to be in a gang when I was a teenager, so I can tell. Maybe if the police didn't have open recruitment I would help you out."
IRON=SAKURA
Sakura shook her hand off and smiled sheepishly. "Ummmm..." Words seemed to be escaping her at this moment. Her smile grew bigger and more sheepish. "Uh, yeah. Sorry about that. I got too into it, and it looks like I may have hurt you a bit." Sakura looked sad as she said these words. "I can still feed you the dessert, if you want. As an apology, you know."
She was feeling too bad about what she'd done to really consider Mordred's offer. In fact, it seemed like she'd barely noticed it, she was fretting so much about what she'd done.
Auspicious Breeze
"Ohh, no, no! I didn't get hurt. Just my pride a bit, hehe~." She held her arm like and shook it about with a grin like 'see, I'm okay!' for Sakura's benefit. It wasn't like Breeze wanted her to fee like she had to do something over something that wasn't true. "I'm glad you didn't hold back on me. It just shows how far I still have to go. But I'll definitely have that dessert!"
Mmm, dessert fed to her by cute girls. She could even muster up some hunger still for something like that.
Mordred
She didn't pay attention to what she just said. Maybe she was too preoccupied with the aftermath of the challenge. As for Breeze, she didn't look too distraught, so I guess actual damage was out of question.
"I won't eat dessert, but I'm going to pay for one, as we agreed together. Do you have any in mind? I can order whatever you like. If what you'd like is not here, we can always go on a walk to a bakery or something more in that vein." She tried to get the attention of both girls so that they wouldn't dwell too much on the outcome.
Petra
"Did I say I wanted to work for you? After all, they still have an open recruitment." She shrugged. She didn't want to abandon a job for which she received a payment on regular basis. "Alright, let's get down to the business. Where is their hideout? Are we going to just storm in, or is there any route which we could take to ambush them?"
Oren
With a moment of quick thinking Oren made her way to the bathroom. She made a disgusted noise as she flushed the toilet a few times and jumped in, her body turning into black goo once more.
Her mass swelled and grew a bit too soon though. And then she got stuck in the pipes. This was pretty uncomfortable! Well, really uncomfortable. Maybe she should have waited a bit more before transforming again? Then the pipes burst as she kept growing bigger. Oops.
In the house the toilet was in the process of spilling water all over the bathroom floor.
Rider
A warm feeling came over Rider as Sakura responded cheerfully before taking her hand and walking out of the restaurant. She always liked seeing her master respond cheerfully, and she was already in a good mood. However, as soon as they left, she noticed a look of sadness come over Sakura's face. She was sure she'd even seen a few tears.
Rider's face dropped at the sight but, before she could ask what was wrong, Sakura seemed to return to normal, suggesting they go for some food. Nevertheless, Rider felt that she should check up on her master, make sure things were fine.
"Is everything OK, Sakura?" she asked, full of concern.
"And, yes, going for some food would be lovely", she added, somewhat more cheerfully.
IRON=SAKURA
Sakura giggled at Mord. "Here'll be fine. And no takebacks, this is your wallet's funeral~" Sakura said to Mord before turning to Breeze.
"So what shall I be feeding you today~"
Mordred
"Considering it's my wallet, I can say when enough is enough. And I'm buying you and Breeze an equal share. It's not a competition anymore." It's no way that she would let Sakura eat majority whatever they ordered.
Malcolm
Malcom's cheeks inflated and, for just a moment, he managed to hold it in. Then it burst, his laughter that is. The timing, the response, everything about this.... it was just too funny. So cute!
" *wheeze* Thanks, I really needed that."
Usually, he wasn't one for doing kindnesses. If they decided to bother that punk, it was none of his business, it ended the moment he woke up here. But even for police dogs, they seemed agreeable. He could give them a helping hand.
"Oh, there is one thing. That good mister over there, whatever his name was... sounds to me like he's just an arrogant jerkass. Strong? Absolutely, but that little attitude of his that pisses me off so much, that little pompous show he put up there, it might just do the trick. After all, he did go out of his way to step on an ant, I guess weak or strong a brat is always a brat eh? Assuming you don't do something foolish like I did, it's risky but you could bait him. You might just put him between a rock and a hard place. Mhhh, I wonder..."
IRON=SAKURA
Sakura giggled at Mord. "Here'll be fine. And no takebacks, this is your wallet's funeral~" Sakura said to Mord before turning to Breeze.
"So what shall I be feeding you today~"Mordred
"Considering it's my wallet, I can say when enough is enough. And I'm buying you and Breeze an equal share. It's not a competition anymore." It's no way that she would let Sakura eat majority whatever they ordered.
Auspicious Breeze
Her face lit up like the sky at dawn, and she knew exactly what she wanted! Breeze kept smiling and pointed to a big plate of chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream on top and hot fudge and deliciousness. There was a picture which helped her pick it without having to spend five minutes trying to read everything. "How about this?"
Mordred
"One for each? You're surely are burning through the food as if you had more than one stomach." Maybe both Sakura and Breeze gained more stomach from radiation exposure. Breeze did say she lived in a city where people mutated. She called the waitress and ordered two of those cakes.
Oren
Hmm. Hmmmmmmm. Oren got shoved in a bit deeper but by this point there wasn't much flushing going on now. It was a bit icky but she was starting to expand. Thankfully, the sword girl hadn't just started cutting through everything to get at her! Although that sound of breaking ceramic didn't sound good.
Good thing she was done! Scales rippled across the dark surface as she rapidly expanded. A wave of house was displaced as a dragon burst out of the side of it. Her claws smashed into the floor and her mere movements sent the puppets flying as she smashed her way through the crumbling building.
Jin
He gave her a teasing smile in response to her cheeky comment. "No I don't need take you as an amateur....your cooking will speak for itself. So, how long are you planning to make me wait?"
Shinobu
Just as she was about to respond to Medaka's question she was interupted, by the fight crazy woman. She withdrew her hand and stepped back from the werewolf as clothes appeared on his body in a flashing light. "That is because he is a poor man who cannot pay his own debts." She turned back to Medaka as she considered what she should say. Thinking back on that meeting there was something familiar about him. "I had felt like I had met him before, but it was different. He may not look the same."
IRON=SAKURA
Sakura brought her hand to her mouth and giggled at Breeze's enthusiasm. "You certainly have your priorities straightened out, don't you? Your mind runs on one track, and that track happens to be cute girls, right?"
"So um. Do you really think I'm cute, then?" Sakura asked, suddenly blushing and looking away.
Medaka Kurokami
As Ron bent down to get his wallet, Medaka found herself stumbling a bit. However, she managed to balance herself by pressing her chest agianst the werewolf's back and wrapping her arms around his upper abdomen. Then once he regained his balance, she went back to her normal position.
"Where are we going Ron?" She asked with a sort of playful curiosity.
Rikuyo
"Hey, why aren't we goin' to my shack in the woods. Ya gotta pick up this phone! And set up this." She pointed at out at the TV set she carried along. "Do me a favor, ya can do it quickly, right? I brought ya food and drinks after all."
Jin
No. Not my precious. His precious. Ic cream was stolen from him by the forces of evil. Oh what a cruel world.
"Blurgh." He pulled away from Oka as she shoved it back in his mouth."I just wanted some strawberry...you didn't even give me some of yours. This is the worst day of my life."
Jeanne
"It looks like I'll have to teach you not to be so sinful Shirou. You have to repent, understand?" She glared at him suspiciosuly. "I see. You have been possesed by a nefarious demon. I must exorcise you before it's too late." She grabbed hold of his head shaked it slightly. "In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit; begone from this world foul demon."
IRON=SAKURA
Sakura brought her hand to her mouth and giggled at Breeze's enthusiasm. "You certainly have your priorities straightened out, don't you? Your mind runs on one track, and that track happens to be cute girls, right?"
"So um. Do you really think I'm cute, then?" Sakura asked, suddenly blushing and looking away.
Auspicious Breeze
The former gladiator blinked at the question, wondering what a 'track' was here but kinda getting it. Cute girls were important, so she concentrated on cute girls and helping them be safe and happy. It was just kinda how things were! Speaking of which...
"Of course I do! You've got these great eyes, and this long purple hair, and you look curvy and sweet but there's a bunch of hard stuff under there making you strong and cool too!" Auspicious Breeze nodded to herself while counting them off on her fingers. "So you're definitely super cute."
Rider
Rider sighed. She knew Sakura was hiding something, but Rider knew she didn't want to talk about it, and pressing her likely wouldn't help. So, instead, she just nodded.
"OK", she said, smiling. "Now, where should we go to eat?"
Petra
"Even if they get intimidated for now by our action, it's only a matter of time if they gather under a banner of another gang leader, or strike out on their own to form smaller groups. I say we should ambush small fries and undermine the capability of whoever leads them to gain further profits from their endeavour. That could also force their hands to confront us, potentially." Petra commented on Liam's proposition. Of course, the boss of the group could evade them instead of seeking confrontation, but she thought that such a gamble was worth it.
Jeanne
The blonde saint gently pulled him closer to her. "There's no need for that Shirou. I beat you up pretty bad earlier and Sakura isn't back yet so I think you should have a rest. Actually, that's my wish. Sit down right now. You don't wanna dissapoint me do you? Don't worry, I'll take good care of you~" She made sure to leave no room for complaints.
Jeanne
She sat down on his lap, making sure not to put too much weight on the rock hard bulge she noticed he had developed. She got the feeling something was wrong however. It was quite hard to pick up, but he had sounded a bit disappointed earlier. The french girl leaned closer so that her face was right infront of his. Shirou was pretty cute from this angle, maybe she should do this more often......anyway, there was other things to deal with first.
"Do you really want to take me there ?"
Forest
Just how durable are you then? It wasn't exactly easy to bite you, Forest thought back at him. Even with her remarkable regenerative abilities she could be cut and bled as any human. Just she generally healed up moments later. And you haven't driven in the right cars that's all. You could probably fit in an SUV or the like.
However to damage the vehicle was something else.
At the words of the driver, Forest looked towards Vermilion and saw just how nervous she was. She asked in a soft voice, "Hey, Officer Vermilion, is everything okay?"
IRON=SAKURA
"Oh, um... Thanks... I guess." Sakura said awkwardly, averting her eyes. She'd never really considered herself cute, really. She didn't really see how any man would consider a several-ton superhuman monstrosity like herself cute. Other than Tager, but her dad didn't really count. He was even bigger and more ridiculous than her, after all. She could get cool, maybe, but cute?
Tears began to stream out of her eyes, and she didn't understand why.
IRON=SAKURA
"Oh, um... Thanks... I guess." Sakura said awkwardly, averting her eyes. She'd never really considered herself cute, really. She didn't really see how any man would consider a several-ton superhuman monstrosity like herself cute. Other than Tager, but her dad didn't really count. He was even bigger and more ridiculous than her, after all. She could get cool, maybe, but cute?
Tears began to stream out of her eyes, and she didn't understand why.
Auspicious Breeze
"You're welcome!" She said it with a big smile, but then something went wrong.
Oh. Oh crap, did I just make a girl cry?! No no no no, this isn't right! Auspicious Breeze did not make girls cry, that was the worst possible thing she could do right now. Something was very wrong here if just that was enough to make Sakura get upset, and here and now wasn't a good place to ask. So before it could get worse Breeze just moved her chair and sat it down next to Sakura and put a friendly arm around her.
Oren
The dragon had begun to come closer and closer to the surface. All sorts of people were popping up! Maybe she could use this to her advantage? So Oren made some distance before accelerating faster and faster, slipping through the earth as fast as this body was capable. And right before she passed the woman from before she just flicked her tail up to slap her forward.
Jin
Having finally managed to cool off, he took one of the poffins and put it into his mouth. The taste was hard to describe...but it wasn't bad. He didn't see himself asking for this again however. He slowly chewed it as he thought about it and then swallowed it. "It was ok. What did you even mix into this? It tastest awfully sugary."
IRON=SAKURA
"Oh, um... Thanks... I guess." Sakura said awkwardly, averting her eyes. She'd never really considered herself cute, really. She didn't really see how any man would consider a several-ton superhuman monstrosity like herself cute. Other than Tager, but her dad didn't really count. He was even bigger and more ridiculous than her, after all. She could get cool, maybe, but cute?
Tears began to stream out of her eyes, and she didn't understand why.
Auspicious Breeze
"You're welcome!" She said it with a big smile, but then something went wrong.
Oh. Oh crap, did I just make a girl cry?! No no no no, this isn't right! Auspicious Breeze did not make girls cry, that was the worst possible thing she could do right now. Something was very wrong here if just that was enough to make Sakura get upset, and here and now wasn't a good place to ask. So before it could get worse Breeze just moved her chair and sat it down next to Sakura and put a friendly arm around her.
IRON=SAKURA
Sakura appreciated Breeze's show of comfort, but she wasn't really feeling sad at all. She had a warm fuzzy feeling in her heart. A good feeling.
"I'm cute, huh?" Sakura muttered. She didn't really believe that it could be true, but if Breeze said so, it must be true. She didn't seem like the sort who would lie.
Knowing it was true made her feel really good, though.
Suddenly, Sakura grabbed Breeze in a hug, and pulled her close with strength that may or may not have been a bit excessive. "Thanks." She said with a smile, still crying.
Petra
"If we can, I'd like to roughen them up but not necessarily cripple them for good or kill them. The judge'd be displeasured if we passed a sentence without his involvement. Maybe another mine or farm needs cheap labor." The grim reality of Nexus was that there was not enough resources to create prisons that wouldn't generate profits, so weak and poor criminals got pressed as a cheap workforce while major offenders got executed. Those with enough influence or money could get away from troubles by paying a fine.
That reminded her of that troublemaker that she met in the mall. Rumors said that she tried to break into a hospital armed with an axe. On another hand those news didn't mention that she was a vampire. Petra didn't care enough to inform her co-workers about it after all. She doubted though that a fine would teach her a thing. Petra had to watch out for that vigilante in case she barged into her assigned territory, she attracted trouble.
However, she wasn't someone to lecture others about the law, after all she co-operated with a criminal right now. "I hope you will follow those guidelines in spite of your career."
Forest
Three pistols and one shotgun. Business suits so maybe Mafia. Chances are they'll go for body shots and not head shots, but they're human. Getting them closer would be idea.
So, time to play Ditzy Blonde Teenager.
Forest made her eyes as wide as possible as she eyed the guns trained on her. She slowly lifted her hands and made her voice a breathy tremor. "I'm sorry, I didn't see anything and I just got lost and my boyfriend left me the fucking jerk . . . Some creepy guy with glowing eyes has been following me for two blocks and I'm really sorry. Just please let me go and I won't tell anyone . . . I'm just lost and scared . . ."
She let the words tumble out in a nervous rush, sending a physic suggestion that she was just what she appeared to be: some "sweet" blonde girl who was lost and terrified. Vulnerable. Even easy to take advantage of.
She even trembled ever so slightly to better sell the illusion.
Malcolm Kimberlee
The mage glared at the detective silently, staring him down with all his contempt. But suddenly, something unimaginable happened. Something that would surprise even the most hardened men. The boy laughed. It wasn't a mad or a mocking laugh, in fact there was nothing overtly dramatic about it at all. It was the sort you'd expect from someone watching a comedic scene in a movie.
"Hey, hey, hey! I was kidding, kiiiidding! C'mon, haggle with me a little! Jeez, I swear if I keep playing tough, I really am gonna die. I might be foolish but I'm not insane, you know? I'm not gonna waste a chance like this, pride or not I wouldn't stay one second longer in this dump if I could help it."
No, that man had to truly be insane in order to joke like this, as if he was dancing with death and the mere thought of danger excited him. He was the sort of person who'd see a snapped arm as nothing more than a lost gamble, this whole thing was nothing more than a game to him.
Besides, he couldn't stay here, not after finding something so exciting. He was still alive, and so was that William. The game wasn't over just yet...
Mordred
Mordred sighed, hoping that nothing would escalate from that point, after all it's enough that Oren was around. Though, if Sakura threw Oren into a rocket fired into the sun, she wouldn't mind such a replacement as long as if that suspicious bitch was out of the picture.
Still, she had no intention of interrupting that. Sakura had clearly complexes about her strength and needed reassurance. "I don't care about you being a cyborg either, so don't fret about it. We're friend, right?" Mordred patted her shoulder in a reassuring manner.
IRON=SAKURA
"Oh, um... Thanks... I guess." Sakura said awkwardly, averting her eyes. She'd never really considered herself cute, really. She didn't really see how any man would consider a several-ton superhuman monstrosity like herself cute. Other than Tager, but her dad didn't really count. He was even bigger and more ridiculous than her, after all. She could get cool, maybe, but cute?
Tears began to stream out of her eyes, and she didn't understand why.
Auspicious Breeze
"You're welcome!" She said it with a big smile, but then something went wrong.
Oh. Oh crap, did I just make a girl cry?! No no no no, this isn't right! Auspicious Breeze did not make girls cry, that was the worst possible thing she could do right now. Something was very wrong here if just that was enough to make Sakura get upset, and here and now wasn't a good place to ask. So before it could get worse Breeze just moved her chair and sat it down next to Sakura and put a friendly arm around her.
IRON=SAKURA
Sakura appreciated Breeze's show of comfort, but she wasn't really feeling sad at all. She had a warm fuzzy feeling in her heart. A good feeling.
"I'm cute, huh?" Sakura muttered. She didn't really believe that it could be true, but if Breeze said so, it must be true. She didn't seem like the sort who would lie.
Knowing it was true made her feel really good, though.
Suddenly, Sakura grabbed Breeze in a hug, and pulled her close with strength that may or may not have been a bit excessive. "Thanks." She said with a smile, still crying.
Auspicious Breeze
The return hug almost caught her off guard and choked her out, but Breeze was prepared! She had a keen instinct for potential danger, so she made sure to reinforce herself as best she could right before Sakura did that. That way it was just a regular tight squeezy hug and not a 'ow my ribs got crushed' hug!
"Ah, hehe, you're welcome!" She patted Sakura on the back a couple times.
And then dessert showed up. Chocolate cake ice-creamy dessert goodness.
Oren
The dragon lurked for a bit longer now. That kind of hurt! Well kinda. Her tail wasn't that important. Maybe it was time to be a bit faster. So Oren swam back up so that she was at the edge of the surface. The earth beneath her feet solidified to form a concrete surface for her. Then she lunged up as her maw snapped at the woman's legs with crushing force before immediately retreating.
Shirou Emiya
If the woman had been expecting him to blush or act embarrassed, she would be sorely disappointed. He lazily wrapped his arms around her midriff and nodded affirmatively. "Of course, it's a rare honor to have the chance to sodomize a saint, after all." He said matter of factly, hoping his confidence would throw her off.
"And on top of that, you did want to know who had the better ass, didn't you?" Shirou teased her. Something felt off, though. She felt... extremely light for her size, and he wasn't sure why. Or maybe it was Sakura who was heavy... probably best not to bring it up, however. If the news leaked to Sakura who knew how she'd react.
Petra
"I'm not good at sneaking around. Chances are that we're going to alert them anyway. Let's confront them. If they shoot back, we'll shoot back." Petra shrugged. If she had Martha on her side, they would just blow the front door and scare them straight. "If they're too many of them, we will retreat and maybe bait them into area where we can pick them off more easily."
Forest
Getting them inside would probably be better than me just bludgeoning them to unconsciousness here. Plus less chance of some poor sod wandering in at the wrong place and the wrong time and getting shot, the vampire thought to herself while one of the men in suits walked up to her and wrapped an arm around her.
She flinched ever so slightly; it wasn't a faked reaction, even now she still had an issue with unknown men taking liberty with her. So she took a deep, unneeded breath and looked up at the guy with his arm around her. She flashed a quick but nervous looking smile, still keeping up the suggestion that she was vulnerable.
"R-really? I've heard s-stories . . . about some of the stuff here but I am really cold . . . and thank you," Forest said before biting her lower lip in a way that Ash had told her was almost irresistible to most straight men.
Lorenzo Remei
Shit- The pirate lost balance and fell over, but with catlike agility he landed on his arms and rolled back, increasing the distance between the two. The pirate immediately took a defensive stance.
"Sorry about that, you're scary." He said earnestly, commending his opponent for his skill. "You seem like a decent lad, but I'd hate to die." In a blur faster than any human he dashed forward only to sidestep and go for a quick jab to the man's nose, guarding with his other arm.
Ron
He wasn't expecting any of that from Medaka, especially the kiss on the forehead, but he patted her on the head and nodded when she moved to leave with those teary eyes of her's. Ron smiled a bit to reassure her. "Don't worry, I'm pretty hard to kill. See you soon, Medaka." The werewolf watched her go while running everything she mentioned through his head a few times just to make sure he had it down. When she turned the corner he let out a breath he didn't know he was holding, and moved to start his own search. He wasn't going to let her down, not after that earnest display of her's.
Let's start with the restaurants, then. Might as well grab some meat while I'm at it...
So he walked around looking for somewhere to eat and ask around, and hopefully get some answers. He checked his wallet, first to make sure it was still there and second to see how much he had. "That should be enough- oh! Excuse me." If not for his hearing he might have walked right into someone's back. He sniffed imperceptibly and took a step back. Two someone's, purple hair, didn't look dyed, one of them was pregnant. They looked pretty lost. "Do the two of you need some help? I know it can be pretty easy to get lost here."
IRON=SAKURA
"Oh, um... Thanks... I guess." Sakura said awkwardly, averting her eyes. She'd never really considered herself cute, really. She didn't really see how any man would consider a several-ton superhuman monstrosity like herself cute. Other than Tager, but her dad didn't really count. He was even bigger and more ridiculous than her, after all. She could get cool, maybe, but cute?
Tears began to stream out of her eyes, and she didn't understand why.
Auspicious Breeze
"You're welcome!" She said it with a big smile, but then something went wrong.
Oh. Oh crap, did I just make a girl cry?! No no no no, this isn't right! Auspicious Breeze did not make girls cry, that was the worst possible thing she could do right now. Something was very wrong here if just that was enough to make Sakura get upset, and here and now wasn't a good place to ask. So before it could get worse Breeze just moved her chair and sat it down next to Sakura and put a friendly arm around her.
IRON=SAKURA
Sakura appreciated Breeze's show of comfort, but she wasn't really feeling sad at all. She had a warm fuzzy feeling in her heart. A good feeling.
"I'm cute, huh?" Sakura muttered. She didn't really believe that it could be true, but if Breeze said so, it must be true. She didn't seem like the sort who would lie.
Knowing it was true made her feel really good, though.
Suddenly, Sakura grabbed Breeze in a hug, and pulled her close with strength that may or may not have been a bit excessive. "Thanks." She said with a smile, still crying.
Auspicious Breeze
The return hug almost caught her off guard and choked her out, but Breeze was prepared! She had a keen instinct for potential danger, so she made sure to reinforce herself as best she could right before Sakura did that. That way it was just a regular tight squeezy hug and not a 'ow my ribs got crushed' hug!
"Ah, hehe, you're welcome!" She patted Sakura on the back a couple times.
And then dessert showed up. Chocolate cake ice-creamy dessert goodness.
IRON=SAKURA
As soon the food arrived at the table, Sakura remembered her promise that she'd made on impulse. She instantly released her friend from the bear hug, and deftly grabbed her spoon, twirling it around with two of her fingers before she dug into the ice cream, pulled out a big spoonful, and finally brought it right up to Breeze's mouth.
"Say ahhhh~"
Mordred
The relative serenity that they had been enjoying was now spoiled by an ominous event. The sky suddenly darkened in a middle of the day, and it was impossible that they could have stayed up too long. While the sky still didn't feel as opressive as when the night turned into a day, around 6 months ago, it still seemed to be a bad omen. No way that it was a natural phenomenon.
But as she stood up and looked at the sky with a visible concern, the sky turned back few moments later. Of course, that didn't calm her much. Something grand like that couldn't be ignored so easily.
"Shit, something or someone is screwing with the sky again? Seems like we'll have our hands full again."
IRON=SAKURA
"Oh, um... Thanks... I guess." Sakura said awkwardly, averting her eyes. She'd never really considered herself cute, really. She didn't really see how any man would consider a several-ton superhuman monstrosity like herself cute. Other than Tager, but her dad didn't really count. He was even bigger and more ridiculous than her, after all. She could get cool, maybe, but cute?
Tears began to stream out of her eyes, and she didn't understand why.
Auspicious Breeze
"You're welcome!" She said it with a big smile, but then something went wrong.
Oh. Oh crap, did I just make a girl cry?! No no no no, this isn't right! Auspicious Breeze did not make girls cry, that was the worst possible thing she could do right now. Something was very wrong here if just that was enough to make Sakura get upset, and here and now wasn't a good place to ask. So before it could get worse Breeze just moved her chair and sat it down next to Sakura and put a friendly arm around her.
IRON=SAKURA
Sakura appreciated Breeze's show of comfort, but she wasn't really feeling sad at all. She had a warm fuzzy feeling in her heart. A good feeling.
"I'm cute, huh?" Sakura muttered. She didn't really believe that it could be true, but if Breeze said so, it must be true. She didn't seem like the sort who would lie.
Knowing it was true made her feel really good, though.
Suddenly, Sakura grabbed Breeze in a hug, and pulled her close with strength that may or may not have been a bit excessive. "Thanks." She said with a smile, still crying.
Auspicious Breeze
The return hug almost caught her off guard and choked her out, but Breeze was prepared! She had a keen instinct for potential danger, so she made sure to reinforce herself as best she could right before Sakura did that. That way it was just a regular tight squeezy hug and not a 'ow my ribs got crushed' hug!
"Ah, hehe, you're welcome!" She patted Sakura on the back a couple times.
And then dessert showed up. Chocolate cake ice-creamy dessert goodness.
IRON=SAKURA
As soon the food arrived at the table, Sakura remembered her promise that she'd made on impulse. She instantly released her friend from the bear hug, and deftly grabbed her spoon, twirling it around with two of her fingers before she dug into the ice cream, pulled out a big spoonful, and finally brought it right up to Breeze's mouth.
"Say ahhhh~"
Mordred
The relative serenity that they had been enjoying was now spoiled by an ominous event. The sky suddenly darkened in a middle of the day, and it was impossible that they could have stayed up too long. While the sky still didn't feel as opressive as when the night turned into a day, around 6 months ago, it still seemed to be a bad omen. No way that it was a natural phenomenon.
But as she stood up and looked at the sky with a visible concern, the sky turned back few moments later. Of course, that didn't calm her much. Something grand like that couldn't be ignored so easily.
"Shit, something or someone is screwing with the sky again? Seems like we'll have our hands full again."
Auspicious Breeze
The Solar completely missed the scary darkness stuff at first. She was too busy opening her mouth and saying 'aahhhh~' with her eyes closed. She let out a sound of pure joy at the chocolate-y, vanilla-y, creamy blend of flavor going on in her mouth. It was so good! And she was being fed by a cute girl so it was even better! Nothing could ruin this kind of moment except sudden violence, or something.
Still, when her eyes opened again she finally noticed how dark it got. "Huh, is this some kind of eclipse...?"
It was definitely short enough to be.
Sakura Matou
Sakura quickly turned around with a surprised look on her face, clearly not having expected to have to talk to a stranger. However, the young woman quickly composed herself and smiled at the young man.
"Ummm, maybe. It depends. Do you know any good places to eat around here?" Sakura asked the man, resting her hands on her engorged belly.
Lucy
Oh. Were they getting serious? That would be nice. Lucy was currently engrossed in the incredibly difficult task of clipping her nails to the perfect length and had just looked back up to see who was winning. "If you just need to kill something to fight then I'll give you something."
A Messenger popped out of her chest right at that moment. It fell onto the ground in a heap before she absentmindedly kicked it towards Gadreel. It even shapeshifted itself into a demonic looking lamb for convenience.
Shirou Emiya
If the woman had been expecting him to blush or act embarrassed, she would be sorely disappointed. He lazily wrapped his arms around her midriff and nodded affirmatively. "Of course, it's a rare honor to have the chance to sodomize a saint, after all." He said matter of factly, hoping his confidence would throw her off.
"And on top of that, you did want to know who had the better ass, didn't you?" Shirou teased her. Something felt off, though. She felt... extremely light for her size, and he wasn't sure why. Or maybe it was Sakura who was heavy... probably best not to bring it up, however. If the news leaked to Sakura who knew how she'd react.
Jeanne
He was good, but he wouldn't be able to talk over with mere words. She smiled lewdly at him, trying to egg him on. "Then why don't you come and get it, you don't seem to eager to take it....or could it be you want me to do it? How naughty, wanting a saint to sodomize herself." She slid her ass back and made sure it grinded against his hard dick through their clothes. "But it looks to me like you're ready to burst right now~"
Jin
Sweet berries, of course something like that. Because who uses sugar? "Food from my homeland? I kinda just ate whenever I had time, So I don't really have that many favourites." He answered her as she wrapped her arms around his waist. "The just kept sending me around and that was when I wasn't drowning in work. Being here is like a vacation in comparison to that."
Petra
No way she could sneak around with a guy screaming after he got hit by a baseball bat. Oh well. The darkness worked both to her advantage and disadvantage. She had to rely on her ears, but they were in same boat. Shock tactics would work here well. Grasping the shotgun as a makeshift club, she swinged it around in an arc trying to smash gangers with the butt of her weapon.
Malcolm Kimberlee
"Suuuuuuuure." He yawned, almost as if he didn't believe him at all. Even from a blood and piss stained bed, it almost looked like he was looking down on the crazy detective, as if he was just humoring a silly kid's fantasy.
Suddenly, he blinked flatly just as he remembered something.
"Um, how am I supposed to sign it?"
Sakura Matou
Sakura quickly turned around with a surprised look on her face, clearly not having expected to have to talk to a stranger. However, the young woman quickly composed herself and smiled at the young man.
"Ummm, maybe. It depends. Do you know any good places to eat around here?" Sakura asked the man, resting her hands on her engorged belly.
Ron
The werewolf took a quick look around again to get his bearings, checking for any familiar landmarks. It did look vaguely familiar - one of his school friends dragged him to a similar place back in high school. His older brother drove them. And if he remembered right...
"Well, I know the last time I was here there was this really good Halal place on the corner. I was just looking for it myself, so if you don't mind the company on the way?" He smiled and nodded to them. "My name is Ron, by the way. Sorry about almost walking into you."
Rider
As they walked along the road, searching for a good place to eat, Rider heard someone walking up behind them, muttering to himself. To her concern, he seemed not to stop or attempt to move around them as he got closer and, worried for Sakura's safety in this dangerous city, she turned around at an obviously-supernatural speed, preparing to step between the two. Before she could, though, the man seemingly realised his error, jumping backwards and excusing himself. Relaxing, Rider listened as the man began a discussion with Sakura, before introducing himself as "Ron" and suggesting they go to a "Halal place" that he knew.
A look of confusion came over Rider's face for a moment. She'd never heard of there being such a thing as a "halal restaurant" before. The Islamic world was large and varied, with many different types of food available. The only things she knew were consistent was an avoidance of certain types of meat and alcohol. However, the former did not really bother her and, whilst she usually did like a drink with her meal, right now she knew Sakura was not drinking, and she didn't want to upset her master by drinking in front of her when she could not. So, the idea didn't sound bad. Still, some clarification would be useful.
"What sort of food does it serve?" she asked, curious.
"I'm Rider, by the way, and this is my friend, Sakura", she added, remembering to avoid confusing him by referring to Sakura with her true title. "Nice to meet you."
Forest
Gabriel had once told her that the best deceptions were based on truth. Which, despite the fact that Faeries couldn't out right lie, they became master deceivers, and why Gabriel had become such a good spy despite the fact he did not like violence. Forest bit her lip as she was lead into a building that was rather clean despite the fact that it reeked of cigarettes.
However, if she knew she was going to run into something like this she would have come with more than her fists.
These guys weren't random thugs; they were fairly organized and she was outnumbered. She was faster, stronger, and better skilled, but a head shot would KO her. Which, considering she could wake up if they just decided she was just another dad girl, there was a chance where she wouldn't wake up in time for the sun to rise.
So she took Gabriel's words to heart as the leader asked, "Now you just calm down. It's gonna be alright. Anyone know you're out here, miss?"
She forced a smile and said, "Of course I have a roommate . . ." She distantly heard the sound of glass breaking, which was weird. Then her face fell as she slumped her shoulders, shook her head and said in a whisper, "No. They don't. I . . . really don't have anyone."
It wasn't a lie and because it was so close to the truth, it actually made it easier to go on with this deception.
Lucy
The skeleton left as the Rider turned to look down at the angel. Then Conquest dismounted, her horse vanished, she discarded her bow and quiver, and she cast off her crown and robes. And she was Lucy once more. She raised her hands up above her head and stretched them up a bit with a light groan. "Wow, that's still a bit of a work out. Maybe I should have done some stretches before I went horse riding? And I really need to convince Victory to wear a saddle. My thighs are so sore."
She ran a hand between them and a slight flare of light left them as good as new. "Oh, I should probably help you a little, huh? You seem to be doing a pretty good job of it by yourself though. You still want it?" She didn't wait for him to respond, instead planting a kiss right at the corner of his lip as she flared white for a moment and wiped away his wounds.
Methuselah
Methuselah the dark winced and looked like a student who just realized the day due for an assignment he had barely started was today. C-crap, he totally forgot...
"Damn it!" He cursed using his dark cape like wings to fly before plunging down towards the hero from behind, holding him by the waist in order to bring it to safety.
"We must retreat, this is too dangeorous!" He said as he picked her up like a bride, erm, a bird..
Jeanne
Her own breathing grew a bit heavier as she noticed Shirou's reaction. If he was that wound up already she should move on from the teasing or he might actually finish in his pants which wasn't really an outcome she was looking forward to. "Don't worry about that, I'll take good care of you." The blonde then unbuttoned his pants and slid them down along with his underwear as she went down from his lap and onto her knees.
His hard length was finally revealed. She looked at it with fascination. It appeared throbbing and in need of some relief, relief she was planning to give. She reached out and gently grasped it. It was hot and hard but also soft. "Gotta make it easier first." With that she leaned forward, her tongue sticking out as she gave him a long lick from his base to his tip.
Lucy
She nuzzled her face against his neck before smiling at him indulgently. "Come on, Gadreel. I may not be God, but do you think that it's outside my authority to give you back what was taken from you? At least, for a little while. I am the prince of this world after all. The temporary and pleasurable are all I can offer. But it's pretty good, right?"
Lucy's hands rubbed at his back as she wrapped her arms around him. "So you wanna try it?"
Malcolm Kimberlee
Malcolm took the pen and wrote his name. "There, now what?" He asked with total and absolute interest.
IRON=SAKURA
"Oh, um... Thanks... I guess." Sakura said awkwardly, averting her eyes. She'd never really considered herself cute, really. She didn't really see how any man would consider a several-ton superhuman monstrosity like herself cute. Other than Tager, but her dad didn't really count. He was even bigger and more ridiculous than her, after all. She could get cool, maybe, but cute?
Tears began to stream out of her eyes, and she didn't understand why.
Auspicious Breeze
"You're welcome!" She said it with a big smile, but then something went wrong.
Oh. Oh crap, did I just make a girl cry?! No no no no, this isn't right! Auspicious Breeze did not make girls cry, that was the worst possible thing she could do right now. Something was very wrong here if just that was enough to make Sakura get upset, and here and now wasn't a good place to ask. So before it could get worse Breeze just moved her chair and sat it down next to Sakura and put a friendly arm around her.
IRON=SAKURA
Sakura appreciated Breeze's show of comfort, but she wasn't really feeling sad at all. She had a warm fuzzy feeling in her heart. A good feeling.
"I'm cute, huh?" Sakura muttered. She didn't really believe that it could be true, but if Breeze said so, it must be true. She didn't seem like the sort who would lie.
Knowing it was true made her feel really good, though.
Suddenly, Sakura grabbed Breeze in a hug, and pulled her close with strength that may or may not have been a bit excessive. "Thanks." She said with a smile, still crying.
Auspicious Breeze
The return hug almost caught her off guard and choked her out, but Breeze was prepared! She had a keen instinct for potential danger, so she made sure to reinforce herself as best she could right before Sakura did that. That way it was just a regular tight squeezy hug and not a 'ow my ribs got crushed' hug!
"Ah, hehe, you're welcome!" She patted Sakura on the back a couple times.
And then dessert showed up. Chocolate cake ice-creamy dessert goodness.
IRON=SAKURA
As soon the food arrived at the table, Sakura remembered her promise that she'd made on impulse. She instantly released her friend from the bear hug, and deftly grabbed her spoon, twirling it around with two of her fingers before she dug into the ice cream, pulled out a big spoonful, and finally brought it right up to Breeze's mouth.
"Say ahhhh~"
Mordred
The relative serenity that they had been enjoying was now spoiled by an ominous event. The sky suddenly darkened in a middle of the day, and it was impossible that they could have stayed up too long. While the sky still didn't feel as opressive as when the night turned into a day, around 6 months ago, it still seemed to be a bad omen. No way that it was a natural phenomenon.
But as she stood up and looked at the sky with a visible concern, the sky turned back few moments later. Of course, that didn't calm her much. Something grand like that couldn't be ignored so easily.
"Shit, something or someone is screwing with the sky again? Seems like we'll have our hands full again."
Auspicious Breeze
The Solar completely missed the scary darkness stuff at first. She was too busy opening her mouth and saying 'aahhhh~' with her eyes closed. She let out a sound of pure joy at the chocolate-y, vanilla-y, creamy blend of flavor going on in her mouth. It was so good! And she was being fed by a cute girl so it was even better! Nothing could ruin this kind of moment except sudden violence, or something.
Still, when her eyes opened again she finally noticed how dark it got. "Huh, is this some kind of eclipse...?"
It was definitely short enough to be.
IRON=SAKURA
Sakura shoved the spoon into her friend's mouth, seemingly oblivious to the sky going apeshit. In reality, she wasn't. She just didn't really give a shit. Especially since it had already gone back to normal. Since it was over so fast, why it happened was essentially irrelevant.
"Here comes the airplane~" Sakura said to Breeze, bringing another spoonful to bear towards her friend's mouth.
Jeanne
When she felt the hand rubbing her head she Jeanne beamed at him, appreciating the praise she got. Her hand begun to slowly stroke the lower part of his dick with a soft grip. "Silly you, that's where your first load is going. And after you have finished in my mouth, I'm gonna make you all hard again so you can take my ass." As she finished the blonde opened her mouth and enveloped the tip of his dick.
Lucy
"He works in mysterious ways, doesn't he?" There was something just a little mocking in her voice, but it was the playful sort. "Good thing I'm simpler, hmm? But let's get on with the fun stuff? We don't come from quite the same place, but I should be able to pull something interesting off with you."
Lucy stepped back a bit before glowing brightly again. She thrust a hand out, and the light surged forwards around the angel. Then it coiled and wrapped around him, singing its celestial song, and then it began to burn. A fire bloomed and flowed into him. And then she was done.
Ron
"Ah, it's mainly a lot of different meat dishes except pork, but it's pretty fresh. Especially the chickens; they get those fresh from a place down the street," Ron explained for their benefit, rubbing the back of his neck with some embarrassment. "I probably should have asked if either of you were vegetarian, but if you're still up for it..."
He stopped with his neck and extended his arm to shake Sakura's hand with a smile of his own, and the same with Rider. "Nice to meet both of you, too. Have you been in the city long?"
Eating with company was better. Might be the pack instinct in him, but he'd always felt that way.
Rider
Ron's response to her question hadn't really told her anything that she didn't already know, but Sakura seemed happy enough to try it, and Rider didn't have any strong objections to the idea of the poorly-described restaurant, certainly not enough to question Sakura's decision.
"Yes, that would be fine, neither of us have any problem eating meat", she responded, smiling back at the large, hairy man as she shook his hand in a manner which would be considered firm for a normal human. "I've been here for a few months now. Sakura has been here for a while longer, though."
Mordred
Even if the incident had lasted only for few moments, there was a good reason to be concerned. She wasn't neither as carefree as the two nor she could just ignore that as an Enforcer. So, she called her friend in the police to ask her if she knows anything about the possible cause of that. Mordred excused herself and went outdoors to phone Noel.
Michael
Thankfully, this time Newface actually listened. Unfortunately, he seemed to have decided that 'saving' the cute sword girl took was a priority which ignored reason. While Michael couldn't quite bring himself to fault the fool for this reasoning, he didn't quite feel like letting the sword girl go quite yet either. With that in mind, the immortal followed along the rooftops, opting to conceal his presence once more, just in case.
As expected, the armored girl took issue with being carried, starting to attack Newface. Frowning slightly, the immortal took one step to cross the distance between where he was an a spot parallel to the would-be falling girl, reaching out with his staff to catch her and pull her up onto the rooftop on her feet, taking care to slow her fall before doing so. Michael soon found himself having to put effort into keeping the smile from his face, his eyes alight with a spark of curiosity and amusement all the same.
Well this just confirms my suspicions, but it feels nice all the same, at least for the moment.
"Hello there, to whom am I speaking?" Michael started, "The sword, or the wielder? Or are they one and the same?"
Lucy
"It's such an unkind light, isn't' it?" Lucy's was speaking almost absentmindedly amidst the light and howling. As it finally died down she placed her hand on his cheek and let light come forth again. A soothing shine that wiped away his injuries and left him whole in body if not spirit.
Then she reached out and grabbed his hand. "I'm much nicer. But I guess we should focus on more important things first, right? Let's go get you some clothes." That's when Lucy started to pull him towards the exit to the alley.
Jeanne
The hands on her head grew more desperate as they pushed her down on the hard dick that was completely filling her mouth. She let them with a smile on her face as she tried to maintain eye contact with Shirou. His hard dick was pushing against her throat, demanding entry to that tight spot. Jeanne felt the head push past the entrance and she found herself fighting her own gagging reflex as her throat convulsed around him.
QuoteMordred
Even if the incident had lasted only for few moments, there was a good reason to be concerned. She wasn't neither as carefree as the two nor she could just ignore that as an Enforcer. So, she called her friend in the police to ask her if she knows anything about the possible cause of that. Mordred excused herself and went outdoors to phone Noel.
Auspicious Breeze
She glanced in Mordred's direction when she noticed her getting up. The former gladiator's lips pursed together when she saw her leaving to do something outside, and for a moment she worried. Then the airplane came and she was going "aaahhh" and oh gods that was delicious.
"Haaah, at least this city has something delicious like this going for it~." The smile would not end at this rate! But her mind kept going back to Mordred there. "Ehh... hey, Sakura. Do you think Mordred is upset at me?"
QuoteMordred
Even if the incident had lasted only for few moments, there was a good reason to be concerned. She wasn't neither as carefree as the two nor she could just ignore that as an Enforcer. So, she called her friend in the police to ask her if she knows anything about the possible cause of that. Mordred excused herself and went outdoors to phone Noel.
Auspicious Breeze
She glanced in Mordred's direction when she noticed her getting up. The former gladiator's lips pursed together when she saw her leaving to do something outside, and for a moment she worried. Then the airplane came and she was going "aaahhh" and oh gods that was delicious.
"Haaah, at least this city has something delicious like this going for it~." The smile would not end at this rate! But her mind kept going back to Mordred there. "Ehh... hey, Sakura. Do you think Mordred is upset at me?"
IRON=SAKURA
Sakura shrugged at Breeze. "I don't see why she would be, unless you did something to annoy her before I met you two." Sakura answered honestly. "Open wide~" Sakura said as a heaping spoonful of ice cream came hurtling at Breeze at frightening speeds.
QuoteMordred
Even if the incident had lasted only for few moments, there was a good reason to be concerned. She wasn't neither as carefree as the two nor she could just ignore that as an Enforcer. So, she called her friend in the police to ask her if she knows anything about the possible cause of that. Mordred excused herself and went outdoors to phone Noel.
Auspicious Breeze
She glanced in Mordred's direction when she noticed her getting up. The former gladiator's lips pursed together when she saw her leaving to do something outside, and for a moment she worried. Then the airplane came and she was going "aaahhh" and oh gods that was delicious.
"Haaah, at least this city has something delicious like this going for it~." The smile would not end at this rate! But her mind kept going back to Mordred there. "Ehh... hey, Sakura. Do you think Mordred is upset at me?"
IRON=SAKURA
Sakura shrugged at Breeze. "I don't see why she would be, unless you did something to annoy her before I met you two." Sakura answered honestly. "Open wide~" Sakura said as a heaping spoonful of ice cream came hurtling at Breeze at frightening speeds.
Auspicious Breeze
Before she could say anything else she got a mouth full of delicious cream. "Aahnn! Mmm..." If Sakura wasn't careful she'd end up hitting Breeze's teeth or something! Ah well, she'd just reinforce her teeth so they didn't get knocked out if that happened. No big deal, really.
She smiled around the spoon and pulled her head back. "Well, I know she doesn't get along that great with my other girlfriend - they know about each, don't worry - but she's never said anything about being bothered by it. Am I being dumb?"
Then Breeze shook her head. "Ahh, sorry! I shouldn't bother you with my problems right now. Forget I said anything."
QuoteMordred
Even if the incident had lasted only for few moments, there was a good reason to be concerned. She wasn't neither as carefree as the two nor she could just ignore that as an Enforcer. So, she called her friend in the police to ask her if she knows anything about the possible cause of that. Mordred excused herself and went outdoors to phone Noel.
Auspicious Breeze
She glanced in Mordred's direction when she noticed her getting up. The former gladiator's lips pursed together when she saw her leaving to do something outside, and for a moment she worried. Then the airplane came and she was going "aaahhh" and oh gods that was delicious.
"Haaah, at least this city has something delicious like this going for it~." The smile would not end at this rate! But her mind kept going back to Mordred there. "Ehh... hey, Sakura. Do you think Mordred is upset at me?"
IRON=SAKURA
Sakura shrugged at Breeze. "I don't see why she would be, unless you did something to annoy her before I met you two." Sakura answered honestly. "Open wide~" Sakura said as a heaping spoonful of ice cream came hurtling at Breeze at frightening speeds.
Auspicious Breeze
Before she could say anything else she got a mouth full of delicious cream. "Aahnn! Mmm..." If Sakura wasn't careful she'd end up hitting Breeze's teeth or something! Ah well, she'd just reinforce her teeth so they didn't get knocked out if that happened. No big deal, really.
She smiled around the spoon and pulled her head back. "Well, I know she doesn't get along that great with my other girlfriend - they know about each, don't worry - but she's never said anything about being bothered by it. Am I being dumb?"
Then Breeze shook her head. "Ahh, sorry! I shouldn't bother you with my problems right now. Forget I said anything."
IRON=SAKURA
Sakura shook her head a flicked Breeze on the forehead. "Well of course she's annoyed about that! She might be hiding it from you, but any girl would be upset at having to share her man or woman, Breeze!" Sakura said as she began to berate her. "It's just common sense!" She wagged the spoon at her friend. "You need to make a choice!"
QuoteMordred
Even if the incident had lasted only for few moments, there was a good reason to be concerned. She wasn't neither as carefree as the two nor she could just ignore that as an Enforcer. So, she called her friend in the police to ask her if she knows anything about the possible cause of that. Mordred excused herself and went outdoors to phone Noel.
Auspicious Breeze
She glanced in Mordred's direction when she noticed her getting up. The former gladiator's lips pursed together when she saw her leaving to do something outside, and for a moment she worried. Then the airplane came and she was going "aaahhh" and oh gods that was delicious.
"Haaah, at least this city has something delicious like this going for it~." The smile would not end at this rate! But her mind kept going back to Mordred there. "Ehh... hey, Sakura. Do you think Mordred is upset at me?"
IRON=SAKURA
Sakura shrugged at Breeze. "I don't see why she would be, unless you did something to annoy her before I met you two." Sakura answered honestly. "Open wide~" Sakura said as a heaping spoonful of ice cream came hurtling at Breeze at frightening speeds.
Auspicious Breeze
Before she could say anything else she got a mouth full of delicious cream. "Aahnn! Mmm..." If Sakura wasn't careful she'd end up hitting Breeze's teeth or something! Ah well, she'd just reinforce her teeth so they didn't get knocked out if that happened. No big deal, really.
She smiled around the spoon and pulled her head back. "Well, I know she doesn't get along that great with my other girlfriend - they know about each, don't worry - but she's never said anything about being bothered by it. Am I being dumb?"
Then Breeze shook her head. "Ahh, sorry! I shouldn't bother you with my problems right now. Forget I said anything."
IRON=SAKURA
Sakura shook her head a flicked Breeze on the forehead. "Well of course she's annoyed about that! She might be hiding it from you, but any girl would be upset at having to share her man or woman, Breeze!" Sakura said as she began to berate her. "It's just common sense!" She wagged the spoon at her friend. "You need to make a choice!"
Auspicious Breeze
Ah! That was a real hard flick! Breeze rubbed at her head with a pout while her eyes followed the deadly spoon around. "It's not how it worked back home..." she mumbled, her face all red and warm from embarrassment now. "I guess I just thought it was okay as long as everyone knew and said it was fine. It doesn't work like that here, huh?"
Michael
The amusement in the immortal's eyes wasn't dulled in the slightest at her reply. If anything it brightened a little.
"Ah yes, where are my manners," Michael said, shaking his head seemingly in disappointment in himself. He could practically feel the hostility boiling off her like steam, the care she took in getting better footing bringing some slight hope to the immortal. Perhaps this would make up for having to entertain Newface while she'd had her duel. On the other hand, perhaps it would be more amusing to let her go along, collect some more data along the way. Speaking of Newface, his little show with the obvious concentration and the incantation was a curious one, but one that the immortal was willing to let take a backseat to the more immediate concern.
"My name is Michael Koridae," the immortal continued, offering her a deferential nod, "And to whom am I offering this introduction?"
I've almost forgotten how refreshing it is to be in a place that doesn't know my name.
Forest
The room now reeked of blood, cordite, sulfur, and semen.
The ancient teenager looked at the four unconscious poison peddlers lying on a lump on the floor. Each of the front of their pants sported a wet spot, but other than that and a few bruises they were pretty much unmarked. They'd awaken a little woozy; she'd made sure to take enough blood to weaken them and make them more compliant.
It was also the best meal she had since Gadreel in the dressing room, except no where near as enjoyable.
There was nothing sacred in this blood taking; it wasn't given freely and Forest had taken it in vengeance. She had done it out of spite. They had wanted to get off with her so she just gave them their wish, just not in the way they were imagining.
She kicked Spit-Roast Guy in the gut out of spite, more of a light tap and he grunted in his sleep. In her feeding she managed to get the combination of the safe they had here to store their cash. The drugs she'd give to the cops, but she was going to keep some cash to use as capitol for her club.
She stretched, any trace of gunshot wounds completely healed, and grabbed the shot gun. It hadn't been fired and between the lot of them there was still enough ammo to fill a clip and have a spare in one of the pistols. It seem like they favored .40 Glocks. She heard her student, Quinn Frost, genius dhampire and "Dear Detective", snort in her head before he ran down the reasons why a .9mm Glock was better than the .40. Mainly due to the fact that the .40 and .45 models could have defects that were very dangerous for the shooter, defects that for some reason the .9mm didn't have.
There was the matter of the person doing the ultra-violence upstairs. If they were a cop or vigilante, like her, she didn't want to get into a confrontation. So, she tied up the four idiots using their suit jackets and debated calling out.
"Works with bears," she muttered to herself before shouting, "Hey, you having a bit of a party upstairs, can you hear me?"
Petra
It was a blessing that it was so dark here. Hits from clubs and punches didn't faze her in slightest. While for instance Martha was known for her great strength, Petra's endurance was remarkable even among her fellows. So she had no problem with taking hits and retaliating like a human sized juggernaut, smacking them more with the butt of her weapon. After all, who could see her?
Somebody was shouting in the distance, but she couldn't make out what they were shouting about. And she was busy dealing with small fries now anyway.
Lucy
So she proudly led her angel around towards a store. Absolutely shameless too. Lucy didn't even offer him his coat back. Instead, she just began to talk as the walked. "You know, you don't have much utility, Gadreel. Any of the angels from home could have dressed themselves real easy even if they were fallen."
Ron
He looked up at the sudden darkness and frowned. At first he thought it was some kind of eclipse, but it wasn't all that cloudy out and he couldn't find the sun at all. Was it some kind of magic? Why did it feel a bit familiar, like he'd been near something similar before? Before he could really work out any answers to his questions it ended, and he was blinking and turning his eyes down to avoid the sun. With a bit of frustration he shook his head and tried to put it out of his mind. It wouldn't be the first time the sky did something weird here, and there wasn't anything he could do about it.
"Ugh... yeah, yeah let's just get some kebabs." That being said, he made sure to point out the place as soon as he saw it since Sakura was leading the way, and oh that did smell good. It was the kind of place where you had to go up and order and then they'd bring it to your table. Everything was written on a set of chalkboards with the prices marked, behind the counters.
Tactfully, he didn't comment on Sakura's anxiety even if she reeked of it to his nose. He focused his senses back on the food. "I think I'll get mine as a chicken sandwich... but ah, I mean, ladies first!"
Rider
A look of concern came over Rider's face as the sky suddenly and inexplicably darkened.
What the hell? she thought, knowing that such an obivously-unnatural thing was almost certainly a sign of something bad to come.
Before she could ponder it further, though, she noticed alarming signs in her master. Whilst Sakura was doing a decent job of covering up her panic attack, seemingly enough to fool the other man present, Rider knew her too well not to notice. Worried, Rider looked at her with concern, only for the sky to clear and, with it, Sakura's panic attack. Still, regardless, Rider was worried, and she sent her master a mental message.
Sakura, are you OK? she said, her mental voice full of concern, taking hold of Sakura's hand in a reassuring manner as it was offered.
Meanwhile, Sakura, laughing nervously, suggested they move towards the restaurant, a suggestion the man responded to by finally explaining what food the place actually served. Rider hadn't really eaten kebab all that often, but she knew that, whilst there definitely were some extremely cheap versions, there were also genuinely nice kinds. She hoped the restaurant they were going to served the latter....
"OK, let's go, then", she responded to the man's comment, following in the direction he was pointing at a normal human walking speed.
Petra
Seems like they mopped up those brigands already. Liam asked her to turn on the light, and so she proceeded to look for a switch. "There was someone screaming down there. I think we should check who is down there. And bash their face in if they're an enemy."
Obviously they couldn't ignore whoever was down there.
Sakura Matou
I'm fine. Sakura said to Rider, emphasizing herself noticeable. She didn't like how Rider was so overprotective. Why couldn't she just let things slide under the rug and ignore them. She didn't have to react to every little hiccup, did she.
Bleh, anyway...
"Kebab sounds good." Sakura said with an only somewhat forced smile. "I've never had kebab."
Michael
"Curiosity, for the most part," the immortal said, "Though coincidence was allowed me the opportunity. Of course, your skill was what kept my attention. It's been a while since I've met someone of your caliber with a blade."
Granted, I hadn't gotten around to starting up another swordsmanship school back home and none of the existing ones had put forth a particular interesting group, but that's besides the point.
That aside, her reply made the immortal wonder if she'd already caught on, the thought brightening that spark of hope Michael was feeling. All the same, he saw no reason to go out of his way to confirm this or otherwise overreach.
Lucy
Lucy hummed loudly as she pulled him into a store and grabbed the first set of clothes she could get her hands on. So that's how they found themselves in a changing stall with a pair of underwear, jeans that were just a bit too tight, and a t-shirt with 'Satan's Temple' emblazoned on it.
The girl was holding the shirt up against his chest to get a feel for if it was just about big enough as she said, "You must really love humans, Gadreel. You must really want them too, right? Pure love and worldly desire are so difficult to keep apart."
Then, ever so slowly, she drew closer and pressed her lips against his.
Lucy
The false savior huffed at the breaking off of the kiss and sputtered a bit as the shirt was flipped over her head. "Now you're definitely not gonna wear the shirt."
But instead of giving it to him she put it to the side before tearing off her own shirt and tossing it at him. "You're gonna wear that one now. No taking it back either. You made your choice!" Then she slipped the bigger shirt on for herself and poked his chest. His turn now.
Michael
"Perhaps," Michael said with a chuckle, not bothering to pay any attention to the chaos below and instead keeping his attention on her, "But I'm sure you wouldn't begrudge an old man a moment of sentimentality?"
Knowing Oren, she was probably on her way out, and while he was less sure about Newface, Michael doubted that this would be the last time he'd be meeting the naive fool.
"Of course, that same curiosity compels me to ask," he continued, his posture still completely relaxed as he looked pointedly at the cute girl in front of him, "Am I speaking to you?"
"Or perhaps to you?" he finished, his gaze shifting the the gleaming blade, not bearing even the slightest of nicks or dents after everything it had just been put through.
Sakura Matou
I'm fine. Sakura said to Rider, emphasizing herself noticeable. She didn't like how Rider was so overprotective. Why couldn't she just let things slide under the rug and ignore them. She didn't have to react to every little hiccup, did she.
Bleh, anyway...
"Kebab sounds good." Sakura said with an only somewhat forced smile. "I've never had kebab."
Ron
He could practically smell the tension between the two of them, though he didn't know if that was a normal sort of thing. Ron had known them for all of two minutes after all. "Never? Well, crap. That means I have to pay for this time." He grinned, hoping to offset some of that with good news. Free food was definitely good, right?
It wasn't like he was short on cash after all what with actually working for a living. Part time. When he wasn't going around using his werewolf stuff to mug thugs and take their stuff. And then in they went, and the place wasn't that crowded for this time of day because of the creepy thing with the sky that happened. There was just one person in front of them in line. They could all just order at once since he said he was paying. Unless they wanted to make an issue of it. He knew some women did that.
Petra
She really made a mess, but those guys seemed to be mostly alive and just in pain. She was holding back a great deal. "Let's pay the visit to the stranger that telegraphed her presence. At very least she could serve as a nice bait for other flunkies, we could take them out as they beeline for her." She proposed, and went in the direction where she thought she could be.
Forest
The vampire heard footsteps approaching and frowned before putting the shot gun on the ground. If she needed to, Forest knew she could easily roll to the ground and grab it. The pistol was tucked into the waist band of her pants at the small of her back, the oversize black fleece hiding it.
Forest called out, "Okay, I'm not a drug dealer, I'm just a friendly neighborhood concerned type that got tired of people peddling poison on my block!"
She then held up her hands to show she wasn't threatening in case it was a cop or another vigilante. If it was a rival gang, well, she was fairly confidant she could take them out. And if they take me out, it's not like I'm actually happy with my existence, she thought.
Michael
So sword and wielder are once and the same. Curious. I wonder if that's something made of the same stuff she made those extra weapons from.
If nothing else, Michael could feel the spark of amusement lighting up alongside the bit of hope he'd been feeling. She was wary of him already? Perhaps she'd been in such a situation before. Of course, there would be a fairly simple way to find out how many times she'd been in such a situation.
"Only if you wish for us to be," Michael said with a nod, "Though there is little that you stand to lose if you decide otherwise."
Hm. Honorifics? Reminiscent of that one eastern empire...or the one before that one. Wait, no, both languages used honorifics.
Lucy
Her lips quirked up a bit at his statement as she slipped on the oversized shirt for herself. Then she grabbed hold of one of the angel's arms and pressed herself against him again. "Well, I did say He works in mysterious ways." She wiggled her eyebrows for a bit just for some extra effect.
Rider
Rider sighed at Sakura's obviously-annoyed response. She was just concerned for her master's well-being, after all, why couldn't Sakura understand that? It wasn't like she was open about her problems, after all, so Rider had no way to be sure she was OK.Still, nothing seemed to be happening, so she was willing to drop it for now, particularly since they appeared to have arrived.
On hearing that Sakura had never eaten kebab before, the man offered to pay for their meals. Rider, of course, was sure that Sakura would not accept that offer and, sure enough, her purple-haired master pulled out a large amount of money from her wallet, handing it to the man. Rider wasn't sure if he would accept it but, however the argument went, she was sure she would not be paying, so she simply looked at the mouth-watering choice of ingredients in front of her.
Making her mind up fairly quickly, Rider walked up to the counter, leaving the other two to argue over payment as she ordered her food.
"I'll have a chicken kebab in a pita bread, please", she said, "with olives, tomatoes, feta cheese and garlic sauce on top."
Then, having ordered her food, she moved to await the others, prepared to intervene in any argument that might happen if Sakura wished her to.Sakura Matou
Sakura reached into her pocket and pulled out her wallet, reaching in and extracting a hundred dollar bill. She pressed it into Ron's hand with a smile. "I'm really touched by the offer, but it just wouldn't feel right to make you pay for it." She turned over to inspect the menu, deciding what she was going to order.
"Wow, I don't recognize any of this food!" She said excitedly, as if what she'd just done was completely normal to her.
Mordred
"I tried to contact my co-worker and discuss what just happened, but seems like her battery discharged or she is busy with something else. This is so bothersome." Things didn't often went her way. Seems like her day off could end soon. "Probably anyone who could discover what actually happened could get a reward from the government. But you're better at punching things, right, Sakura?"
IRON=SAKURA
Sakura nodded and flexed her muscle to emphasize her point, causing it to double or triple in size. "I can smash basically anything you want me to, given enough time. And I'm never really short on cash anyway, so I don't worry about it too much."
Shirou
Having tracked down the vampire, Shirou was surprised to find that his temporary partner was far stronger than he'd expected, easily dispatching the monster. Having finished with the job and collected evidence of their participation, the two of them went their seperate ways. Then, having called Sakura to inform her of his success and finding that she had been co-opted into another mission, he told her he would meet her back at home and headed in that direction.
As he was walking back home, though, he saw what, at first glance, appeared to be his wife, walking around with a sheet on her head. Curious, he moved towards her, calling out as he did so.
"Sakura!" he said, waving at her happily, continuing to approach her at a fast pace, glad to have run into her.
However, as he did so, a nagging doubt appeared in his mind. After all, Sakura had claimed to be on a mission, and this girl was just walking around casually. Further, she looked a little odd, even at this distance, and was behaving oddly.
Lucy
She giggled at his choice of wording. "You know, the mystery isn't the only thing you might want to unravel." But she could save that for later. Instead, she just gave him another quick kiss on the cheek and led him out of the store with the Messenger's running interference on payment.
It took a little bit but they made it to the quaint little apartment that she was... borrowing. Rather basic, really, but the cards, board games, and vast amounts of wine spoke of her presence.
Sakura Matou
Sakura nodded matter of factly. "Of course I did. I have way more than I know what to do with, you know?" Sakura said, tilting her head with a smile. "I like to help out my friends, and I'd like for us to end up friends. You seem like a nice enough guy."
With that, Sakura turned back to the menu, looking at it with wide purple eyes. "Oh man, I don't know what to get!" She said before turning back to him. "What's good here?"
Petra
Ugghhh, considering the smell, she really didn't ask what happened. There was also the fact that she ran into one of few people that she didn't feel like meeting in such circumstances. Considering Forest's reputation among the police, it was quite clear that associating with a gangster was more safe than with such an unruly vigilante. On another hand, such sort of people wouldn't likely take 'no' as an answer, most likely, and follow their sense of justice (or what they perceived as the justice).
Petra conspiciously pretended to not recognize Forest. Maybe she would just go away if a miracle happened.
Forest
"Me? I'm just someone who's trying to start a legitimate business and I find wankers selling poison to kids. So I track these tossers down and I didn't like what they wanted to do with me so I defended myself," Forest said with a shrug.
It was the truth. For all intents and purposes.
Then a third person entered the room, and Forest recognized Petra from that encounter in the mall, but Petra didn't recognize her.
Or is pretending not to recognize me. Well fuck her, fuck this fucking mick, and fuck these wankers, Forest thought before picking up the suitcase full of Walter White's finest and throwing it at her feet. "Here, evidence," she said before starting to head out of the room, planning on raiding the safe she got the combination for. "You're bloody welcome."
Michael
Hm. Fair few times it seems, if her irritation outweighs her curiosity. Or perhaps that doesn't hold as much potential to be a driving force as it might hold for others?
"Very well. Right to the heart of the issue, then," the immortal said, his smile giving way to a more serious look, "Even in my long years, I've not encountered too many like yourself. Weapons holding anything more than the basest degree of sentience were more often than not something else simply taking the form of a weapon. What few times I've encountered such weapons, however, have been quite curious occasions indeed. When they weren't wielding themselves, their wielders tended to either be entirely under their thrall, little more than meat-puppets waving weapons mad with blood-lust, or otherwise seeming to treat the weapons as if they were...people. Equal partners. While the notion isn't at all disconcerting, I must confess that I've never had the chance to try it for myself, at least not with a suitable weapon, and you've exceeded that criterion thus far, with no reason to worry about that changing."
"Of course, that aside," Michael continued, "Things have been rather boring around here since I've arrived. A few things have shaken up the norm, but those were only for mere moments, and nothing came of it. So, I've figured that I might as well try my hand. I must admit, I was initially factoring you in as another piece in the plan, but that time has passed. Now, I'd rather have a partner in all this to share in the bloodshed and amusement that is all too likely to follow, even if the proverbial house comes crashing down."
Of course, the first steps were managed back when I was training Mordred and Breeze, but it was probably the easiest part. Just needed to drop the right words in the right ears.
Erica
Unfortunately, there were cons to cooking all the food at once and eating it in one sitting. That is, Erica no longer had any food. This was troubling. So she scrounged up the last of her funds and planned another cleanup in the more chaotic areas of the Nexus before going out grocery shopping for the second time that day.
The cashier didn't seem too surprised at her reappearance. They had built a sort of rapport or so she would assume. Although perhaps he just didn't care. She took out a cart and began to fill it up with a variety of ingredients as she moved throughout the store before suddenly stopping.
It was Her. Erica was captivated for a few moments. Just watching for a bit. But she suddenly sprang into actions when the blonde dropped the can. She dashed forwards leaving behind a series of black afterimages and bent down so that it would fall right into her hand.
Then the blue haired girl straightened herself and looked at Noel. She gave her a nod of recognition and a genuine smile that came far easier to her face than anything else. "Hello, Noel. How have you been?" One could tell from her voice alone that she meant it when she asked the question. It wasn't simply a throwaway line.
Lucy
Shoes, socks, and shorts went flying around into a pile of clothes by one of the chairs. "I'm still waiting for my check from big Lucy. Need to make do with some normal things in the meantime."
Lucy took a cup to the water cooler that was full of wine and filled it up. Then she held it up to the angel. It was good stuff. Delicious and more than good enough for getting yourself wasted. "Put the shirt in the pile, Gaddy. Oh, and do you wanna have a drink before taking your nap."
Petra
Gah, what an awkward question. She really didn't want to admit about knowing her in person while Liam was around. Forest was a known trouble magnet after all.
"There are so many vigilantes in this city that it's hard to keep track of them. Do you really want to pursue her? You look as if you want to have a word with her. I will take care of the evidence, I don't really mind if you go after her."
Forest
Still fuming the vampire found the safe in question. Even if she hadn't nabbed the combination, breaking into this safe wouldn't be exactly hard. Hell, there wasn't even any magic protecting it either. In someways these drug runners had their act together, but compared to a lot of the forces here they were just idiot children playing with matches.
She wondered if she should put on gloves to take the money and shrugged. She had already left her own blood on the floor after she got shot, and she hadn't even really harmed those gangsters. They just had a few bruises and a loss of about two pints of blood each. "Probably in better shape than what that Jesus loving fannybawbag left upstairs," she said to herself as she opened the safe.
Forest
Forest blinked at this guy's question and looked up at him. Good looking, not in the "he pretty much checks every box of what I think is attractive" like Gadreel was, but in a roguish, rough and tumble way. She figured what Petra saw in the guy.
She answered, "Yeah, she does, but I don't think that's it. And how did you know I was a vampire?"
If this guy is some wannabe Van Helsing I'm gonna just start screaming, Forest thought as she slid a stacked bundle of bills into one of the pockets of her cargo pants.
Mordred
"No, I don't think so. I can usually tell when something's not normal. I've sort of feeling that this wasn't just an eclipse. I can't detect what caused this incident, but my gamble is that this wasn't a natural occurence. That's why I wanted to phone people from the force. Maybe they will know more." Mordred shared her suspicions about the phenomenon. "You're sure that you didn't feel anything?"
Shirou
To Shirou's initial surprise, "Sakura" did not immediately respond to his call.
That's weird, he thought as he continued to approach her.
As the girl continued to hesitate, the nagging doubt only grew and grew. Now that he was getting nearer, he could see that the girl was somewhat taller than his wife and, unlike her, had a green streak in her hair. Further, not only did the sheet on her head have a crudely drawn face and wooden tail, it was actually moving.
By now, Shirou was sure it was not Sakura, and an apologetic look appeared on his face. As he did so, the girl turned around, showing him a face that seemed identical to that of his wife. Nevertheless, despite the similarity, the look of wariness on her face made Shirou sure she was, somehow, a different person.
"Who the hell are you?" she asked.
"Oh, sorry", he said, sheepishly. "I mistook you for my wife. You look almost identical."
Despite the mistake, he was still intrigued. Why did this girl look so much like Sakura?
Lucy
Lucy had taken her place on the angel's lap and leaning onto him as she spoke. "Mhm, that's still true. But it isn't about what he likes. It's about proving the point. I will be like the most High. A savior beloved by all, who all are loyal to, who owns and relishes in the hearts of men and keeps them close forever and ever. He's still too in love with showing off."
Instead of taking a sip from her own cup she spilled some on Gadreel and slowly licked it off his chest and neck. "It works because I'm just as egotistical."
Forest
"There's a lot of things scarier than vampires here," Forest said as she rose to her feet, "Maybe you can ask Petra. I've apparently got a reputation as a troublemaker."
It irked her to no end. She had literally saved the sanity of at least a hundred people at the mall, at the risk of her own, and she had been made to pay a fine when she tried to finish the job. Maybe taking the axe wasn't the best idea, and maybe she should have used more juice to Jedi Mind Trick that geaser, but the worse part was no one wanted to listen to her side of the story. She knew they had a telepath on the Elite's payroll to confirm her side of the story, but they hadn't.
So she stopped going out at night and fighting the forces of evil. She wasn't needed. Wasn't even wanted. Heat from the stolen blood filled her cheeks as she clinched her fists. "So, if you wanna stay legit, you might wanna keep your distance."
Michael
To the immortal's curiosity, Katase's posture shifted to reveal something he wondered how he hadn't noticed before. That all-too-familiar combination of longing and loneliness that nigh-invariably was left over after losing someone close. In Katase's case, likely her last wielder, and rather recently at that, judging by the intensity. All the same, taking that into consideration, her answer was not at all surprising. After all, Michael was all too familiar with loss himself. He knew of the gap it invariably left in the bearer, that void aching to be filled. He'd felt it over and over again, countless times over his countless years, until he'd eventually grown numb to it.
The immortal knew he'd never forget, all the same, and thus her answer wasn't surprising at all. If anything, it was to be expected.
"Very well," Michael said with a solemn look, "I'd be perfectly willing to wait, seeing as I've got nothing but time. Events have already been set into motion, however. Farewell, Muramasa Katase."
Sakura Matou
"Alright, I'll have the chicken!" Sakura exclaimed as she spun around to face the cashier.
"Chicken what, miss? We have many different kinds." The cashier replied would much emotion, as if this was a commonplace occurrence he was tired of.
Sakura turned back and looked at Ron expectantly, waiting for him to answer for her.
Lucy
She nibbled on the angel's neck, savoring the lingering taste of the wine. "It is always satisfying to convince someone to sell their birthright for something worth far less." Her lips twitched at the reference she made and the nibbling finally stopped.
"Humanity, after all, has the lovable burden of free will. Their destiny is theirs so long as they hold onto it, and it doesn't take much but some good prodding to get them to let go. I'm really good at that." She poked his cheek for extra effect.
Forest
Forest blinked at the other vampire seemed to weigh her words and then he held his hand out to her.
"The name's Liam, miss. Afraid I didn't catch your's."
She eyed his hand for a moment before taking it. Her hand was warm, living warm for the moment, and his was that familiar coolness she knew all too well. "It's Forest, it's nice to meet you." She flashed a bit of a smile, and she knew it would actually reach her eyes.
Lucy
"Well, I could have ignored my father. He would have pestered me for quite some time but I would have only died once. And it's not about winning. All things considered, I'm definitely gonna lose, but not trying sounds even worse. We'll have to wait and see what happens then, hmm?" The Messengers crawled out of her body and took seats around the area.
"Maybe it's just because I couldn't stand it up there. I came into a world of straw bearing a torch. And I set it all ablaze, of course. It was wonderful. It was wonderful because it was real, and it mattered, and you knew it did because it made people feel things. But for all the dirt and grime it still had power and light, sometimes even beauty. I don't think I could feel that as much anywhere else. It's so easy to let wounds grow numb and forget some pains, but humans can foolishly hold onto hopes and dreams until time itself ends." Then she sighed with her melodramatics dialed up to the maximum degree.
"But maybe it's, seriously, don't laugh, maybe it's because He and I are the same. Because we so love them that we would give up everything. It could be self-righteousness on my part, that if there is to be a villain then I will bear that burden. Or, just maybe, I'm so twisted that this is my love." She smiled a kind smile that was merely tinged with sorrow. "What do you think?"
Forest
"Somethings I just chalk up to as 'magic'," Forest said with a grin as she returned the firm handshake, "Now getting your heart to beat is a cool trick. The supernatural is out of the bag here honestly, and I don't really try to hide it here. Too late at this point now actually. You keeping up the Masquerade at this point though?"
She'd been shocked when she had been videoed doing supernatural stuff, and at this point the cops knew who and what she was.
Shirou
A look of confusion came over Shirou's face at both the girl's question, a feeling that was only confused by the fact that the sheet with a drawn-on face on the girl's head was somehow mimicking her movement, as if it were alive. The only "Rider" he knew of was the one who had been Shinji's stolen servant in the Grail War. And, whilst he trusted Sakura when she said the servant was not as bad as he had once thought, the fact remained that she was dead. So, how could this girl know her?
"I have met her", he said, obviously confused, "but she died several years ago, before I arrived here."
Shirou
A look of confusion came over Shirou's face at both the girl's question, a feeling that was only confused by the fact that the sheet with a drawn-on face on the girl's head was somehow mimicking her movement, as if it were alive. The only "Rider" he knew of was the one who had been Shinji's stolen servant in the Grail War. And, whilst he trusted Sakura when she said the servant was not as bad as he had once thought, the fact remained that she was dead. So, how could this girl know her?
"I have met her", he said, obviously confused, "but she died several years ago, before I arrived here."
Rider
Rider, listening in to the conversation between Ron and her master as she awaited her food, felt somewhat offended by his failure to mention the full range of delicious ingredients. Knowing that Sakura had previously expressed a liking for the food of her homeland, and that Garlic sauce was a common ingredient on kebabs sold in Japan, she decided to add some extra suggestions.
"You could also add some olives, or cheese. The feta cheese should be especially nice with pita bread. They also have garlic sauce, if you want that instead of the options Ron gave", she added with a smile.
Sakura Matou
"Alright, I'll have the chicken!" Sakura exclaimed as she spun around to face the cashier.
"Chicken what, miss? We have many different kinds." The cashier replied would much emotion, as if this was a commonplace occurrence he was tired of.
Sakura turned back and looked at Ron expectantly, waiting for him to answer for her.
Ron
Is this girl legit? Well, nothing for it then. He was gonna have to make a more detailed suggestion for her. "What else can you put on the Chicken Kebab on Pita?" The werewolf asked the man. Who liked olives and chicken together, really?
"Lettuce, tomato, onion, and we also have hot sauce, barbeque, and white sauce."
Ron turned back to Sakura. "That sound about right, then?"
Erica
The Spirit Vessel nodded in mutual recognition. For Noel's sake. "It was no trouble. But have things gone well for you since then? I recall that your employment then was to the law enforcement of this city. I do not doubt your ability but such a thing can be strenuous over time." Her words tasted of concern.
Her eyes flickered to Noel's cart and quickly took note of the items within.
Jeanne
She kept up her good work as she eventually got used to his size, she still gagged though when she got careless and went down to far. In response to his praise she started speeding up ever so slowly, eventually setting a nice pace that she was comfortable with. Then she looked up at him to she how he liked it.
Forest
"Around here there are people who you can't make forget. The police have one on staff, a tiny blond thing," Forest said, clinching her fists at the thought of one Noel Vermilion. "She's got immunity."
And I'm telling some random vampire I just met to stay away from a cop who's immune to mind powers. For all I know he might have no moral compass. Yet he's working with Petra. He's also polite too, and not arrogant and full of himself.
She silently graded him, deciding he was somewhat dangerous when pushed, but not outright evil. Anything else she'd have to find out by either interacting or observing him. She did note he didn't say a word at her sudden viking behavior.
Lucy
"Well, I'd think you'd have something more to offer than just an apple. Surely you can try a bit harder than that?" She allowed herself to relax and simply rested her body against him as she waited a response. And she ever so gently squeezed his hand once or twice.
Methuselah
"I'm afraid that won't do, Rafalia. I do not need any riches, fame or intense joy, nor do I want to be subject to any deep despair. Temples, servants, battles, grandeur... the view from the peak has grown tiresome to me. No, that won't do at all."
For a moment, Methuselah smiled and looked at the clear sky.
"All I seek is to live a peaceful, quiet life, like a plant. A little happiness is more than enough for a little god like me, if I could find someone to belong to, to find somewhere to return to... that would be enough."
Shirou
Shirou was now thoroughly confused, as the look on his face would show. He knew Rider was dead, he'd even watched her die, and that wasn't even in this world. How could she possibly be here? At the same time, though, he saw no reason for the girl to be lying, and she seemed nice enough, as was demonstrated by the concern she was showing for his health, albeit unnecessary, so he didn't want to be mean to her.
"I'm fine, but thanks for the concern", he said, politely.
"I definitely saw Rider die, though. I don't know how she could be here.", he continued, pausing for a moment to consider the possibilities. "Hmm...."
He knew, from Rin, about the Second Magic and the possibility of parallel worlds, where things were different. Maybe a different Rider had been summoned into some other world, and made her way here somehow. Or, maybe, even the same Rider. After all, they had met people who were definitely not from their world here already, not to mention the girl in front of him, who could have easily been Sakura's twin, why could there not be people from worlds which were somewhat more similar?
"Well, Rider is a class name, so perhaps she's not the same person", he added. "Or she could just be from a parallel world, I suppose."
Shirou started to think deeply, wondering what this world was like. The girl seemed to associate Rider with the name "Sakura", somehow, so it was a good guess that the two were connected, but he had no idea how, or why she had survived.
"Hmm, did this 'Rider' know someone called Sakura, then?" he asked, curious.
Shirou
A look of confusion came over Shirou's face at both the girl's question, a feeling that was only confused by the fact that the sheet with a drawn-on face on the girl's head was somehow mimicking her movement, as if it were alive. The only "Rider" he knew of was the one who had been Shinji's stolen servant in the Grail War. And, whilst he trusted Sakura when she said the servant was not as bad as he had once thought, the fact remained that she was dead. So, how could this girl know her?
"I have met her", he said, obviously confused, "but she died several years ago, before I arrived here."
Rider
Rider, listening in to the conversation between Ron and her master as she awaited her food, felt somewhat offended by his failure to mention the full range of delicious ingredients. Knowing that Sakura had previously expressed a liking for the food of her homeland, and that Garlic sauce was a common ingredient on kebabs sold in Japan, she decided to add some extra suggestions.
"You could also add some olives, or cheese. The feta cheese should be especially nice with pita bread. They also have garlic sauce, if you want that instead of the options Ron gave", she added with a smile.
Sakura Matou
"Alright, I'll have the chicken!" Sakura exclaimed as she spun around to face the cashier.
"Chicken what, miss? We have many different kinds." The cashier replied would much emotion, as if this was a commonplace occurrence he was tired of.
Sakura turned back and looked at Ron expectantly, waiting for him to answer for her.
Ron
Is this girl legit? Well, nothing for it then. He was gonna have to make a more detailed suggestion for her. "What else can you put on the Chicken Kebab on Pita?" The werewolf asked the man. Who liked olives and chicken together, really?
"Lettuce, tomato, onion, and we also have hot sauce, barbeque, and white sauce."
Ron turned back to Sakura. "That sound about right, then?"
Sakura
Sakura nodded in understanding at Julius's comment. Whilst knowing what he could do would be very useful to them in a fight, keeping his abilities secret from their enemy was more important.
Then, Paladin responded to her, explaining why they had no option but to spring the trap. Then, he began to explain the plan, suggesting that she act to prevent it from escaping as best as she could whilst Julius would use his weapon to kill it. Whilst Sakura was not entirely sure if she could actually stop the demon if it did take an intangible form, she did know she could attack spiritual beings with her magic, so it was worth a try at least.
"OK, I understand", she said with a nod. "I will do my best to keep it from escaping."
Shirou
Wait, what? Shirou thought, now thoroughly confused, the nodding sheet on the girl's head only adding to the weirdness of the situation.
Whilst Sakura had once been the master of Rider, that was a long time ago. Further, she hadn't even been in this town a week ago, when the girl claimed she had last met Rider. Was there somehow another Sakura here, too? If so, what was she like?
"Really?" he said, obviously surprised. "Sakura is my wife, and the Rider who was her servant died years ago. We cannot be talking about the same person, but my wife also looks like you."
Mitsuba
At this point of the day she was supposed to meet with a potential customer. Mitsuba has learned over time how to advertise her services in the local internet without getting caught, using proxies and other exploits to hide her identity. She switched to her original Cover and had her other Cover stationed on sort of autopilot to maintain the illusion that "Minato" was just taking rest at her place.
But before she went looking for the blond haired man, she searched for her partner in this whole assassination business. Without a sword it would be foolhardy to meet with someone she didn't know. Fortunately, she was accustomed to how Aether emitted by Muramasa felt, so she didn't have that much problem tracking her down.
"Had fun? I guess you sneaked out because you were bored." As Katase walked through the street she would run into Mitsuba, leaning against the wall with her arms crossed and a slight frown on her face.
Lucy
The girl simply smiled and shut her eyes. Just a bit of rest wouldn't do either of them harm. Probably.
She nestled her head into the crook of his neck and simply waited. Maybe he would even fall asleep? That would be interesting in and of itself.
Shirou
Shirou frowned as the girl stepped backwards. It was obvious that he was discomforting her somehow, and he was unsure how to react.
"Erm...", he said, unconfidently, not sure how best to explain things. "Well, my wife, Sakura, looks very similar to you. I mistook you for her at first."
Then, he sighed.
"Sorry if I'm discomforting you", he said, genuinely regretful. "I'm just very confused about all of this. It seems like there must be another version of my wife around, who I've not met yet."
Sakura Matou
Sakura flashed a smile at Rider and Ron and then turned back to the cashier to order. "I'll have the lettuce, tomato, onion with the barbeque sauce. Hot sauce hasn't been agreeing with me lately."
The cashier nodded politely and then turned to Ron. "And what would you like, then?"
Shirou
Shirou let out a sigh of relief as the girl relaxed slightly, glad that she seemed a little less on edge after his response. However, his relief was short-lived as the weird creature on the girl's head let out a loud shriek which caused Shirou to jump back in shock, his ears aching from the sudden noise. As he was recovering, the girl picked the sheet up off her head, holding it like she might hold a doll, the sheet dangling down like some kind of clothing. The creature looked extremely strange, with a drawn-on face and a wooden tail, but Shirou wasn't entirely sure if that was part of the creature or something the girl had drawn on, so he decided not to make any comment on how it looked, although there was a confused look on his face.
However, he was unsure what the noise had been for. Had he startled the creature somehow? Unsure, Shirou decided to apologise, just in case.
"Sorry if I startled your.. pet", he said, apologetically.
Then, realising he'd not introduced himself, he decided to remedy that.
"Oh, I'm Shirou, by the way", he added with a smile. "Sorry for not introducing myself before."
Rider
Rider nodded with a smile, eagerly anticipating her delicious meal. Noticing that the man appeared to be looking towards an empty table in the corner, Rider headed towards it.
"Yes, I think this would be a good table", she said, pointing towards it.
Sakura Matou
Sakura flashed a smile at Rider and Ron and then turned back to the cashier to order. "I'll have the lettuce, tomato, onion with the barbeque sauce. Hot sauce hasn't been agreeing with me lately."
The cashier nodded politely and then turned to Ron. "And what would you like, then?"
Ron
After a moment of thought the werewolf nodded. "I'll get the same thing, without the onions." He would have kept he onions, but those made him pretty sick if he turned into a wolf while they were still being digested. He learned that the hard way since it wasn't as common a bit of info as dogs not being able to handle chocolate.
The cashier nodded and gave them a receipt with their order number on it. "It should not take too long. We'll bring it out."
With that, Ron motioned to somewhere in the back. "All right, let's get a table then shall we?" He had his eye on a nice table by the corner where it was easy to see anyone else approaching. It wasn't a large restaurant, so they could see pretty much everything out in the open from there.
Erica
Red crept into the blue haired girl's cheeks. It was a nice, deep color that contrasted pleasantly with the rest of her appearance. She liked hearing her laugh. "For the most part my time has been spent well. I was recently cajoled by a man into spending most of money on food that would only last one meal. My funds have diminished significantly as a result." She glanced at her own cart which only had a loaf of bread and cheese.
"But I am incredibly glad that you are well."
Methuselah
The dark god of the eternal abyss met her stare with pulsating white eyes filled with the glaring suns of nuclear doom and the eternal death of the universe, and he gulped. Honestly, being stared at like this was a tad bit uncomfortable. But right now, he wasn't focusing on the awkward or downright creepy atmosphere. Listening to her words, he managed to mutter but one word.
"Eh?"
Rider
Rider nodded with a smile, eagerly anticipating her delicious meal. Noticing that the man appeared to be looking towards an empty table in the corner, Rider headed towards it.
"Yes, I think this would be a good table", she said, pointing towards it.Sakura Matou
Sakura flashed a smile at Rider and Ron and then turned back to the cashier to order. "I'll have the lettuce, tomato, onion with the barbeque sauce. Hot sauce hasn't been agreeing with me lately."
The cashier nodded politely and then turned to Ron. "And what would you like, then?"
Ron
After a moment of thought the werewolf nodded. "I'll get the same thing, without the onions." He would have kept he onions, but those made him pretty sick if he turned into a wolf while they were still being digested. He learned that the hard way since it wasn't as common a bit of info as dogs not being able to handle chocolate.
The cashier nodded and gave them a receipt with their order number on it. "It should not take too long. We'll bring it out."
With that, Ron motioned to somewhere in the back. "All right, let's get a table then shall we?" He had his eye on a nice table by the corner where it was easy to see anyone else approaching. It wasn't a large restaurant, so they could see pretty much everything out in the open from there.
Sakura Matou
Sakura looked at the table, examining its location in the restaurant. Good lighting, a secluded location, and most importantly, a booth. Sakura liked booths alot more than chairs. They were just more comfortable with their cushioned seats. So Sakura walked over to the table, releasing some small bugs to form a perimeter and set up a temporary defense.
It never hurt to be careful, after all.
Erica
She lowered her head in shame. "Yes. It was my fault. I had engaged him previously but I failed to defeat him and only left superficial injuries. I survived at his leisure, and I was forced to repair all my limbs afterwards. Resistance following that would have been foolish. I should have defeated him the first time. Or tried in spite of the inevitability of it."
Erica's voice was filled with self-loathing. As if her failure was a personal issue unaffected by the circumstances and ability of her opponent. If Noel had thought such a thing then surely she should have struggled afterwards, if not win the first time! But the blonde's offer quickly brought her out of her thinking.
"No! I- I cannot accept that. I am undeserving of your kindness."
Mordred
"After we're done with the adventure, I'd like to show you something, Breeze. But elsewhere, a restaurant doesn't look like the proper place for that." For obvious reasons she didn't feel like disclosing her true looks in the public. She thought it was high time for Breeze to learn the truth.
Forest
Okay, it might be incredibly petty of me for warning a vampire who's intentions I don't know about Vermilion, but it feels kind of satisfying, Forest thought as Liam watched her.
She snorted, shook her head, and said, "It's just Forest. Also, I left the files in that safe in tact and pretty sure that suit case I threw at Petra's feet was full of something unsavory. I mean, if she wants to sell it herself, just tell her she needs to stay away from Chestnut Street, Oak, and Vine. I catch anyone who is peddling that poison where I'm trying to set up is gonna get all kinds of broken."
Forest
Forest watched as Liam took the documents and said, "Seems to be a fair bit of that going around. Anyway, the two of you going to go clean up across the street then?"
Part of her wanted to. It would be fun to play the Semi-Dark Avenger and just beat the living hell out of some idiots. Plus there was the opportunity to collect more funds and make a healthy donation to the local hospital. However, another part of her wanted to just go home, sit on the couch and stare at the TV screen until she fell asleep.
It was pointless after all.
There would another group that could be worse that would just pop up in a week or less.
"I wouldn't want to step on anyone's toes if you were."
Mitsuba
"I guess it's fortunate it was just an interruption. This city is not to be underestimated. And please be more discreet about that next time." How headache inducing. "Anyway, I may need your help. There might be a major job to perform, but all I know about my contact is that he is a blond haired man. He didn't deign to reveal more. How annoying."
Rider
Rider nodded with a smile, eagerly anticipating her delicious meal. Noticing that the man appeared to be looking towards an empty table in the corner, Rider headed towards it.
"Yes, I think this would be a good table", she said, pointing towards it.Sakura Matou
Sakura flashed a smile at Rider and Ron and then turned back to the cashier to order. "I'll have the lettuce, tomato, onion with the barbeque sauce. Hot sauce hasn't been agreeing with me lately."
The cashier nodded politely and then turned to Ron. "And what would you like, then?"
Ron
After a moment of thought the werewolf nodded. "I'll get the same thing, without the onions." He would have kept he onions, but those made him pretty sick if he turned into a wolf while they were still being digested. He learned that the hard way since it wasn't as common a bit of info as dogs not being able to handle chocolate.
The cashier nodded and gave them a receipt with their order number on it. "It should not take too long. We'll bring it out."
With that, Ron motioned to somewhere in the back. "All right, let's get a table then shall we?" He had his eye on a nice table by the corner where it was easy to see anyone else approaching. It wasn't a large restaurant, so they could see pretty much everything out in the open from there.
Sakura Matou
Sakura looked at the table, examining its location in the restaurant. Good lighting, a secluded location, and most importantly, a booth. Sakura liked booths alot more than chairs. They were just more comfortable with their cushioned seats. So Sakura walked over to the table, releasing some small bugs to form a perimeter and set up a temporary defense.
It never hurt to be careful, after all.
Ron
As Ron took his seat he subtly sniffed at the air, taking note of the strange musk of insects that hadn't been there before they sat. Still, it remained small and did not get all that much closer to them. He shrugged it off after a moment and grinned to Rider and Sakura once they settled in. "So, question, and let me know if I'm being too nosy: Are you two sisters?"
Maybe half-sisters. They definitely had similar hair, though that could just be a similar taste in dye colors. But he couldn't smell any dye, so either it was natural or his nose was on the fritz today. It wouldn't be the first time for the latter case.
Shirou
Confusion came over Shirou's face once more at the girl's words. He was supposed to have realised that the creature's scream was a "hello"?
"Sorry, it sounded like a scream of distress. I've never seen one of those creatures before", he said. "It's very unusual, I've never seen anything like it."
Then, noticing the girl scanning the area, he wondered what she was doing. Had she lost something?
"Oh, are you looking for something?" he asked. "Do you want some help?"
Faster than he could cry for help, he was already in a dressing room. How deplorable, but he had little choice but to obey. The evil ominous grin of hers was creepy, and the way she stared at him only spelled bad news for his fragile ego. Still, it was fortunate that no one was around for some reason, and even more fortunate that she could not see him blush!
Was he to wear such things? How... how scandalous! Besides, how would they ever fit? Thankfully, she wasn't inside the changing room with him-
Methuselah turned red. Absolutely red. Damn, no good, a god must always be composed and calm. Such thoughts would only fluster him further! He took a deep breath, stripped from his garnishments and looked down on his feet. D-damn, did he gain some weight? He could've sworn he didn't look this large the last time he undressed. Then again, it must've been what, two decades ago?
Methuselah shook his head. No, he couldn't back down now. She had gone all this way for him, the least he could do was repay her by humoring her suggestion. Who knows, they might not look so bad on him if they fit.
"Mhhh....nnnnnh....just a sec..." He grunted and mumbled, trying to shove himself in the pants. Truly humans were bizarre folk, even the XXL sizes barely fit on him! What kind of dwarf was supposed to go inside such kiddy clothes? Damn, just a little push...
"There." He whimpered, feeling his loins crush under the pressure of his garments, along with his entire body. It looked like his muscles would rip out any second now, if an abrupt movement didn't rip the clothes instead. Was he actually supposed to move in that thing? He could barely breathe. Still, he couldn't help but glance at the mirror, and-
He would have liked what he saw, if he had any reflection. So he took a deep breath and decided to put his trust on her judgement. He opened the curtains and revealed his fabulous self, sparkles of pure darkness shining all over as he made his entrance, or rather his exit.
It was honestly shocking, just how different he appeared. Beneath his cloak, it was hard to tell, but Methuselah was practically all muscles! You could tell from every inch of his body exposed and stretching the fabric, that one did not call oneself a god without looking like one. Even the very manifestation of all evils in this world looked quite... good.
If it wasn't for his terrifying voice and face, one could even say his physique was extremely attractive, perfectly proportioned like a Greek statue. No mortal could ever achieve such perfect biceps, they were simply... divine.
"Hey, um, how do I look?" He asked shyly, but trying to sound a little cheerful.
Erica
She shook her head again. Slower and less frantic than before. Her back was a bit straighter, and she was more confident this time. "This body does not require food to maintain itself. It is no trouble."
"...Do you require any help?" A slight burst of hesitation.
Sakura Matou
"I wouldn't say that either, Rider." Sakura said, wrapping her arms around her servant's waist. "You're my cute servant, after all." Sakura said with a cheerful voice and no hint of jokingness in her voice.
"So what do you do for a living, Ron?"
Mitsuba
"Who interrupted you? If it was the law enforcement, things may get complicated for both of us." Mitsuba frowned at Katase, expecting an answer. They could go find the blond haired man when Katase satisfied her curiosity. "If it was some stupid vigilante, I don't really care that much. If they track down us, nobody will mourn them if we cut them down."
Sakura Matou
"I wouldn't say that either, Rider." Sakura said, wrapping her arms around her servant's waist. "You're my cute servant, after all." Sakura said with a cheerful voice and no hint of jokingness in her voice.
"So what do you do for a living, Ron?"
Ron
The werewolf glanced between the two purple-haired women and kinda wondered at what was going on there. Servant, really? Were they in some kind of relationship that involved roleplaying? He shook his head, because honestly it wasn't his business. What was his business was talking about his business!
"Mostly, I fix things and do little renovation projects for people in the neighborhood. Carpentry, electric, I sometimes even do a little plumbing! Not really a specialist in anything, but with a little time and effort..." He trailed off, smiled, and reached into his wallet to pull out his business card, passing it along the table for them. "... I can always give it a go."
Forest
"I'm generally up for a bit of violence, but you sure Petra won't mind?" Forest asked eyeing him.
She was waiting for the trap, the pitfall, the moment where she'd be tossed to the metaphorical wolves after she served her purpose.
He wasn't a vampire from her world so she couldn't fall back on that knowledge. For all she knew he could have all the Dracula powers or he could be weaker than a Buffyverse vampire. Hell, even worse, he might be like a vampire from Twilight, which she encountered one of those sparkling wankers a few months back.
Shirou
Amateur? Shirou thought, wondering what the teenage girl could possibly mean by that.
As she continued to talk, though, she both gave him a hint and confused him further, mentioning something called "Pokemon", which Shirou had never heard of.
"No, sorry, I've never heard of them", he said. "What are they?"
Shirou
Shirou rolled his eyes momentarily at the obvious advertising slogan. Nevertheless, her next words had him interested. He knew Sakura would love to have a pet to look after, and anything which could help them fight would be extremely beneficial. And, despite the fact that the girl was obviously not Sakura, Shirou couldn't help but find himself inclined to trust her, particularly since she seemed nice enough.
"Oh, really?" he said, obviously interested. "Sakura would love a pet, and we could do with a companion who could fight alongside us."
Sakura Matou
"I wouldn't say that either, Rider." Sakura said, wrapping her arms around her servant's waist. "You're my cute servant, after all." Sakura said with a cheerful voice and no hint of jokingness in her voice.
"So what do you do for a living, Ron?"
Ron
The werewolf glanced between the two purple-haired women and kinda wondered at what was going on there. Servant, really? Were they in some kind of relationship that involved roleplaying? He shook his head, because honestly it wasn't his business. What was his business was talking about his business!
"Mostly, I fix things and do little renovation projects for people in the neighborhood. Carpentry, electric, I sometimes even do a little plumbing! Not really a specialist in anything, but with a little time and effort..." He trailed off, smiled, and reached into his wallet to pull out his business card, passing it along the table for them. "... I can always give it a go."
Sakura Matou
Sakura gently pocketed the card after looking at it for a few seconds. "A handyman, huh? I might have some work for you in the future." Sakura said to him cheerfully. With a house as old as hers, little things would often seem to just break down, and as handy as Shirou was, he wasn't able to fix everything. Plumbing seemed to be beyond him.
And sometimes, you just didn't want to deal with your problems yourself.
Mordred
Some time later they have finished their meal. Those two were pretty voracious and in the end her budget took a serious hit. Looks like that would motivate to work hard on whatever task was ahead of her. She needed to earn back what she had to spend.
She started talking about the incident again once they were outside of the restaurant. "That thing only lasted for few seconds, so I have no clue right now who or what caused it. It looks like we will have to search for clues. But if such investigation doesn't interest you, then fine, if you're willing to help out later, then I'll let you know once I know more."
Mitsuba
"Oh, some show off mutant? I won't be surprised if there's a bounty on such thing. Doesn't sound like something that the society would miss." She wouldn't be actually surprised if she ever got a contract to eliminate something like that. People were generally annoyed by blatant supernaturals like that. "And I will start looking for our potential client as soon as I can."
Mordred
Some time later they have finished their meal. Those two were pretty voracious and in the end her budget took a serious hit. Looks like that would motivate to work hard on whatever task was ahead of her. She needed to earn back what she had to spend.
She started talking about the incident again once they were outside of the restaurant. "That thing only lasted for few seconds, so I have no clue right now who or what caused it. It looks like we will have to search for clues. But if such investigation doesn't interest you, then fine, if you're willing to help out later, then I'll let you know once I know more."
Auspicious Breeze
"Huh. Well, I'm not sure how much help I'd be looking for this." She scratched the back of her head as she tried to figure out a way to be helpful there. Breeze was better at talking to people, or hitting people, or talking to someone after hitting them. Finding people had never really been a thing for her; her mistress had other servants for that. "But if you want the help, I'll try!"
Mordred
"Don't worry about that, I'll take care of trying to find clues and evidence. Who knows, maybe one of my contacts already has some inkling about what really happened. I will let you know if there's someone to beat up over that stupid eclipse." Well, if she couldn't beat up the culprit, she certainly would need help. Given her track record, she'd likely need a help if it wasn't some vampire that got too cocky.
Sakura Matou
"I wouldn't say that either, Rider." Sakura said, wrapping her arms around her servant's waist. "You're my cute servant, after all." Sakura said with a cheerful voice and no hint of jokingness in her voice.
"So what do you do for a living, Ron?"
Ron
The werewolf glanced between the two purple-haired women and kinda wondered at what was going on there. Servant, really? Were they in some kind of relationship that involved roleplaying? He shook his head, because honestly it wasn't his business. What was his business was talking about his business!
"Mostly, I fix things and do little renovation projects for people in the neighborhood. Carpentry, electric, I sometimes even do a little plumbing! Not really a specialist in anything, but with a little time and effort..." He trailed off, smiled, and reached into his wallet to pull out his business card, passing it along the table for them. "... I can always give it a go."
Sakura Matou
Sakura gently pocketed the card after looking at it for a few seconds. "A handyman, huh? I might have some work for you in the future." Sakura said to him cheerfully. With a house as old as hers, little things would often seem to just break down, and as handy as Shirou was, he wasn't able to fix everything. Plumbing seemed to be beyond him.
And sometimes, you just didn't want to deal with your problems yourself.
Ron
Work in the future? Well, it looked like today was a productive one for more than one reason now! Ron grinned and quietly pumped his fist by his side under the table. He was already thinking about what it could be she already had in mind. "Looking to renovate a bit for the new addition to the family?"
The drinks came out before either lady could answer. The werewolf murmured a "Thank you," and turned his attention back to Sakura and Rider.
Sakura Matou
"I wouldn't say that either, Rider." Sakura said, wrapping her arms around her servant's waist. "You're my cute servant, after all." Sakura said with a cheerful voice and no hint of jokingness in her voice.
"So what do you do for a living, Ron?"
Ron
The werewolf glanced between the two purple-haired women and kinda wondered at what was going on there. Servant, really? Were they in some kind of relationship that involved roleplaying? He shook his head, because honestly it wasn't his business. What was his business was talking about his business!
"Mostly, I fix things and do little renovation projects for people in the neighborhood. Carpentry, electric, I sometimes even do a little plumbing! Not really a specialist in anything, but with a little time and effort..." He trailed off, smiled, and reached into his wallet to pull out his business card, passing it along the table for them. "... I can always give it a go."
Sakura Matou
Sakura gently pocketed the card after looking at it for a few seconds. "A handyman, huh? I might have some work for you in the future." Sakura said to him cheerfully. With a house as old as hers, little things would often seem to just break down, and as handy as Shirou was, he wasn't able to fix everything. Plumbing seemed to be beyond him.
And sometimes, you just didn't want to deal with your problems yourself.
Ron
Work in the future? Well, it looked like today was a productive one for more than one reason now! Ron grinned and quietly pumped his fist by his side under the table. He was already thinking about what it could be she already had in mind. "Looking to renovate a bit for the new addition to the family?"
The drinks came out before either lady could answer. The werewolf murmured a "Thank you," and turned his attention back to Sakura and Rider.
Sakura Matou
Sakura took her drink, muttered thank you to the waitress, and scooted back away from Rider. She didn't like being so close to people. Except Shirou. Shirou was an important exception.
"My husband is quite handy, but he isn't capable of doing everything, and our house is both quite large and quite old, so little things break all the time. I don't like it when he has to spend so much time working to fix the house, and if I have a friend who makes it their business to do this, then I don't think even he'd be able to shoot me down." Sakura grinned, looking at Ron but answering both of their questions at the same time.
Suddenly, her stomach grumbled. She and the baby were hungry. "How long until the food arrives, do you think?"
Mitsuba
In this era and age, Mitsuba kept a phone on herself even if she dressed in rather traditional way. When she was about to give up the search without even starting it, she got a message from the same mysterious man, giving her some tips where to localize him. Still hopefully that contract would be still worth her time.
"Oh, I think our chances of finding our mysterious client just improved. But I think that in the case he planned something dangerous I'd prefer if I wielded you personally for the incoming meeting. If he has hostile intentions after all he will be less careful if he faced one instead of two people." Plus a single person always stood out less than two people.
Shirou
Looking up from the pamphlet and at the girl, he began to ask questions.
"Plusle and Minun interest me, but there's not really any information about their fighting skill", he began, suspecting that the girl would know the names of the creatures she was selling. "I'm also interested in Fennekin, and possibly Eeeve, although it's a bit expensive. Maybe Poochenya and Teddiursa too, those look like they could fight"
"Oh, speaking of Eevee, what does this description mean?" he added, turning the pamphlet around and pointing to the expensive brown "fox". "I don't understand how a single animal can be said to evolve into many others."
"Also, where do you keep them all?" he asked, curious as to how a teenage girl could run such a large-scale breeding operation. "Would I be able to meet some of them before I make a choice?"
Forest
The blond took note of Liam's little crack about the people they were about to ruin their night's eating Italian. She wondered if he had an aversion to garlic. It was an annoyance at worse to her, not anything that could cause permanent damage due to her age. However, itchy burning wasn't any fun for anyone, even if she could rapidly heal from it.
"Hopefully none of the folk in there are wanna-be Van Helsings and the like," Forest said as she folded her arms over her chest and frowned. She tilted her head thoughtfully and grinned. "However . . . There's something I can do that would definitely distract them."
Jin
The former officer left the apartment after putting up the usual Ars seal, didn't hurt being carefull. He'd actually heard someone trying to break in once. Suffice to say they were dealt with swiftly. As he set out, he had a goal in mind. Aquire more pokémon. While it was true he didn't like them quite as fanatically as his girlfriend, they did have their uses. It would most likely also make her happier, which would be beneficial for him. "Ahahahaha" The blond man gave a crazed laugh as he could already envision this evil masterplan of his.
Walking out of the building, he grabbed his phone and made a call to her.
Shirou
Shirou looked at the girl with confusion as she sighed before beginning to explain what the text next to Eevee meant, totally contradicting everything he knew about what evolution meant. Ultimately, he concluded that it was simply some kind of jargon amongst Pokemon enthusiasts and, with that in mind, he could understand what she meant, although the use of the term "level" was bizarre to say the least, something he felt like he needed to clarify. It seemed like Pokemon could, given certain conditions, change into other, presumably more powerful, Pokemon.
Before he could ask any more, though, the girl pulled out a weird coloured ball from her bag, handing it to him with a rather bizarre instruction.
"You throw the ball and then the pokemon comes out. It's simple", she said.
To most people from his world, even magi, the claim would be frankly extraordinary. The girl was claiming that the creatures were stored in a ball far smaller than they, presumably, were. But, Shirou knew that Sakura was capable of something similar, at least in principle. Presumably, the ball worked as some kind of pocket dimension, providing a hopefully-comfortable space for the creature to reside in.
Figuring that he should give it a try, Shirou threw the ball as instructed and, to his slight surprise, a creature did indeed pop out, a small puppy-like dog with sharp teeth which he knew from reading the brochure was a "Poochyena".
"Impressive", he said to the girl as he bent down to give the puppy a stroke.
"By the way, what do you mean by 'level' when you talk about Pokemon evolving? Is that another piece of Pokemon enthusiast jargon?" he added.
Forest
"Well, I didn't get those wankers off with my hands obviously," Forest said before shuddering at the thought. "However, what do you know about the cassowary?"
She wondered if she should show him. Or if she was capable of showing him; he might be immune to such things. She wasn't picking up any broadcasting thoughts right now, but she wasn't overly trying either.
Mordred
"Don't worry about that, I'll take care of trying to find clues and evidence. Who knows, maybe one of my contacts already has some inkling about what really happened. I will let you know if there's someone to beat up over that stupid eclipse." Well, if she couldn't beat up the culprit, she certainly would need help. Given her track record, she'd likely need a help if it wasn't some vampire that got too cocky.
Auspicious Breeze
"Hmm... well, okay!" She nodded at that; it was definitely something she could do. "Just be careful, okay? I know you can take care of yourself, but you shouldn't have to unless you want to."
Erica
The blue haired girl's head dipped a bit lower in embarrassment and her fingers curled around nothing but air as she considered what she wanted. "Would it be out of place for me to request to try your cooking? I am rather curious now. I would never have imagined anything that you created turning out poorly."
Her voice grew a bit more hurried as she tried to support her statement. "Your choice of ingredients shows that you have noteworthy skill in setting it up, so I assumed that it would apply to your cooking as well."
Annabeth
The Hunter cocked an eyebrow as he laughed, looking around curious as it drew the attentions of other patrons. All the same, she couldn't help a slight blush at his response, or rather how he framed it. At least this time she could blame it on the alcohol.
"Not sure, any kind of distraction would be fine, and someone to drink with is nice," Annabeth said, glancing away, "That sounds like a bit of a pain, though I suppose it's worth it."
Mordred
"Yes, though I'd like to still talk with Breeze about something before I go investigate what happened." Mordred explained. The sort of talk she wanted to have with Breeze was about something for her ears only.
Jin
After a few beeps his wonderful girlfriend finally picked up the phone. She usually responded quicker than this, she might be doing something. Pushing those thoughts aside he tried to respond with his most cheerful voice. "Hey Oka, I got this great idea. You know where there's more pokémon to catch right? I thought about getting some useful ones to act as support. Think you could help me with that?"
Forest
Forest grinned at Liam's response and the look of confusion on his face.
"I'll show you," Forest said with a grin.
Then she started to probe the other vampire's mind. For a moment, it was like hammering a brick wall with a pencil. The resistance was remarkable, but it wasn't an unmovable object to her irresistible force. Eventually, with enough strain, enough that made her glad she had literally taken all of that blood a few minutes ago, she was in.
She didn't read his mind, but projected into it.
He would have seen a giant, flightless black bird with a blue head. Sort of like a punk rock version of an ostrich but meaner. The bird looked as if it was standing before him before fixing it's bright red eyes on him. It gave a loud, shrill cry before charging at him, swiping at his face with a clawed foot, almost like some evolved velociraptor.
As it attacked, it looked as if it's eyes caught fire and the bird was glowing with some sort of mental imagery.
Then almost as soon as the illusion had started, she cut it off. Shaking her head she said, "Okay, the glowing aura and fiery eyes aren't standard, but you get the idea. I can do other things obviously, but giant death bird is never not hilarious."
Ron
It was one of those quiet moments that, Ron hoped, made people remember that just because they were stranded in his home city that life didn't have to end. They could still make something of themselves and be happy. Not that he knew all the particulars of course. "So, how long have you two been in the city?"
Before they could answer that, the food arrived. Chicken dishes all around smelling of faint spices, soft and tender after being scraped to be put into the kebab. The man who brought it smiled an asked, "There anything else you'd like now?"
Forest
The blond blinked as Liam visibly flinched before he regained his composure. "That... yeah, that'll do it. Think it might almost be too much for 'em. Almost," he said.
Forest shrugged and said, "I can do other things. Hell, replace that with a six foot tall chicken and everyone would think the poor bloke is going mad. In my experience, only show the illusion to a couple of blokes and then the rest have to deal with the aftermath."
She shrugged and pushed a lock of hair from her face. "Or . . . we could do what I did in here."
Mitsuba
"Are you the client I'm looking for?" Mitsuba asked the sole blond haired man in this whole establishment. She was pretty certain about following directions right. Even if they were something that would erase itself after reading, she would still memorize them correctly and follow their guidance.
Relius Clover
Relius raised his glass in approval. A polite smile formed on his face. "Congratulations my dear. I am in fact the client you are looking for. Please, sit down." he said in a tone that was both polite and disengaged, as if he didn't actually care what she did.
In the meantime, he explicitly eyed the sword she was carrying.
Rider
Rider was about to respond to Ron's question when the food they had ordered arrived, looking delicious. As soon as the plates were placed in front of them, Sakura picked up the kebab and began to devour it, obviously hungry. Rider, meanwhile, took her time starting on her delicious kebab, instead intending to answer Ron's question. Before she could, though, she heard Sakura's voice over their mental link.
Rider, can you order me a second serving? Sakura asked, obviously very hungry.
Of course, she said, glad to help her beloved master, before turning to the waiter.
"Excuse me", she said, politely, before pointing at Sakura. "Could she please have another one of those?"
Then, having done her duty as Sakura's servant, she turned to Ron.
"I've been here about five months now", she said.
Then, having answered his question, she was finally able to turn to her food. Picking up the kebab, she took a bite, savouring the delicious taste of the chicken, feta and garlic sauce mixture.
"This is delicious", she said in between bites.
Ron
The waiter went off to get more food for Sakura with a, "yes, of course," and left the trio to their meal for now. Ron noted Rider's answer only mentioned herself, and not Sakura, which had implications he would have probably said more about if not for biting into his own chicken. Then he was struck by just how hungry he'd really gotten by now.
Taking that form he'd used against Shinobu, however briefly, had taken a lot out of him and he almost felt like he was starving. The werewolf was soon eating as fast as Sakura to get back some of that energy. He stopped only to have some of his drink, which gave him a moment to think and realize that Rider had somehow known what Sakura wanted without any words passing between them. Curious.
He waited for an opening where Sakura didn't look possessed by her hunger and said, "Huh. So you got here separately, then. To the city, I mean."
Super-William
The most fabulous man alive was strolling down the street like he owned it. No. He did own it, the street, the buildings even the entireity of the Nexus was in his grasp. He wouldn't let such a small pesky detail as it being future tense stop him. The future was just a word for things he hadn't done yet because he was too distracted. Distracted by his own fabulousness, especially the hat he was wearing. Nothing could ever come close to touching the hat. It was the sum amalgam of all the hats ever made, it's magnificence can't be put into mere words, so there's no point in even trying. What was this fabulous man doing on such a sunny day you might wonder? He was barging into a nice restaurant he had found in his eternal quest for the greatest drink, but there was one issue...
None of this was true, except for the restaurant part.
"Alright listen up people! If I don't get the greatest drink this place has to offer within the next 2 minutes. This place will cease to exist on the maps!"
Mordred
"Yes, though I'd like to still talk with Breeze about something before I go investigate what happened." Mordred explained. The sort of talk she wanted to have with Breeze was about something for her ears only.
Auspicious Breeze
She pointed to herself with a blink. "Me? Well, alright! What did you want to talk about, Mordred?" Of course she would listen to whatever Mordred wanted to say; she was always up for talking with cute girls, especially ones who were her friends. Even if she didn't really understand the topic she could ask questions or something.
She kinda missed the implication about this being a private conversation.
Forest: In the PAST
"There's four of them," the blond said, sensing the gangsters as they approached before frowning.
She splayed her hands on the wall as she took a peek out of the window. A grimace marred her features as she noticed the uniform appearance of the gangsters. "They're like interchangeable toy soldiers. Rightly disgusting, it is."
Then she focused on three of their minds, leaving Goon Number 4's mind untouched. However, in the eyes of the three gangsters, they watched as their companion morphed into a six-foot tall fire breathing chicken complete with bone crunching sound effects. She tweaked it so whatever move that Goon Number 4 made looked aggressive because becoming a six foot tall fire breathing chicken would piss anyone off.
Sakura Matou
Sakura continued her conquest of her plate, devouring all of the food on in and sucking it down the black hole of her gullet.
Thanks a bunch. Sakura said to Rider without even pausing.
Eventually her stomach calmed down, and Ron asked a question about when she got here, to this terrible place.
"I got here about three and a half years ago now. I'm practically a native at this point." Sakura giggled, belaying the resentment she felt about this place.
Rider
Unlike her two companions, Rider was not particularly hungry, and she continued to slowly savour her meal, smiling as her obviously-hungry master thanked her for ordering second helpings. She continued to eat for a little while, watching as Sakura and Ron devoured their food, before Ron spoke up.
"Huh. So you got here separately, then. To the city, I mean", he said, picking up on Rider's answer.
Before the servant could respond, however, Sakura answered his earlier question, a little giggle covering the negative feelings she knew the girl felt towards this place, which had seperated her from her beloved for so long. Reassuring herself that things were better now, she ignored the resentment she could sense in Sakura's words and gave her own reply.
"Our situation is a little unusual. The version of Sakura from my world was a close friend of mine, and vice-versa for her. So, whilst we did not arrive together, we were naturally drawn to one another."
Forest in the Past Tense
Forest grimaced and flinched as Goons 1 and 2 turned their guns at Not!AChicken Goon. Then they proceeded to empty them in a haze of smoke and gunfire, splattering him to the pavement. Goon 3 screamed as he ran away.
"Classic. Look, now two of 'em are running. You really messed them up," Liam said with a slow nod.
She frowned and said, "Well, I didn't want the one guy pumped through of lead, and that's a bit more fan fair than I wanted. Cops might be called, but this is Nexus and they'll probably take a while to get here."
Jin
Ah she was receptive of his idea, that was good. Made it a lot easier. "I'd like something that can either attack fast or be distractive in some other way." He responded over the phone. "By the way, where are you?"
Sakura Matou
Sakura continued her conquest of her plate, devouring all of the food on in and sucking it down the black hole of her gullet.
Thanks a bunch. Sakura said to Rider without even pausing.
Eventually her stomach calmed down, and Ron asked a question about when she got here, to this terrible place.
"I got here about three and a half years ago now. I'm practically a native at this point." Sakura giggled, belaying the resentment she felt about this place.
Rider
Unlike her two companions, Rider was not particularly hungry, and she continued to slowly savour her meal, smiling as her obviously-hungry master thanked her for ordering second helpings. She continued to eat for a little while, watching as Sakura and Ron devoured their food, before Ron spoke up.
"Huh. So you got here separately, then. To the city, I mean", he said, picking up on Rider's answer.
Before the servant could respond, however, Sakura answered his earlier question, a little giggle covering the negative feelings she knew the girl felt towards this place, which had seperated her from her beloved for so long. Reassuring herself that things were better now, she ignored the resentment she could sense in Sakura's words and gave her own reply.
"Our situation is a little unusual. The version of Sakura from my world was a close friend of mine, and vice-versa for her. So, whilst we did not arrive together, we were naturally drawn to one another."
Ron
He swallowed some of his drink and nodded to them both. "Well, that wouldn't be the strangest thing I've seen here I guess. I've lived in the Nexus all my life, so it just kinda feels normal. Besides, I think we had two versions of the same guy working at my old high school.. or were they twins?"
The werewolf tilted his head and looked up to the side, as if trying to remember something. "Might have been twins, but they had the same name. Well, anyway, it's good to hear that you're both been settling in. I know it can be pretty rough for newcomers. My... girlfriend, is still pretty wet behind the ears there herself."
Super-William
The fabulous man could only stare incredulously at this tall woman's attempt to trick him. Did she really believe he'd fall for something like that? On a closer look she did appear fairly strong, not that he'd ever let that dissuade him. "That's not a real drink, do you take me for a fool?" Her companion was even offering to buy him this imaginary drink, so they were at least somewhat decent when it came to pulling ruses.
"And you..." He turned to the blonde woman as he spoke once more. "...Already offering to buy drinks to a strange man who walks into a restaurant shouting about how he's gonna destroy it, you're truly a loser."
Relius Clover
Relius ignored the question, instead still fixated on the blade. It seemed to be running some sort of impulse into the assassin.
How facinating. The soul can generate a current of some sort. He thought. His piercing gaze sharpened to the point that the blade would be able to feel his presence even if he were a mile away. "Before we get down to business, may I give the blade a quick examination?" he asked, maintaining his polite tone.
Forest of Old-er
"I was hoping that Goons 1 and 2 would have ran like Goon 3 did," Forest said in a quiet voice as she gestured out the window. "I mean, when I did it in the past they ran . . . This place is completely buggered up."
She didn't agree with cutting the enforcers off. Goons were a dime a dozen. Flash enough money then more dangerous goons would show up. To really stop this, it would be better to just the chop the head off the snake.
She bit her lip with a frown and said, "Well, let's get this over with."
Sakura Matou
Sakura's ears twitched at the hesitation she detected in his voice at saying the word girlfriend. That could mean soooo many things. Many of them bad. Some good. Best not to draw unwarranted conclusions just yet.
"Why the hesitation, Ron?" She asked in her usual quiet manner after she swallowed her food, silently casting a spell from her crest that could detect lies.
Sakura Matou
Sakura's ears twitched at the hesitation she detected in his voice at saying the word girlfriend. That could mean soooo many things. Many of them bad. Some good. Best not to draw unwarranted conclusions just yet.
"Why the hesitation, Ron?" She asked in her usual quiet manner after she swallowed her food, silently casting a spell from her crest that could detect lies.
Ron
Whoa. Okay, she's a perceptive lady.
Why did he hesitate to call Annabeth that, exactly? Guilt from what he did with Medaka and Shinobu earlier? Maybe a little bit of that. Looking back on it he would have still done it. He liked to think he made some friends there; he hoped Medaka was alright (Shinobu didn't need his well-wishing).
Because she was the one who'd called herself his girlfriend first earlier today, and she'd done it with that scary possessiveness that felt like something out of a comic? A bit of that, too. With that in mind, and what he'd done earlier, he shuddered in fear. "Well, um, how do I put this...?"
He frowned. "She's my girlfriend in the sense that we live together, and we've done things in bed, and she said I'm her boyfriend. But the arrangement started because I was letting her stay at my place until she found her own once she got stuck here. Only, she didn't find her own."
Neptune
"Waaahhhhhh...." Bang "Urgghhh....."
"This is why I shouldnt try late night gaming when Histy tells me to work" What happened one moment she was bolting out through the window and the next she hits something soft? or is it hard?
Squeeze
It was definitely soft but also hard, kinda meaty. At least the thing that her hand was on. Her head on the other hand was decidedly on something hard. Giving a nervous chuckle the purple haired girl opened her eyes to the painful sunlight. A bench. She was on a bunch. Or rather, she was partially on top of a person who was on the bench. And the meaty thing she had been squuezing was a thigh. A very muscular male thigh. While making a sound like a dying beaver, because beavers are cool ya! The girl dolted up, ironically placing her even more this strangers lap.
"Wow you're really tall." Indeed he was, tall as a house, a really tall house that's tall.
Heyyy, my name is Neptune. Sorry for landing on you and all. Man this totally happen every time." She sheepishly scratched the back of her head. Maybe it was embarassment or just pure reflex. She didn't appear to actually be embarrassed after all.
Sakura Matou
"Mhmm, I see." Sakura said, putting her fork down on her empty plate. "That sounds rough. If you're not comfortable living together, it might be good for one of you to move out, couples need their space." Sakura suggested. She could tell there was more to it, but he hadn't lied. He was just telling only part of the truth, she guessed.
Retro-Active Forest
Forest followed Liam down the hall. Something about this felt off with her; she didn't like it and it wasn't the apathy she'd been feeling of late. She watched the . . . Morally ambiguous wasn't the word. Hawk was morally ambiguous, but he would have grimaced at the display her little Jedi Mind Trick caused.
Liam shrugged it off and used it as an opportunity.
So morally opportunistic was probably a better term, and one that Fore wasn't comfortable with.
She grimaced at the body in the gutter, and the not-so-pleasant smell that it was emitting. "Now that's sanitary," she whispered as Liam "opened" the door with some supernatural force. She cracked her knuckles as she let Liam take the lead.
Neptune
"Only the greatest of all games of course! Video Games. These jewels of all kinds, both fast or complex. There is nothing the great goddess of Planeptune can't clear!" as if merely boasting of her prowess wasn't enough the purple haired began bouncing on his lap and waving her arms around wildly, clearly not able tto contain her own excitement.
Calming down after what seemed like an eternity, but was probably only a second. Yeah hopefully it was a second. It was definitely a second okay, no need to be so doubtful. After that one eternal second the self proclaimed goddess turned her attention back to him. and leaned in closer while looking at his face...very intently. "That can't be true, I don't see any wrinkles here, you sure you're actually old?"
Neptune
She recoiled in utterly faked horror, exaggerating every part of the expression to a comical degree upon hearing the shocking revalation. "Hah. I see so you are a bad guy after all Mr. Gadreel. But I, Neptune has seen through your evil plan. You were going to kidnap me with pizza and have your way with me weren't you?"
" There was just one problem with your evil plan. I, Neptune will put an end to your evil plan right here and now, for JUSTICE!" The goddess was sending him the most ferocious glare in the history of ferocious glare....or at least she tried to.
Shirou
Really? thought Shirou as the girl explained the concept.
He'd expected that her use of "level" would be some kind of jargon borrowed from computer games the girl had played in the past, but it seemed like, somehow, the Pokemon he could buy would really "level up" through experience, just like an RPG character might. And, if it reached a certain level, it could change into a new and, presumably, more powerful form.
Before he could clarify things with her, though, her phone began to ring, and she turned to walk away. At the same time, he noticed a small dog-like creature on the floor where he had thrown the ball, just as the girl had said. There he saw a nervous-looking dog-like creature. As he approached it, holding his hand out to let it sniff, the dog began to bark. Shirou reflexively jumped for a minute, but did not back away, continuing to hold his hand out and let the dog sniff cautiously at it, before reaching out to stroke it.
Jin
"I'll see about it when I get there." He told her earnestly. There wan't much point in trying to determine this over the phone. She did provide him with another bit info that made him feek somewhat relieved. "That's great Oka, you know I'm not made of money." The woods were a bit away however but he could probably reach them fairly quikly. "Ok I'll be there in 15 minutes or so, bye." He hung up as he started to make his way over.
Jin
"I'll see about it when I get there." He told her earnestly. There wan't much point in trying to determine this over the phone. She did provide him with another bit info that made him feek somewhat relieved. "That's great Oka, you know I'm not made of money." The woods were a bit away however but he could probably reach them fairly quikly. "Ok I'll be there in 15 minutes or so, bye." He hung up as he started to make his way over.
Super-William
The most fabulous of all the mages was about to respond to the girls who were still trying to trick him when he felt it. It was a shift in the air like something raw, something primal had awoken. His sharp senses quickly detected the source. It was coming from a woman standing a bit further back who he'd noticed as part of this group but had seemingly mistakingly written off after she hadn't approached. He saw her clenching her fist in barely restrained rage, how curious. She was brave but... She had made a mistake though, a very grave mistake, gaining his attention.
He kept silent as he leveled his gaze at her meeting her challange head on.
Mordred
Even Mordred felt nervous around Breeze when she was angry like that. Admittedly in reaction to the guy calling her a loser, but still, she didn't feel too comfortable. Fortunately that passed and she didn't just go and punch the erratic behaving man into a paste. "Uhh, sure, I would trust Sakura about this..." She tried to defuse the situation further.
Rider
Rider smiled and nodded at Ron's story as she continued to savour her food, knowing from personal experience that it was entirely possible for multiple versions of the same person to appear in the Nexus. However, before she could follow up on that thread of conversation, she noticed her master suddenly twitch at the way Ron had talked about his girlfriend. Rider could tell that she was suspicious as she followed-up on that point, clearly wary of the hesitant way he'd described her. Was something wrong with her, perhaps?
However, when Rider heard his description, any worry she might have had disappeared, to be replaced with slight amusement. From the way he had described it, it sounded like she was taking their relationship far more seriously than he was. And, most likely, given the place they were living in, she was strong enough to make his life a misery if he just dumped her, so he felt stuck.
Given that, whilst Sakura's advice seemed reasonable, Rider felt caution was necessary.
I wonder if he's frightened of upsetting her if he does that, she said over their mental link. Perhaps she's stronger than he is.
However, she felt no need to speak up to Ron just yet, instead waiting for him to respond.
Sakura Matou
"Mhmm, I see." Sakura said, putting her fork down on her empty plate. "That sounds rough. If you're not comfortable living together, it might be good for one of you to move out, couples need their space." Sakura suggested. She could tell there was more to it, but he hadn't lied. He was just telling only part of the truth, she guessed.
Ron
"Or at least a bigger place." Ron said in agreement, still wincing at the thought. Actually suggesting separating in that sense, he didn't know how Anne would take it. She could just as easily shrug and be happy for the closet and cabinet space all to herself, or start wondering if he was gonna break up with her and start itching to her gun. "Studio apartments are not great for couples."
Definitely not a conversation to have while she's drinking, either.
Shirou
Shirou continued to stroke the little dog, which gradually began to warm to him. He certainly could see himself taking this creature home to Sakura as a pet, and it seemed like it was capable of fighting. As he was stroking and playing with it, he heard the girl return.
"So, do you like him?" she said. "He's a great guard dog, and mightyena is even better. Are you interested in any other pokemon? Eevee is ever popular, as is pikachu! I could show you them. If you want a pokemon that's strong, eevee evoles into some quite strong species that also remain cute."
Then, before he could respond, she reached down to her belt and pulled out another ball.
"I could show you one of them, if you like", she added.
Shirou turned to her and smiled as he considered his response. The dog certainly was nice, but he wasn't sure if it was really what Sakura would want, or if it would be strong enough. On the other hand, as much as "Eevee" looked cute, $2000 was more than he could easily afford. They would certainly need to take a few extra jobs, and they were over-worked as it was. Plus, it would mean they were less able to deal with the real threats, those who went after targets too irrelevant to attract much of a bounty.#
"He seems nice, yes, but I would like to see more", he began, before pausing to think further.
If Eevee was strong enough, then it could be worth picking one even despite the cost. It could take some of the workload off of them, and allow them to take stronger bounties. But, if he was going to choose a Pokemon that evolved, he needed to see the result, so the girl's offer made sense.
"I did like the look of Eevee. I'm sure my wife would love him. But, he is rather expensive, I'm not sure if I can afford to pay that much right now", he said, a little downcast as he considered the fact that he might not be able to afford the best pet for Sakura.
"Still, I'd like to see the evolved form if you have one. Your brochure doesn't have that. I also liked the look of those two little mice. Plus..un? and Minus..le? Do you have either of those with you?"
Rider
Rider, still slowly eating her delicious meal, could tell that Sakura was concerned by what she had said, and it did not surprise her. As a result of her past, Sakura was very sensitive to the thought of someone being abused or controlled, and the way the man spoke made it sound like his girlfriend was rather too controlling for Sakura's liking.
As soon as the man made a suggestion of perhaps moving into a bigger place, Rider could tell that Sakura was considering something, perhaps planning how she could help the man. Soon enough, she had come to a decision, and she leaned back in her chair with a smile, before offering him a place to stay as a reduced rent.
A smile came over Rider's face too as she realised Sakura's plan. With him living in one of her houses, Sakura would be able to keep an eye on him and ensure his "girlfriend" was not acting abusively.
Good plan, Rider said over their mental link. If he lives with you, you can keep an eye on him and make sure his girlfriend doesn't do anything bad.
Then, she turned to the man.
"I'm sure she would have a place that would suit you", she added.
Ron
He could practically smell the scheming from the young ladies. At least, he thought they were young; having had sex with a couple of vampires an hour ago left him a bit leery of just assuming. So when Ron actually heard the offer on the table his eyes rose up to his brow a bit. "Really? Well, that's... quite an offer. You weren't kidding about having a lot money."
The werewolf let out a whistle as he thought it over. During that time the second order that Sakura wanted arrived.
"Well, I might be able to rustle up a security deposit... it's not like there's any contract about where I'm staying now."
Neptune
She leaned in closer to him, showing her approval a smile she couldn't quite keep from her face. Only a little more and she'd win this, there was no way she could lose now after all. "What do you want your cute pet to do master? it could be anything you want, anything , even those things. I'm awesome in a lot of ways~"
Sakura Matou
Mhm! Pretty clever if I do say so myself
"Oh, there's no need for that. One of the benefits of being a mage. You can make contracts actually binding, hehe." Sakura giggled before realizing how that could be taken the wrong way. "But don't worry, I'm not gonna make you sign some ridiculous convoluted thing. It'll just be simple and straightforward, no catch! I promise!"
Super-William
And here he found himself being pulled away this girl who had a suprisingly strong grip. If only he hadn't been so distracted by the girl with the killing intent. Focus, do not lose awareness, that's a quick way of dying. "When I said drink I was referring to something a bit stronger than a milkshake." The sudden pull had brought him off balance in more than one way. Let's see how they intend to follow up on this.
Sakura Matou
Mhm! Pretty clever if I do say so myself
"Oh, there's no need for that. One of the benefits of being a mage. You can make contracts actually binding, hehe." Sakura giggled before realizing how that could be taken the wrong way. "But don't worry, I'm not gonna make you sign some ridiculous convoluted thing. It'll just be simple and straightforward, no catch! I promise!"
Ron
She was a mage? Well, that changed a few things. Nothing relevant to him renting a place and doing some work to lower his rent, but it meant he didn't have to be overly skittish about what he was around her. Not that he was going to advertise it in a restaurant. Ron had more discretion than that, and well people had good reason to fear his kind. What with his first few weeks meaning he had to avoid going out during full moons before he got a handle on that.
After a moment he nodded. "Well since I don't have any intention of going back on it I have nothing to lose, then."
Neptune
The hand sliding down her back didn't even register, for he had done something far more sinister. He had claimed her....hand.
So it had come down to this, there was no turning back, she would have to make one last attempt to save the world."You don't have to be evil to hold my hands, just ask. Whenever and wherever and I will come and save you Gaddy, I promise on my absolutely totally not breakable word and all." She grasped his hand with both of hers as she made her passionate declaration.
Retro Forest
Forest winched as the dogs appeared and prepared herself to literally kick a dog. She wasn't an animal person, not by choice actually, it was a side effect of being a vampire. She didn't dislike animals, but for the most part they disliked her.
Even though she loved crows.
Before she could kick, Liam was getting his Doctor Dolittle on and making friends with the puppies. She blinked as the attack dog as it made friends with Liam as the other went back upstairs. She sighed at his words and nodded.
"Oh, they'll be softened," Forest said before cracking her knuckles and jogging up the stairs.
Sakura Matou
"Mhm. That's what the trustworthy people say. Usually when they refuse it's because they know they have financial problems and wouldn't be good tenants anyway." Sakura said cheerfully. "That's what I was taught by my mentor, anyway."
"Anyway, if you'd like to come to my house, we could draft up a contract. We could also go see the apartment in question, of course."
Neptune
The purple haired goddess grit her teeth to prevent herself from laughing when she felt him poke her side. So he had become that desperate,in that case...
She let go if his hand and placed her own on his shoulders for support as she leaned forward slowly, bringing their mouths closer and closer. Maintaining eye contact as she was about to....
"When are you like gonna give me the final slice?"
Shirou
As soon as he responded, the girl threw the ball to the ground, yelling as she did so. Out of it popped a cute pink creature with odd tendrils that Shirou was sure Sakura would love. Reacting to the girl's call, the creature called "Sylveon" let out a cute scream before unleashing a white beam towards a nearby tree, going straight through it and demolishing the tree behind it.
Wow, that's pretty good, he thought.
"Pretty strong, right?" the girl said, obviously confident of the display's amazingness.
Truthfully, Shirou was less impressed than she expected. It was nothing when compared to the power of Excalibur or, even, the Pegasus that Rider had used against Saber. But, still, despite that, it was clear that the creature was very powerful. Certainly, he felt that it would be a useful addition to their family of heroes.
"Yes, it's very impressive", he said, with a smile. "And cute, too. My wife would love it."
Still, there was one nagging doubt. Whilst the creature she had shown him was very strong, she had mentioned that it could evolve into many different species of Pokemon. Further, she had mentioned levelling and, based on what he knew from playing video games, he was sure that a higher level Pokemon would be much more powerful.
Whilst he was sure that the girl was too sweet and kind to be trying to trick him, he nevertheless knew he needed to find out more. If he could obtain a creature of this power, then it was worth the cost, but he had no idea what other possibilities there were.
"You said this 'Eevee' could evolve into multiple different species, right?" he said, obviously a little wary. "How difficult would it be to get one as powerful as your Sylveon, and are the other species just as cute and powerful?"
Mordred
Mordred nodded, signalling to Breeze that she was mostly fine. But still she felt at unease about the situation. Trouble just seemed to stalk her.
Yes, please go away, she thought as Sakura told the guy that another place could have been better for drinking. She would be in far better humor if that guy just went away and she could go back to what she wanted to do. Sakura knew this place the best, so Mordred just let her handle this guy and hopefully convince him to go elsewhere.
Neptune
She grinned at him as he showed his suprise. Didn't see that coming now did he? However she intervened before he could truly bring the next slice to her, by grabbing it herself and bringing it towards his mouth instead. "Would you mind telling me who you are? I wouldn't land on the lap of just some random nobody even if it happens to be a really nice lap. so You're clearly important!" The goddess presented her clearly flawless logic with absolute certainty, fully believing every words she just said.
Sakura Matou
"Mhm. That's what the trustworthy people say. Usually when they refuse it's because they know they have financial problems and wouldn't be good tenants anyway." Sakura said cheerfully. "That's what I was taught by my mentor, anyway."
"Anyway, if you'd like to come to my house, we could draft up a contract. We could also go see the apartment in question, of course."
Ron
Well, he really did need to start asking around about that guy Medaka was looking for before anything else. But he didn't want to pass up this opportunity either. Ron nodded, slowly, but said something else too. "That would be great, actually. I just have to do something around here first for a friend of mine."u
Shirou
In response to his question, the girl launched into a description of the alternatives, explaining that, whilst they would be unlikely to get this particular creature, the likely alternatives were also powerful. Bizarrely, it seemed like it depended on when in the day they "evolved".
Still, whilst it seemed powerful, and it was undeniably cute, Shirou was still not sure if he could afford it. $2000 was a lot of money and, whilst he could get hold of that much thanks to his new bounty, they needed that money for food and to pay the rent. Further, he did still have some concerns about how, exactly, they were meant to train these Pokemon, the girl had not explained that.
"Hmm....", he began.
Well, it does seem cute and I'm sure Sakura would love it, but it's very expensive. I don't know if I can afford to spend that much", he added, an obvious sense of disappointment at the thought of not getting the pet in his voice.
He really would love to bring such a cute and useful pet home to her, but cute pets couldn't substitute for food or for a house. He was obviously conflicted, uncertain if Sakura would even want the pet at such a price.
Super-William
As if a bar could ever satisfy his needs. No, it was far to grand for something like that to ever comprehend. Nothing would impede him now for he had seen the truth. The truth of the best beverage and that truth was a sad one indeed. It could only fill one's heart with the deepest regrets at the realization of your own worthlesness.
"I am not in search of something with a bite, like I said I wanted the best. So it has to be the tastiest. Whether that is a mixed drink or rum is irrelevant." In the midst of this supposed drunken rambling he hadn't failed to notice one thing, So he adressed her once more "You on the other hand is pretty strong, not many people can move me like that."
Forest of the Past
Forest wasn't surprised when the new goon arrived with the shot gun already ready to go. She managed to dodge most of the blast, but some of it cut through her side, lead pellets entering her body. White hot pain flashed through her as her body pushed out the pellets before starting to heal.
Before another shot could be fired, Forest rammed her fist in the poor goon's face as her knee made contact with his groin with uncomfortable force. The goon's eyes widened in almost comical pain before Forest wrenched the shot gun out of his hand, covered his mouth with her hand, and sunk her fangs into his throat.
Mitsuba
Mitsuba stroke her chin as she watched what this too inquisitive person had to offer. "So no payment in advance? I don't think I should take any challenging contract from you until I'm sure I can get paid for more difficult jobs." If he was untrustworthy to the point that he wouldn't be willing to pay for a contract performed, then she shouldn't perform what she considered a difficult hit for his first contract. But if he paid for the first hit, then she would consider taking a more bothersome contract.
Neptune
Oh no he didn't. At first she'd been surprised at that he was an angel and had wondered where his wings were at. But then the horrible terrible truth had dawned. She couldn't believe it. No she didn't want to believe it. But it was here, right infront of her, shoved in her face. So she had to face it. No matter how painful it was going to be. But she would succed because she was the heroine.
"Timeout, timeout. That's just not allowed. You can't be worse than Noire. Being the awesome heroine that I am I can't won't allow this evil to take over. You need to have some fun, like right now and I'll help you with that. Just look at you, you've made go all serious and break character."
Mordred
"So, shall we go somewhere more private? It seems Sakura is okay with hanging out with the guy." The changeling proposed to her girlfriend. A place like this was certainly too public for such talk.
Sakura Matou
Sakura nodded. "That's fine." She said to him, beginning to tap her foot as she waited for her food to arrive. "Give me your phone, I'll put in my phone number."
She also noticed her order had finally arrived.
"Thank you." She said to the waiter, looking up at him as he placed her plate in front of her.
Shirou
As soon as Shirou saw the girl's cute stare, his heart melted. He knew, deep down, that she was trying to manipulate him, just like Sakura always was when she stared at him like that, but that didn't matter. He simply couldn't resist that cute, sad, puppy-dog look that Sakura gave him. As much as he tried to fight it, he couldn't help but give in, the girl's words only acting to provide a rationalisation for the decision he'd already made. Still, he wasn't going down without a fight.
"Well, I suppose I could maybe", he said, obviously saddened by her upset state. "Do you have one that I could look at, to see if I like it?"
Sakura Matou
Sakura nodded. "That's fine." She said to him, beginning to tap her foot as she waited for her food to arrive. "Give me your phone, I'll put in my phone number."
She also noticed her order had finally arrived.
"Thank you." She said to the waiter, looking up at him as he placed her plate in front of her.
Ron
Oh, right. The phone issue. Damn his luck for the thing breaking a little while back. He winced. "Well, about that... I haven't gotten around to replacing my phone yet. I got into a bit of a scuffle, you might say. That'll teach me not to skimp on the quality of the case. So um, I have a home number. If that will do."
Erica
"Thank you!" And she sounded grateful. Really, truly grateful. She seemed to have an absolute and unshakable faith in the fact that Noel's food would be excellent. "...Should we be going now?"
Neptune
Oh no he was frowning now, this wasn't good, not good at all. But then he was like all thankfull and even started brushing her hair again. "Oh man, then you should thank me by not taking your job like such a serious pants. Your seriousness is killing me. This self sacrifice crap is honestly pretty sad to watch." She stopped her speech to take a breathe. "Hey I'm trying to say something here, is my hair that nice?"
Sakura Matou
"Oh." Sakura said, somewhat taken aback by somebody not having a cell phone in this day and age. She quickly recovered however and nodded. "Yeah, that's fine with me." Sakura pulled a piece of paper and a pen out of seemingly thin air, and scribbled down her number.
"Here you go." She said, handing him the paper with a flourish. Showing off was fine, right.
Forest
Yes, Forest was aware that bestowing an orgasmic bite to someone who just had his testicles kicked was very dirty pool.
Did she care?
Not with that wanker.
Her hand muffled his scream and before she pulled her fangs out of him she put him to sleep. It wasn't a gentle suggestion. She "programed" his mind to go to sleep, which honestly wasn't that hard considering the fact he had a broken jaw and maybe even a ruptured testicle. Or two.
More gunshots rang out and she spun around to see Liam feeding with a big chunk of his face missing. She grimaced as she watched him feed. Not at the feeding itself, but the fact that part of the left side of his handsome face was missing. She made a tiny gesture before doing a mental sweep of the rest of the floor.
William
Hah, the girl was trying to pull him along yet again. As if he would let that happen a second time. While she was leading him along, he made up his mind. Giving her a small test would be rather fun, and would certainly serve to kill some time. Tensing his body for a split moment, he pulled his arm back with all his might. Let's so how she deals with this.
Shirou
What remaining doubts Shirou had disappeared as the creature began to prance around, emitting cute noises as it did so. He knew Sakura would love it, a feeling only enhanced when her lookalike bent down and gave it a stroke. Wanting to get to know it better, Shirou too bent down and stroked it, wondering how it would react. At the same time, he responded to the girl's rather-odd statement.
"Oh? Why are the females so much more?" he asked, confused, all the while playing with the cute creature that would soon be their beloved companion.
Sakura Matou
"Oh." Sakura said, somewhat taken aback by somebody not having a cell phone in this day and age. She quickly recovered however and nodded. "Yeah, that's fine with me." Sakura pulled a piece of paper and a pen out of seemingly thin air, and scribbled down her number.
"Here you go." She said, handing him the paper with a flourish. Showing off was fine, right.
Ron
He chuckled at Sakura's theatrics and put the paper in his wallet where he wouldn't lose it. Unlike phones, shirts, and pants, his wallet seemed to survive pretty much everything he got into with it. It was downright bizarre, but Ron wasn't complaining. "Well, you'll definitely be hearing from me sooner rather than later. And if you want to call me, well, it's on the card."
The werewolf blinked as something odd occurred to him. "Um, you don't have a problem with dogs on the properties, do you? House trained, of course."
Shirou
Shirou could tell from her response that she was irritated by his question, even bringing up something called a "shiny" version, whatever the hell that was. However, before he could apologise for offending and upsetting her, she instead apologised to him, having realised that she had been assuming knowledge he did not have.
Instead, she explained the idea of a "shiny" Pokemon, and why it would be so expensive. Accepting her explanation and having no real interest in such a thing, he nodded.
"OK, a male would be fine, then. I don't think my wife will care either way", he said.
Then, having accepted that he was going to buy it and continuing to play with it as he spoke, he addressed some of his questions.
"How do you look after Pokemon, anyway? And how do you train them to be stronger? I'm sorry, but I know nothing about them at all, if I'm going to care for one, I need some help."
Sakura Matou
Sakura shook her head, her mouth full and cheeks bulging with rice meat and bread. After she swallowed she elaborated. "No, of course not, not unless the building itself has a policy prohibiting it. I love animals."
Rider
Rider continued to sit and slowly eat her delicious food as Sakura and Ron talked business, nevertheless finding herself amused by Sakura theatrically summoning pen and paper out of thin air. However, when Ron mentioned a pet dog, her interest was piqued and, after Sakura had responded to his question, she spoke up.
"Oh, so, do you have a dog, then?" she asked. "What's it like?"
Neptune
She let him finish the pizza with a cute smile on her face. Yes this was her time to shine and pull him out of the darkness, like the heroine should. "But you don't need to do any of that alone, I'm here now~" She said as cheerfully as she possibly could. Wouldn't do for him to be this depressed after he had been so nice and given her pizza and all.
The last part of what he said did confuse her a bit though. Taking another look didn't make that feeling better. It sure did not look anything like Planeptune or any other place in Gamindustri she'd been to.
Mordred
"Maybe let's go back to my place? It might take a little while, but I'm sure that no one will spy on us there." After all she made sure that there were no secretly planted devices in her apartment. "We should though let Sakura know if we go there, so that she can catch up with us if she likes to. Just leaving without a word would be impolite.
Sakura Matou
Sakura shook her head, her mouth full and cheeks bulging with rice meat and bread. After she swallowed she elaborated. "No, of course not, not unless the building itself has a policy prohibiting it. I love animals."
Rider
Rider continued to sit and slowly eat her delicious food as Sakura and Ron talked business, nevertheless finding herself amused by Sakura theatrically summoning pen and paper out of thin air. However, when Ron mentioned a pet dog, her interest was piqued and, after Sakura had responded to his question, she spoke up.
"Oh, so, do you have a dog, then?" she asked. "What's it like?"
Ron
"Oh, good! That's good." He nodded a few times at that, and turned his eyes to Rider. Now to word this in a way that wasn't a lie, because he'd rather not lie to the mage landlady who could bind him to magical contracts he didn't know the particulars of. "Well, I'd say he's friendly enough. Big, too, but he can handle small spaces well enough as long as he goes out for enough walks. He's pretty much a wolf for all intents and purposes, but you couldn't tell by being around him."
Of course, Ron was the hound in question here. And describing himself.
Shirou
Battles? thought Shirou, confused, as he took the card before returning to petting the cute Pokemon. Against what?
"What would he fight?" Shirou asked, his confusion obvious. "I could spar with him, I suppose, but I might hurt him. And I can't afford another Pokemon to train it with."
Shirou was now a little worried. He needed to train the Eevee so it would become strong and able to help them, but he didn't think it would like having swords thrown at it, and he couldn't think of any other way to train it. Sure, it would be a cute pet, but for this price he could get several cute dogs or cats.
"Oh, also, what can it do now? I've not seen this one fight", he added, keen to know more.
Past Tense Forest
"Well, that weren't all bad. How many we got left, you figure?" Liam asked.
Forest frowned and answered, "About six or so let on this floor, but . . . there's someone up there that's making my Spider-Sense tingle. In the fact that I only read surface thoughts. Now sometimes I can come across a block, but this is a little troublesome."
Neptune
"Huh. You're saying I ended up in another dimension? Again. Ah Histy is gonna be sooo mad this time. I'll never be let out of work, she might even follow me to force me to do it. And then there won't be any more free time for gaming. Looks like I'm pretty screwed this time."
"Ah right someone else was here." Getting out of her rambling state the purple haired best goddess of the year turned to her gaurdian angel. "If only this guardian angel could show me the way to the closest teleportation machine but that would be too convenient a plot development. So I'll guess I'll have to settle with staying here, that means I don't have to work YAY"
"So like I couldn't help but notice Mr. Angel, but where's your wings? Aren't angels supposed to have these awesome wings and fly through the skies?"
Mitsuba
"Then you should have contacted a terrorist organization, not try to hire a contract killer. Any bounty hunter or hitman with some sense knows that the government is usually reliable when it comes to paying even if they pretend they don't need services of the underworld." She really had a bad feeling about this. This man didn't look any remotely trustworthy and did eye Muramasa as if he wanted to possess her.
I'm really sorry, Muramasa. We will go bounty hunting as I promised. Or gut him if he pursues us.
"If you're so insistent about the target, then there is nothing to discuss." She firmly declared, focused in case the man turned on her once she made her statement.
Mordred
"Welll... I do. I think I made quite a lot of enemies. But nevermind, you're here there anyway, I shouldn't forget that." Mordred squeezed her hand back. She really shouldn't worry that much with Breeze on her side. "You know, let's find some place like that. But let's to go to my place anyway tonight. I think I made you wait long enough." What kind of girlfriend she would be if she didn't sleep with her partner? Enough of shyness, she thought that tonight was the right moment to do that. She was totally inexperienced about matters like that, but Breeze was an understanding person.
Shirou
Shirou frowned at her words, realising that the creature would, in his current form, be quite useless to them. But, yet, despite that, Shirou couldn't find it in himself to reject the cute creature which was reacting so happily to the attention he was giving it. It was just so adorable.
"Would he become stronger if we did fight him ourselves?" Shirou asked, curious. "I probably shouldn't, but I think my wife could with her magic."
He was also interested in the "stone" thing. Could that perhaps be a shortcut to obtaining a stronger creature which could assist them in battle?
"Also, what do you mean by an 'elemental stone'?"
Ron
"Just kinda turned up one day." Rider was really making this hard for Ron. He didn't want to give away quite yet what he was, but she was asking the kinds of questions that made lying pretty hard. Thankfully one of his ex-girlfriends from high school had a convenient pet name for him to use there. A joke on his last name. "I've, uh known girls who called him Brownie, so I guess it kinda stuck."
Rider
Rider couldn't help but notice that something seemed a little... forced about Ron's reply, but Sakura seemed happy enough, and the man seemed nice, so she saw no reason to follow it up. However, whilst they were waiting for the waiter and she finished off the last bites of her delicious food, she saw no reason not to find out more about this wolf-like dog.
"Where did you get a dog like that?" she asked. "What's it called?"
Neptune
"Histy follow me here? Don't say such scary things. She'd turn into a demon and rain fire all over the city, you haven't seen her when she's angry....she's gets like really angry." The purple haired goddess was nervously looking around, half expecting the demon to pop up from a bush and bring ruin to her day. When nothing happened after a moment she seemed to calm down.
"Or she'd just open a portal after looking for the dimension for a few years, like last time. Yeah gotta stay positive Neptune. The heroine can't die from a simple accident."
"These angel guys really sound like a group of stuck ups. I might not be the most hard working and all but I care. I know every nook and cranny of Planeptune and I met new people every day. Searching for retro consoles is pretty hard these days OK."
William
"Ah I suppose I could have some of them. What's that milkshake you were talking about earlier? It sounded rather suspiciously made up." So she could resist when he used this much strength, that was interesting. He'd observe for now and see what drove her, finding out her motivations would be a first step. "Fine I'll take that one then."
Shirou
"Oh, I see", Shirou responded, continuing to play with the cute creature.
"Well, how much would these stones be? And, would they work now, or would he need to be stronger before we could use one?" he added.
Not that he could afford one of them right now, of course, but knowing if there were any restrictions was still important.
Sakura Matou
"It's clearly a mutt, Rider." Sakura said as she swallowed the last of her food and leaned back, comfortably resting her body as she prepared to digest her meal.
Eventually, after a bit more waving, the waiter came back over with their check. Sakura gave Ron the evil eye as she paid, warning him not to try anything funny and try to pay himself. She liked treating other people. It made her feel all warm and fuzzy inside.
Meti
"Nope!" Swords didn't really need trust, after all. Meti had learned that from all the different kinds of blades that she had touched. A blade was joined with men by inevitability and necessity. There need not be love or trust. As long as there was blood to be shed they would need each other.
"But as long as the sword and wielder have the same goal then they have something better than trust."
hunger
Erica
With a bounce in her step as she walked in Noel's wake the blue haired girl carried all of the groceries with one hand. She stopped by right at the door once the blonde had stopped to unlock it and with a bit of cheer asked, "Should these all in the kitchen or do you wish for me to sort them into the refrigerator as well?"
Neptune
The goddess sent him a short glare as he chuckled at the very real threat of a tiny demon appearing to ruin the day. Nevermind that though there were other things to do. "You got that right, ain't gonna be any trouble with me around to save the day. If only I had some nice pudding now, I could celebrate getting a new friend but it's not like it's just gonna conveniently fall from the sky or anything even I'm not that lucky."
Sakura Matou
"It's clearly a mutt, Rider." Sakura said as she swallowed the last of her food and leaned back, comfortably resting her body as she prepared to digest her meal.
Eventually, after a bit more waving, the waiter came back over with their check. Sakura gave Ron the evil eye as she paid, warning him not to try anything funny and try to pay himself. She liked treating other people. It made her feel all warm and fuzzy inside.
Ron
At first Ron frowned at the mutt comment, but slowly nodded to himself at the thought. Mixed breed dogs were just better than specialized purebred ones, overall. Oh sure a purebred hunting hound might be better at specific things, but it probably wouldn't be all that healthy in the long run. It might be deficient in other ways too.
So Ron took it as a compliment, and gave a dirty look to Sakura for her stubborn generosity. "... you win this round. But not the war."
Shirou
Shirou nodded, continuing to play with the Pokemon as he did so. He couldn't really afford that now, but a few more jobs and he perhaps could. Although, he was sure Sakura would be happy with the cute little creature as he was, even if he couldn't fight alongside them just yet.
"OK, well, do you have a list of the options? My wife would surely want to look and see which one we'd want, when the time comes to evolve him", he responded, still petting the cute Pokemon.
Mordred
And so they went to a roof. There was no really other option since Breeze wasn't too keen on walking that far, apparently. "You know, I think you're mistaken about something. I'm not a sorcerer. My abilities are not a magic, for starters."
Mordred started explaining the situation to Breeze, taking small step instead of bombarding her with revelations too fast. She'd show her the truth a bit later, after she explained some things first.
Lucy
And the face pats were back in full force. "I've had better. Kisses all begin to feel the same unless someone makes them more interesting. Now then, since you're so pleased by my little gift I think I deserve a name."
Then the Messengers were back. Slipping in and doing their best to just bend the redhead's will slightly, make her more likely to listen and obey.
Erica
She gave a short, dutiful nod at that statement. The Spirit Vessel had learned better than to argue with Noel about things involving her property. So she walked in and seated herself in a chair while simply observing. She looked at Noel for as long as it would be polite before beginning to look around the house a bit.
"You have a lovely home, Noel." Well, not everyone might see it exactly as she did but from Erica's perspective there was no better place to stay than one that had been taken care of by the blonde.
Sakura Matou
Sakura smirked at him triumphantly. She didn't say any words as she handed the waiter her debit card, gloating at her victory, being the exact opposite of graceful. After she paid, she flashed a smile at Ron, and shook her head. "Don't worry about it. It's no big deal at all."
Sakura Matou
Sakura smirked at him triumphantly. She didn't say any words as she handed the waiter her debit card, gloating at her victory, being the exact opposite of graceful. After she paid, she flashed a smile at Ron, and shook her head. "Don't worry about it. It's no big deal at all."
Ron
Truly, this girl was the worst sort of winner: The kind who lorded it over you after the fact. That it meant he didn't have to pay for lunch was entirely beside the point. Though it did make her curious how she had gotten so much money in just a few years. The magic, maybe? Anyone with enough to need to put it in a bank account like that without being here a decade or two was definitely making a lot.
It was then that Ron had the thought of Sakura running a gang full of girls who all dyed their hair purple to emulate her and beat people up over territory. He couldn't help his own snickers after that one. "Is, is Rider your ah, only 'servant'?"
Sakura Matou
Sakura smirked at him triumphantly. She didn't say any words as she handed the waiter her debit card, gloating at her victory, being the exact opposite of graceful. After she paid, she flashed a smile at Ron, and shook her head. "Don't worry about it. It's no big deal at all."
Ron
Truly, this girl was the worst sort of winner: The kind who lorded it over you after the fact. That it meant he didn't have to pay for lunch was entirely beside the point. Though it did make her curious how she had gotten so much money in just a few years. The magic, maybe? Anyone with enough to need to put it in a bank account like that without being here a decade or two was definitely making a lot.
It was then that Ron had the thought of Sakura running a gang full of girls who all dyed their hair purple to emulate her and beat people up over territory. He couldn't help his own snickers after that one. "Is, is Rider your ah, only 'servant'?"
Sakura Matou
Sakura giggled at what she was about to say to Ron. She knew it would confuse him to death but she just couldn't resist doing it.
"Nope, of course not. I have three servants. The other two are named Jeanne and Archer. You'll probably meet them at some point, hehe~"
Shirou
Shirou was momentarily put-off by the formality the Sakura look-a-like was showing him, but he nevertheless smiled back at her, stopping stroking the Pokemon in order to pull out his card. They didn't have much money in their account, but he had enough to pay for the Pokemon, just about, and he still had the bounty to collect, so they should be fine.
"OK, thank you", he said with a smile as he took the card reader, entering his details.
Then, having paid, he moved to pick up the small creature, holding it gently in his arms.
"You're going to be our new pet!" he said, cooing at the Pokemon as if he was talking to a baby. "My wife will love you, I'm sure."
Neptune
"Oh wow you actually have it, I totally regret saying all those bad things about you now. I'm so sorry Gaddy." With that out of the way it was time to move onward to the good part. She shot up like a rocket and assumed the hype pose, with her left foot on the bench next to Gadreel's lap and her right foot on the bench's backrest next to Gadreel's head while pointing to the sky dramatically.
"Yes we (by we I mean I) will enjoy the pudding mix of vanilla and chocolate. Nothing can stop us (me) now, Not Histy, not my sister, not even a dogoo invasion!"
Rider
Rider couldn't help but feel slightly jealous at the way Sakura talked about her blonde servant so familiarly, as if she was more important to her than Rider was. Not that it mattered to her, of course, Sakura's happiness was all that was important, but it was nice to be appreciated, and Rider couldn't help but feel jealous of the way that the blonde servant was welcomed even into their bedroom.
However, those feelings were soon buried with Ron's reply, one which thoroughly confused Rider. Looking at him in a manner that showed her utter confusion about why he would think that, she responded.
"No, of course not", she said, trying to remain polite despite the stupidity of the question. "Why would they?"
William
And here he found himself dragged to a table as he watched this unusually strong girl order three double milkshakes. He really doubted she'd ever be able to dwon all of those but he wouldn't back down from a challenge like this, not in a million years. "In that case I will have four super double chocolate-mocha milkshakes. Yes I feel that would be the perfect number."
Rider
Rider couldn't help but feel slightly jealous at the way Sakura talked about her blonde servant so familiarly, as if she was more important to her than Rider was. Not that it mattered to her, of course, Sakura's happiness was all that was important, but it was nice to be appreciated, and Rider couldn't help but feel jealous of the way that the blonde servant was welcomed even into their bedroom.
However, those feelings were soon buried with Ron's reply, one which thoroughly confused Rider. Looking at him in a manner that showed her utter confusion about why he would think that, she responded.
"No, of course not", she said, trying to remain polite despite the stupidity of the question. "Why would they?"
Ron
He ducked his head a bit. "Ah, well, it's just that you both have purple hair. Two can be coincidence, so I guess I wanted to see if it was a pattern or something." The werewolf blushed a bit from how silly it sounded once he actually said it. "You know, like everyone who calls themselves Sakura's servant dyes their hair purple."
"Rikuyo, I guess. It's not my only name, but I like my human name. Nice and short." Plus possessing a body of a mortal really rubbed on her in many ways. "And huh, he's still alive, right? He looks as if I killed him in the heat of battle at first, but he's just more wrecked than me. I'm not in mood for finishing him off anyway."
A loser could always get up and try again. While she believed in kill or be killed nature of the world, she made some compromises for the sake of her own entertainment.
Shirou
Shirou smiled back at the Sakura-like girl as he continued to pet the cute Eevee, taking back the card and the weird ball which the creature had come in.
"Erm, how do I use this?" he asked, uncertain how the ball worked. "And is there any reason I should?"
There was another thing, he was unsure about, too.
"You talked about 'levelling up', but how can I tell if he's done that? Or whether he's close to evolving?" he added, needing to clarify a few other things.
Meanwhile, he continued to stroke his new pet lovingly, glad that he seemed happy with all the attention he was getting.
Neptune
"Dogoos are the servants of evil, they're nasty creatures who eat humans for breakfast. You'd recognize them if you saw them they're about this big and say Dogoo all the time." The purple haired goddess was gesticulating with her arms in an attempt to describe their size with an excited way.
"Dogoo." a sound come from behind her.
"Yeah exactly like that Gaddy, Dogoo." She nodded to him.
"Dogoo, Dogoo, Dogoo Dogoo."
Sakura Matou
Sakura giggled at the two. Ron for his stupidity, and Rider for her reaction. She had absolutely no idea why Ron had made that leap of logic, but it was funny and cute. She liked him.
"So, um, when should we meet up?" Sakura said as she stood up with a bit of difficulty, using the table to lift herself up. She didn't ask for any help though, she didn't want it.
After she got up, the girl extended her hand to Ron. "I really hope you'll take me up on my offer."
Forest of the Past
The ancient Scot shrugged and answered, "I wouldn't say psychic monster per say. There are people who are immune to probes or don't broadcast. It's kind of rare, but it does happen. It could just be some bloke. Or it could be some scary thing as well."
She frowned, wishing that she had brought her magnum, but she had the pistol she confiscated.
I have a bad feeling I might be under prepared for this.
William
"You were saying?"
The dark mage of darkness had already finished two of the double chocolate-mocha milkshakes in the blink of an eye before the girl had even finished her question. How he'd performed such a feat was a complete mystery, maybe he cheated or....he was just that good.
"There's far too much chocolate here, it looks like a drink made for teenaagers with a diabetes wish. Do you seriously drink this every day? A healthy body and a healthy mind requires a steady dose of healthy food." His tone was harsh as it seemed he was scolding her.
"Disappointing."
Sakura Matou
Sakura giggled at the two. Ron for his stupidity, and Rider for her reaction. She had absolutely no idea why Ron had made that leap of logic, but it was funny and cute. She liked him.
"So, um, when should we meet up?" Sakura said as she stood up with a bit of difficulty, using the table to lift herself up. She didn't ask for any help though, she didn't want it.
After she got up, the girl extended her hand to Ron. "I really hope you'll take me up on my offer."
Ron
Well, I certainly made a good impression here. Insert uncertainty here. In any case, he had a thing to do. "Well, if you're still going to be around for a while then I guess we could meet up in... let's say a couple of hours? That way I can do what I said I'd do first."
He didn't insult her by offering any help. The predator in him would have balked at receiving that kind of offer given to him, so of course he wouldn't be a hypocrite about it.
Ron smiled and accepted her hand, shaking firmly. "I don't really doubt that I will. So whether we meet up again soon or not, you'll be hearing from me about that."
Shirou
Shirou sighed at the girl's obivous confusion. Yes, she had explained how to get the Pokemon out of the ball, but he couldn't remember anything about how to get it back in. Still, it seemed simple enough, not that he was inclined to try it right now. After all, his new pet seemed happy enough cooing in his arms as he stroked it lovingly. So, he saw no reason to respond to her.
The next part, though, he did feel he needed to react to. Not knowing when or if their pet would evolve was fine, but he still had no idea how he was supposed to know when he had levelled-up. It's not like a status window appeared in his mind like it had for Saber, after all. And, there were other things he needed to cover, too.
"OK, but how do I tell if he's levelled-up? Or what level he currently is?" he asked, confused.
"Also, what should I feed him? I have no idea what Pokemon eat. And, is there anything else I need to know about him? I don't want him getting sick or upset because we don't know how to look after him...", he added, genuinely worried for the well-being of their new pet.
After all, the cute creature now relaxing in his arms was their responsibility now, part of their family. Shirou wanted to make sure he had a good, happy life.
Neptune
"Bingo. We have a winner here!" Her hands came down to point at the winner. "Behold the grand prize, a million free rides on Neptuneland's greatest attraction: the Nep-train!" She went silent for a second, and another...."How did you know by the way?"
"Dogoo"
The blue monster horde had seemingly multiplied many times over behind her. What had only been a few mere moments ago were now dozens, no scores of the vile beings were congregrating on their position, drawing ever closer.
"They're right behind me aren't they? Hehe, of course they are. Having the thing you're describing appear behind you is a normal plot development in comedies." She turned around to have a look at the situation.
"Whoa there's a whole army here, if only I had my wea-...."
A pair of swords fell from the sky at that moment cleaving the closest dogoo in half as the poor thing exploded into....pixels. The protagonist of protagonists calmly jumped off the bench and walked over to pick up the swords in a way that was totally fitting of the main character. She then immediately lashed out a dogoo that was trying to sneak up on her. "Uselss, Useless, Useless"
Sakura Matou
A Few Hours Later…
After Ron left, Sakura and Rider had gone home. Sakura had given Rider the vulgar man, who had then gone off to do unspeakable things to him. She had then gone off to lay around and nap on her couch, awaiting the phone call from Ron. After a while, the call had arrived, and Sakura had gone out to meet up with him at their designated place, which she arrived at after a short ride.
As she was driven around by her driver, Sakura looked out the window, looking for Ron. As soon as she spotten him, she opened her window, and waved. "Hey, get in the car~" She called out to him cheerfully.
Sakura Matou
A Few Hours Later…
After Ron left, Sakura and Rider had gone home. Sakura had given Rider the vulgar man, who had then gone off to do unspeakable things to him. She had then gone off to lay around and nap on her couch, awaiting the phone call from Ron. After a while, the call had arrived, and Sakura had gone out to meet up with him at their designated place, which she arrived at after a short ride.
As she was driven around by her driver, Sakura looked out the window, looking for Ron. As soon as she spotten him, she opened her window, and waved. "Hey, get in the car~" She called out to him cheerfully.
Ron
As for the werewolf, well, he had a promise to keep. He went around talking to store owners and asked around about if they'd seen a man who fit the description Medaka had given him. A few had some notion of him, but nothing more recent than 'a few months ago' or 'maybe back in the winter?' It seemed his trail had grown cold here. That was disappointing.
So he went back to the doughnut shop, knowing that the two vampires would be drawn to it again sooner or later to satisfy Shinobu's fierce cravings. There he left a message for them, telling them what he'd found - or rather, what he hadn't found. Ron would have preferred to tell them directly, but his lack of a cell phone was biting him in the ass again.
Then he went home to make a phone call.
The working class monster blinked at the sight of a big car with a driver and a purple-headed woman sitting in the back. After a quick, discreet sniff of the air to make sure he wasn't just seeing and hearing things, he replied. "Wow. Um, okay. Sure."
So he did.
Neptune
"Hiiiyaaaaa!"
She swung at yet another dogoo, their numbers seemingly endless. After Kicking a dogoo hard enough to send it flying, she took off into a sprint, spinning around wildly to thin the herd. "Maybe I'll tell you if you do something cool Gaddy~"
Just as she finished speaking a large chunk of the dogoos suddenly started converging into one large mass as they fused with each other. The blue blob grew larger and larger until it was twice as tall as a man and five times as wide.
Neptune ran up next to him as she saw what happened. "Watch out, that's a giant dogoo, they are really hard to kill. I mean like really really hard to kill like you wouldn't believe it just by looking at them, but they can take a whole lot of pain and they heal fast too."
Sakura Matou
Sakura smiled at Ron as he got into the car. "Hi there~~~" she sung out to him. "You seem a bit surprised, hehe."
As soon as Ron shut the door, her driver began taking them to their destination at a leisurely pace. She'd told him to give them some time, after all.
Mordred
"Yeah. Though the thing is I'm not really a human. Or, at least I used to be. How to put it, I'm more like half and half. I normally hide it from people with a really potent illusion for the sake of convenience, but I really shouldn't keep it secret from someone dear to me." Ah, screw hiding. Breeze would surely didn't mind how she was. She unraveled her illusion right then, revealing her armored looks with a tail, wings, horns and red skin.
Auspicious Breeze
Oh! Oh. Ohhhh...
Well, Mordred really made scales look better than Breeze did. No doubt there! Whatever her girlfriend here was didn't have the same sort of twisted, craggy and ugly-colored hide that lurked under the skin that her mistress had conjured up for her with magic. So after a moment to adjust to it the former gladiator did something she'd seen since coming to this Nexus place.
She held her hand out and pointed her thumb up at the sky, smiling. "You make that look work, Mordred!"
Sakura Matou
Sakura smiled at Ron as he got into the car. "Hi there~~~" she sung out to him. "You seem a bit surprised, hehe."
As soon as Ron shut the door, her driver began taking them to their destination at a leisurely pace. She'd told him to give them some time, after all.
Ron
"Heh, yeah, I guess I do. You weren't kidding about money earlier..." He took a closer look at the inside for a moment, just to get a sense for what he had to work with in here in case things went ugly. Not that he expected it, but it was a good habit to get into and the wolf in him appreciated the effort. "So, where are we heading?"
Sakura Matou
Sakura smiled at Ron as he got into the car. "Hi there~~~" she sung out to him. "You seem a bit surprised, hehe."
As soon as Ron shut the door, her driver began taking them to their destination at a leisurely pace. She'd told him to give them some time, after all.
Ron
"Heh, yeah, I guess I do. You weren't kidding about money earlier..." He took a closer look at the inside for a moment, just to get a sense for what he had to work with in here in case things went ugly. Not that he expected it, but it was a good habit to get into and the wolf in him appreciated the effort. "So, where are we heading?"
Sakura Matou
"To the house and after that the apartment. I thought you'd like to get a good look at it before you make any big financial decisions." She said with only a bit of a smugness in her otherwise genuine smile. She just loved being in control of these sorts of things. "I decided you might like to have a bit of a choice, after all."
Sakura Matou
Sakura smiled at Ron as he got into the car. "Hi there~~~" she sung out to him. "You seem a bit surprised, hehe."
As soon as Ron shut the door, her driver began taking them to their destination at a leisurely pace. She'd told him to give them some time, after all.
Ron
"Heh, yeah, I guess I do. You weren't kidding about money earlier..." He took a closer look at the inside for a moment, just to get a sense for what he had to work with in here in case things went ugly. Not that he expected it, but it was a good habit to get into and the wolf in him appreciated the effort. "So, where are we heading?"
Sakura Matou
"To the house and after that the apartment. I thought you'd like to get a good look at it before you make any big financial decisions." She said with only a bit of a smugness in her otherwise genuine smile. She just loved being in control of these sorts of things. "I decided you might like to have a bit of a choice, after all."
Ron
He could smell the smug on her. Truly, he was with a wicked human being. At least she wasn't the lady who ran the bakery downstairs who collected his rent right now. Making him pay double the rent for the same space just because Anne was there was cruel. Truly cruel. It was a lack of good, reliable alternatives that had brought Ron to this point.
"Well, thanks. Definitely need to look at it all first." He smiled anyway, because it looked like his luck was turning around now. "So, here's a question: What are the neighbors like?"
Ron
"Talking about your money is a good way to lose it in Nexus." Like when he took home his first paycheck back in high school and got jumped after flashing it around. Sure, Ron gave as good as he got there, but he couldn't turn into a giant furry killing machine back then. Baseball bats hurt. "You must put a lot of work into the neighborhood to keep it clean, huh."
Forest of the Past
"You sure you don't want the boomstick? I can use the pistol just fine," Forest said as she lifted said shot gun.
While waiting for him to answer, she did a deeper probe on one of the minds on the third floor just like he suggested. She wanted to know if they knew what it was she couldn't read. Knowing was half the battle after all.
Shirou
"You mean we get to cook for him?" Shirou asked, excitedly, stroking the adorable creature even more as he responded.
Shirou and Sakura loved cooking, and they especially loved cooking meals for others to enjoy. Having someone else to spoil with their cooking was a real bonus.
"Did you hear that?" he cooed at the creature in his arms, his excitement and enthusiasm obvious. "We're going to cook you lots of delicious meals!"
Sakura Matou
Sakura shrugged. "Notsomuch any more. The Vampires and their ilk have learned better than try to interfere with my stuff. It used to be alot more work. Nowadays we only get fools and newcomers causing any trouble." Sakura spoke as if it wasn't really a big deal to her.
Sakura paused. "Anyway, what's your income like, on average. I don't want to be scalping you, after all. I'd like to charge you something you can reasonably pay."
Sakura Matou
Sakura shrugged. "Notsomuch any more. The Vampires and their ilk have learned better than try to interfere with my stuff. It used to be alot more work. Nowadays we only get fools and newcomers causing any trouble." Sakura spoke as if it wasn't really a big deal to her.
Sakura paused. "Anyway, what's your income like, on average. I don't want to be scalping you, after all. I'd like to charge you something you can reasonably pay."
Ron
"Vampires, huh?" Well, he supposed it wouldn't be appropriate to bring Medaka and Shinobu around then. Not that it would have been without that consideration since he doubted Anne would be all for it. Unless she would be? That was a conversation he wasn't looking forward to.
As for money, it depended on how many gang members he was rolling for wallets and what kind of repair jobs he had going on. "Well if we take it month by month, an average one lately's been a couple thousand a month. But living in a good space I'll probably have a little less; not as much vandalism to fix up, you know?"
Ron
"Well, what I paid before Anne moved in was fine. About half a thousand a month for a studio over a bakery in an okay neighborhood in this city is pretty good." He had to concede that much. "But after? Landlady started expecting double despite the room not getting any bigger. I don't know if that's normal, but given my girlfriend was from out of the city... it was a hard first couple of months. You know, before she found some steady work too."
Shirou
Shirou smiled at the excited squeal his new pet emitted in response to his statement, happy that he seemed to approve of Shirou's idea. Continuing to stroke him lovingly, Shirou addressed the girl once more.
"So, how does he fight?" Shirou asked, uncertain how Pokemon worked. "Would we just ask him to attack something, or does he need more instructions?"
Meti
"Huh? Well okay." Seemed pretty weird but first... One of her blades slid out and her other body's head rolled away in a neat movement. Meti was fascinated for a moment. Watching what it would be like to have her own head cut off in such a neat and polite fashion.
Then she got a move on. But not before giving Michael a look as if asking him if he was coming.
Erica
The blue haired girl smiled as she received the food. All of her senses told her that this was incredibly unappetizing and most certainly toxic in some fashion, but it was Noel's cooking so it was wonderful. She took a deep whiff of it, luxuriating in the smell, and then she began to eat.
Everything went down terribly. The sludge was awful and clung to her throat when she swallowed while the slices were either too hard or too soft. That didn't stop her from eating the obviously delicious food at a slow pace, savoring every bit of it.
Erica finished the entire thing. The bowl was completely, utterly spotless. Then she smiled up at the blonde. "That was delicious. Thank you for the meal, Noel."
Ron
"Well, what I paid before Anne moved in was fine. About half a thousand a month for a studio over a bakery in an okay neighborhood in this city is pretty good." He had to concede that much. "But after? Landlady started expecting double despite the room not getting any bigger. I don't know if that's normal, but given my girlfriend was from out of the city... it was a hard first couple of months. You know, before she found some steady work too."
Sakura Matou
Sakura shook her head at him. "No, that's not normal at all. Your landlady is a scummy woman taking advantage of you. Charging per person is ridiculous. But don't worry! I won't do anything like that, never ever!" Sakura proclaimed. She was proud of being a decent person to her tenants. Suddenly, the car stopped, signaling it was time to get out.
"Well, we're at the apartment, so shall we go check it out?" Sakura asked him, already opening her door.
Neptune
She got pulled up by Gadreel, his grip was surprisingly firm. Well he did toss the bench earlier so he was actually pretty strong after all, maybe she worried over nothing. Betterto be safe than sorry though.
She cut apart a few stray dogoos that remained while watching Gadreel deal with the giant one. He was doing a pretty decent job, circling around it and gradually cutting it apart, it was rather strange how the wounds he left weren't closing at all. Maybe his sword was magical, it looked pretty amazing from where she was standing.
"Dogoos are actually the most common type monster back in my world. There's even a version of them that has tentacles....yes tentacles, you heard right Gaddy~"
Altough it looked like he doing a decent job on his own she couldn't let him do all fighting, besides she should be the one protecting him anyways. Now that the dogoo was focused on him she could go on the attack. The moment she finished speaking the purple haired goddess dashed forward towards the giant dogoo and jumped, barely manging to land on top of it.
"Whoaaaah"
Struggling to stand up she tried to hack it's body while swaying around from all it's thrashing.
Mordred
"No, you're really don't have to!" There was a hint of panic as Mordred noticed that Sakura was talking about hugging her. It really didn't sound like something safe for her. The imminent danger of getting hugged too strongly for her own health meant that she really couldn't respond properly to Breeze's praise.
Mordred
"No, you're really don't have to!" There was a hint of panic as Mordred noticed that Sakura was talking about hugging her. It really didn't sound like something safe for her. The imminent danger of getting hugged too strongly for her own health meant that she really couldn't respond properly to Breeze's praise.
Auspicious Breeze
Ohh, why didn't she think of that?! A hug was exactly the right response to this. Sakura was such a smart girl to go for that right away. So the former gladiator moved to join in on that one and squeeze both of them. "Group hug!"
Ron
"Well, what I paid before Anne moved in was fine. About half a thousand a month for a studio over a bakery in an okay neighborhood in this city is pretty good." He had to concede that much. "But after? Landlady started expecting double despite the room not getting any bigger. I don't know if that's normal, but given my girlfriend was from out of the city... it was a hard first couple of months. You know, before she found some steady work too."
Sakura Matou
Sakura shook her head at him. "No, that's not normal at all. Your landlady is a scummy woman taking advantage of you. Charging per person is ridiculous. But don't worry! I won't do anything like that, never ever!" Sakura proclaimed. She was proud of being a decent person to her tenants. Suddenly, the car stopped, signaling it was time to get out.
"Well, we're at the apartment, so shall we go check it out?" Sakura asked him, already opening her door.
Ron
Ron's smile only had a hint of danger to it. The kind you would expect from someone who'd heard that sort of thing before. "I'll hold you to that." That wasn't really why the hint was there, of course; it as the whole being a flesh-eating apex predator thing. It really wasn't anything personal.
"Lead on then, miss landlady. Missuses landlady?" He shrugged and got out to see the place for himself.
Shirou
Shirou smiled at the girl as she left.
"OK, thank you", he said as he turned to walk away, still holding his new pet in his arms lovingly. "I promise that he'll be well-treated and loved."
He felt like he should add the last part. After all, surely she would worry about the creatures which had been in her care, and would want them to have a loving home.
As he walked away, though, another thing came to mind. The Pokemon from earlier had been following the girl without a leash. Would this one do the same, or would he need to collar him like you would a pet dog?
"Oh, excuse me, one more thing", he said. "Does he need a collar and leash, or will he just follow after me and my wife if we take him for walks?"
Erica
Erica's nonexistent heart beat rapidly at Noel's expression. This was without a doubt the greatest idea she had ever had in her life. With a pleased expression on her face and her hands clasped together the blue haired girl smiled. "Yes please!"
This food was the greatest she had ever had in her life. Just because of this moment.
Neptune
"Hey...tentacles is...whoaa there....the most foolproof way of boosting your ratings. The fans go absolutely wild when they appear." The purple haired goddess stumbled around while talking as the blue giant moved. Keeping her balance for more than a moment was proving to be quite the challenge, a challenge fit for the protagonist.
The dogoo itself, was twisting around under the assault from both of them, lashing out with it's feeble attacks that might be enough to deal with the elderly or children. But the two of them persisted hitting it again and again.
it eventually stopped moving as it cried out in pain and evaporated into pixels much like it's smaller brethren. However this was most unfortunate for the goddess of Planeptune who now found herself with nothing to stand on beneath her feat. So she stood for a long drawn out moment in mid air before reality remembered there was something called gravity and she promptly came crashing down onto the ground.
"Owww...I tried so hard but I can't go on anymore...farewell cruel world!" She declared with as much fake drama as she could possibly muster while remaining prone on the ground.
Sakura Matou
Sakura smiled back at Ron. "Of course! I'm a woman of my word." She said as she led the way into the complex. "And please, Sakura's fine. Matou-san is fine too."
Ding!
The elevator made its noise, signaling that they'd arrived at their destination, the fifth floor. Sakura walked right out of the elevator up to the door directly across from it, and pulled out a key, unlocking the door.
"Pretty convenient location, isn't it?"
Sakura Matou
Sakura smiled back at Ron. "Of course! I'm a woman of my word." She said as she led the way into the complex. "And please, Sakura's fine. Matou-san is fine too."
Ding!
The elevator made its noise, signaling that they'd arrived at their destination, the fifth floor. Sakura walked right out of the elevator up to the door directly across from it, and pulled out a key, unlocking the door.
"Pretty convenient location, isn't it?"
Ron
"Huh. Well, Sakura it is then."
He blinked and allowed tension to enter his body again once the door was open. His canine senses overtook his human ones despite his for,m lessened though they were by comparison to just turning into a wolf. It would be enough for him to sniff out any strangeness, like mildew or hidden molds. Or old blood. Things like that.
Ron's eyes and nose took in everything. "It's definitely accessible. Fire escapes by the windows too I'm guessing?"
Meti
Hmm. Everyone was being so... deadly. It made her feel like she was walking on clouds. It was just so comforting. Better than a fluffy pillow on a bed at home. She loosened up quite a bit just in that moment.
And she supposed that Vanguard was right. Surprises were in store for her everywhere today! So she swung her swords about a bit, emptying out every bit of herself. Until all that was left was violence, and sharpness, and hunger.
Then she lunged forwards, her sword almost leading her as it moved to ram itself through the man's heart. Meanwhile the other sword remained careful and guarding as her narrowed eyes observed the man with terrifying focus and a bright smile on her face. She was faster than him right now, so she would capitalize on it. But it was more than just sheer speed. The way her blade moved flawlessly through the air, its perfect cut through space, it all but appeared in front in front of him. This was the work of a master swordsman; one whose attacks were not mere violence but art as they traveled faster than should be possible.
Erica
At the sight of more of the food Erica's happiness only grew. "I would gladly finish it all. That is, unless you wanted some yourself or were saving more for others."
Mordred
Just in time. If Sakura was the one hugging, her life could be in jeopardy. Hopefully she wouldn't hug them back in response. She was a nice person, but with such a decree of strength that the changeling didn't want to be squeezed.
Sakura Matou
"Mhm. Of course." Sakura said, resting her hands on her bulging stomach as she led him past the entryway. Inside was a pristinely clean living room with a white carpet and a comfortable looking couch, with a nice solid coffee table sitting about a foot in front of it.
Past the living room one could see a sliding glass door leading to a balcony on one side, and a dining area which led into a kitchen on the other, and finally a hallway that presumably led to the bedrooms and bathroom.
"I hope this is fine, this definitely isn't my best property." Sakura said, her truthfulness unclear. Was she boasting, or being serious. Only she knew.
Sakura Matou
"Mhm. Of course." Sakura said, resting her hands on her bulging stomach as she led him past the entryway. Inside was a pristinely clean living room with a white carpet and a comfortable looking couch, with a nice solid coffee table sitting about a foot in front of it.
Past the living room one could see a sliding glass door leading to a balcony on one side, and a dining area which led into a kitchen on the other, and finally a hallway that presumably led to the bedrooms and bathroom.
"I hope this is fine, this definitely isn't my best property." Sakura said, her truthfulness unclear. Was she boasting, or being serious. Only she knew.
Ron
It had a balcony? That was a dangerous thing in the Nexus; too easy to get into. On the other hand it was a convenient emergency exit too. And the neighborhood was supposedly one of the nicer ones, right? Well, he would have to take a look around for that later. He took a quick walk through, sniffed around, and while he did that he asked important questions.
"Well, I'm definitely impressed. Does it come furnished like this?" Questions like this one.
William
As expected the maid outfit looked great on her. He had honestly forgotten she wasn't wearing any underwear, but he was able to keep his surprise from showing by drawing on all the skill he had aquired trough his years of scheming.
The dark mage then turned his attention to the incredibly attractive redhead and drank in the sight of her luscious body. "Ah yes as a matter of fact there is one thing you could do for me." As he spoke he extended a hand to the beautiful redhead. "I, Lord William Hightower would like to formally extend an invitation for you to my castle."
Jin
Beep beep
What was that? oh it was his phone vibrating, a pretty bad time for this but he might as well answer....
"Hello it's meeeeee hyaaaarghh..."
Screams could be heard and something that sounded suspicously like "Die you fucker."
"Yeah Oka not really a good time to call...oh god he has a chainsaw."
Mordred
Just in time. If Sakura was the one hugging, her life could be in jeopardy. Hopefully she wouldn't hug them back in response. She was a nice person, but with such a decree of strength that the changeling didn't want to be squeezed.
Auspicious Breeze
Well now she was hugging both of them, so that was nice. They were both really cute. And now that she was getting a closer look at her this look was really doing nice things for Mordred! "I can see why you didn't want to show this in public. You'd be beating admirers off with a stick!"
Mordred
Just in time. Her life was almost in jeopardy when Sakura started hugging her. Thankfully Breeze distracted her with her own hug. Sakura was a nice person, but with such a degree of strength that the changeling didn't want to be squeezed and crushed.
Sakura Matou
"Mhm. Of course." Sakura said, resting her hands on her bulging stomach as she led him past the entryway. Inside was a pristinely clean living room with a white carpet and a comfortable looking couch, with a nice solid coffee table sitting about a foot in front of it.
Past the living room one could see a sliding glass door leading to a balcony on one side, and a dining area which led into a kitchen on the other, and finally a hallway that presumably led to the bedrooms and bathroom.
"I hope this is fine, this definitely isn't my best property." Sakura said, her truthfulness unclear. Was she boasting, or being serious. Only she knew.
Ron
It had a balcony? That was a dangerous thing in the Nexus; too easy to get into. On the other hand it was a convenient emergency exit too. And the neighborhood was supposedly one of the nicer ones, right? Well, he would have to take a look around for that later. He took a quick walk through, sniffed around, and while he did that he asked important questions.
"Well, I'm definitely impressed. Does it come furnished like this?" Questions like this one.
Sakura Matou
Sakura nodded. "Of course! Why wouldn't it, it's not like you could steal it when I can enforce it through a magical contract, after all. Of course if you don't want to sign that sort of thing, you can provide your own furniture. By the way, this apartment has two bedrooms, and one bathroom. Do you think that'll be enough space?"
Sakura Matou
"Mhm. Of course." Sakura said, resting her hands on her bulging stomach as she led him past the entryway. Inside was a pristinely clean living room with a white carpet and a comfortable looking couch, with a nice solid coffee table sitting about a foot in front of it.
Past the living room one could see a sliding glass door leading to a balcony on one side, and a dining area which led into a kitchen on the other, and finally a hallway that presumably led to the bedrooms and bathroom.
"I hope this is fine, this definitely isn't my best property." Sakura said, her truthfulness unclear. Was she boasting, or being serious. Only she knew.
Ron
It had a balcony? That was a dangerous thing in the Nexus; too easy to get into. On the other hand it was a convenient emergency exit too. And the neighborhood was supposedly one of the nicer ones, right? Well, he would have to take a look around for that later. He took a quick walk through, sniffed around, and while he did that he asked important questions.
"Well, I'm definitely impressed. Does it come furnished like this?" Questions like this one.
Sakura Matou
Sakura nodded. "Of course! Why wouldn't it, it's not like you could steal it when I can enforce it through a magical contract, after all. Of course if you don't want to sign that sort of thing, you can provide your own furniture. By the way, this apartment has two bedrooms, and one bathroom. Do you think that'll be enough space?"
Ron
"Well, looks like I get a furnished apartment then." He smiled and nodded to himself, then turned his attention to the bedrooms. "Hmm. Assuming the beds are a good size then yeah, that should work. And the bath... you don't have any problems with hot water here, right?" Because that had been an issue lately. One of them would use up all the hot water taking a shower and the next thing you knew someone was miserable.
Forest of the Past
The tall blonde frowned at what she was sensing on the third floor. She should have been able to read most of the minds of this building, even passively, but that third floor was blocking her. With me getting just surface thoughts, I think whatever is up there is blocking me.
"I don't generally shoot humans, I prefer my fists and feet with some Joe Normal," Forest said before looking at him. "I have a student who really loves taking out kneecaps back home. He's kind of a sociopathic wanker though."
Then she pointed above her head and said, "So, I'm pretty sure the Big Bad is on the third floor and blocking me. I should be able to pretty much read everyone's thoughts in this building, but I'm only getting surface glimpses. However, look for a bald handsome man with light facial hair. From what I'm seeing, he's the one we gotta worry about here."
Neptune
"There's always an audiance for the Protagonist of protagonists!" Neptune suddenly shouted as she jumped to her feet. Taking a look around her she saw that dogoo's in the area were all but defeated. The giant dogoo was a big mess at this point, not much would be required to finish it.
"Hehe...I forgot to tell you earlier. Dogoo's aren't just the most common monsters, they're pretty weak too, like the weakest actually....I just felt like pushing you down earlier for dramatic effect you know." She paused for a moment as she looked a bit embarassed. "You aren't mad are you Gaddy? I've never had any guy friends before...they were all total fanboys or bad guys."
Mordred
She was more concerned about another self-righteous fanatic trying to purge her from the face of Earth rather than with admirers, if she had to be honest. But she didn't comment about that, keeping it for herself.
"Right, but could you put me back on the ground? You really don't know your strength..." She asked Sakura in (probably vain) hope that she would listen to her and let her free.
Sakura Matou
"Mhm. Of course." Sakura said, resting her hands on her bulging stomach as she led him past the entryway. Inside was a pristinely clean living room with a white carpet and a comfortable looking couch, with a nice solid coffee table sitting about a foot in front of it.
Past the living room one could see a sliding glass door leading to a balcony on one side, and a dining area which led into a kitchen on the other, and finally a hallway that presumably led to the bedrooms and bathroom.
"I hope this is fine, this definitely isn't my best property." Sakura said, her truthfulness unclear. Was she boasting, or being serious. Only she knew.
Ron
It had a balcony? That was a dangerous thing in the Nexus; too easy to get into. On the other hand it was a convenient emergency exit too. And the neighborhood was supposedly one of the nicer ones, right? Well, he would have to take a look around for that later. He took a quick walk through, sniffed around, and while he did that he asked important questions.
"Well, I'm definitely impressed. Does it come furnished like this?" Questions like this one.
Sakura Matou
Sakura nodded. "Of course! Why wouldn't it, it's not like you could steal it when I can enforce it through a magical contract, after all. Of course if you don't want to sign that sort of thing, you can provide your own furniture. By the way, this apartment has two bedrooms, and one bathroom. Do you think that'll be enough space?"
Ron
"Well, looks like I get a furnished apartment then." He smiled and nodded to himself, then turned his attention to the bedrooms. "Hmm. Assuming the beds are a good size then yeah, that should work. And the bath... you don't have any problems with hot water here, right?" Because that had been an issue lately. One of them would use up all the hot water taking a shower and the next thing you knew someone was miserable.
Sakura Matou
"Huh? Of course not! What kind of place do you think I'm showing you?" Sakura asked a bit indignantly. "Unless someone uses a ridiculous amount of water or everyone tries to shower at once there shouldn't be a problem, don't worry about it. If you ever have an issue you should tell me so I can deal with it." She said, completely calm and friendly again.
Mordred
She was more concerned about another self-righteous fanatic trying to purge her from the face of Earth rather than with admirers, if she had to be honest. But she didn't comment about that, keeping it for herself.
"Right, but could you put me back on the ground? You really don't know your strength..." She asked Sakura in (probably vain) hope that she would listen to her and let her free.
IRON=SAKURA
"Oh, don't worry!" Sakura exclaimed enthusiastically. "I won't hurt either of you, see!"
Mordred
So the hugging continued. She should have gotten used by now that Breeze just attracted more women into her presence, as if she generated her own gravity. She also had to tolerate her polyamorous attitude to relationships, though as long as Breeze was devoted to her enough when Mordred had free time then the changeling was okay with that.
"You're are really lavish with praise..." Mordred commented, fortunate that her skin was already so red that nobody would notice blushing. "But if you met me half year ago, you wouldn't get to see me like that. I took that form after I ended up here. It's still sometimes odd for me to walk around with a tail, but I'm getting used to it."
Mordred
So the hugging continued. She should have gotten used by now that Breeze just attracted more women into her presence, as if she generated her own gravity. She also had to tolerate her polyamorous attitude to relationships, though as long as Breeze was devoted to her enough when Mordred had free time then the changeling was okay with that.
"You're are really lavish with praise..." Mordred commented, fortunate that her skin was already so red that nobody would notice blushing. "But if you met me half year ago, you wouldn't get to see me like that. I took that form after I ended up here. It's still sometimes odd for me to walk around with a tail, but I'm getting used to it."
IRON=SAKURA
"Well, I'm so glad you did! That tail is the cutest little thing!" She exclaimed releasing one arm leaving her easily lifting the two up with one, and reached down to feel the tail, stopping only a few inches short. "So uh, do you mind me feeling it?"
Sakura
Sakura stared at Ron's face, taking in his body language and noting that he was still hiding stuff from her. No matter. Not for now, anyway. They'd only known each other for a few hours, being too prying would be highly inappropriate and rude. She'd only act if she found out about him being abused like she was suspecting.
"Well, I'm really glad you like it!" Sakura said with a smile. "How do you feel about 1200$ a month, utilities and internet included?" Sakura asked him, sitting down on the couch. She was clearly exhausted right now and needed to sit down. Could probably do with a small snack as well.
Mordred
So the hugging continued. She should have gotten used by now that Breeze just attracted more women into her presence, as if she generated her own gravity. She also had to tolerate her polyamorous attitude to relationships, though as long as Breeze was devoted to her enough when Mordred had free time then the changeling was okay with that.
"You're are really lavish with praise..." Mordred commented, fortunate that her skin was already so red that nobody would notice blushing. "But if you met me half year ago, you wouldn't get to see me like that. I took that form after I ended up here. It's still sometimes odd for me to walk around with a tail, but I'm getting used to it."
IRON=SAKURA
"Well, I'm so glad you did! That tail is the cutest little thing!" She exclaimed releasing one arm leaving her easily lifting the two up with one, and reached down to feel the tail, stopping only a few inches short. "So uh, do you mind me feeling it?"
Auspicious Breeze
This was so weird. Someone was stronger than her! And lifting her up like this! It was kinda cool. "It's so scaly, but... it's really cool."
Mordred
Did she look like some pet? The changeling was not sure if she should let Sakura touch in case she squeezed it, however, Sakura asked nicely and it would be unfriendly to just shun her like that. "Okay, but don't do something clumsy, just because I have a tail it doesn't mean I can grow it back..."
Shirou
Instead of following after him as asked, the adorable creature simply ran in front of Shirou, wagging its tail like a dog and making noises. For a moment, a look of annoyance came over Shirou's face, but he rapidly buried it. After all, he didn't want their relationship to start off on the wrong foot and, besides, the creature was just too cute to be mad at. So, instead, he stopped walking, looking down at the creature with confusion.
"Yes, boy?" he asked, kindly, bending down to give his new pet a quick stroke. "What is it?"
Erica
Then Erica simply started eating everything. There was still that element of refinement in her, after all not even the smallest stain could be seen on her clothes, but she seemed just as ravenous as when she started.
It wasn't long before the blue haired girl had finished the dish in its entirety. She sat pleasantly content in herself with her hands over her stomach as she looked at Noel. "Thank you for the meal. It was wonderful."
She was almost overwhelmingly happy in her own self-contained way.
Sakura
Sakura stared at Ron's face, taking in his body language and noting that he was still hiding stuff from her. No matter. Not for now, anyway. They'd only known each other for a few hours, being too prying would be highly inappropriate and rude. She'd only act if she found out about him being abused like she was suspecting.
"Well, I'm really glad you like it!" Sakura said with a smile. "How do you feel about 1200$ a month, utilities and internet included?" Sakura asked him, sitting down on the couch. She was clearly exhausted right now and needed to sit down. Could probably do with a small snack as well.
Ron
Well, on the one hand that was a lot of money. On the other hand that was everything included and Ron wasn't exactly the sort who would pay taxes now that he had superpowers anyway. Or before, even; most of his income had always been off the books. And it wasn't like he needed to worry about medical costs; his body handled everything on its own.
So after a few moments of counting things off on his hands and doing the math he started to nod a bit. "I'm definitely liking the sound of it. The look of it is nice too."
Ron noted she looked a bit tired, so he had to ask. "By the way, not to pry, but how far along are you anyway?"
Neptune
Neptune awarded the tall man with a bright smile for his answer as she took the time to pick her swords up and put them back in her inventory. It would look like they disappeared into thin air with no tell of how she performed this trick.
"Oh yeah I enjoyed that too Gaddy and don't think I forgot!" The purple haired girl came closer and closer until she was close enough to grab hold of his shirt, which she did in an attempt to try and shake him. Despite her best efforts, she only succeded in banging herself against him. Her eyes never faltered however, as she kept going.
"I remember it clear as day, how you promised to buy all the premium pudding in the store to celebrate our friendship!"
Sakura
Sakura stared at Ron's face, taking in his body language and noting that he was still hiding stuff from her. No matter. Not for now, anyway. They'd only known each other for a few hours, being too prying would be highly inappropriate and rude. She'd only act if she found out about him being abused like she was suspecting.
"Well, I'm really glad you like it!" Sakura said with a smile. "How do you feel about 1200$ a month, utilities and internet included?" Sakura asked him, sitting down on the couch. She was clearly exhausted right now and needed to sit down. Could probably do with a small snack as well.
Ron
Well, on the one hand that was a lot of money. On the other hand that was everything included and Ron wasn't exactly the sort who would pay taxes now that he had superpowers anyway. Or before, even; most of his income had always been off the books. And it wasn't like he needed to worry about medical costs; his body handled everything on its own.
So after a few moments of counting things off on his hands and doing the math he started to nod a bit. "I'm definitely liking the sound of it. The look of it is nice too."
Ron noted she looked a bit tired, so he had to ask. "By the way, not to pry, but how far along are you anyway?"
Sakura Matou
"About five months. I should pop within the year!" She said, clearly happy about the prospect of giving birth to her child. "And that's great, I'm so happy to hear that! But before we start talking about a contract, do you mind if we stop at a fast food place real quick? I'm really uh, craving a nice burger and fries right now."
Relius
It was a clean cut. The blade cleaved his puppet hand in two. It would be best to avoid a strike like that directly. Blocking strikes like that would likely be pointless as well, considering the sheer power behind her attacks.
Rather than doing the logical thing and keeping his distance, the scientist leaped forward, flourishing his wrist. Another puppet like spear came forth from his shoulder area, attempting to strike her in the upper chest area.
Meanwhile, Ignis appeared behind her in a flash of purple light. Moving at roughly equal pace to the assassin, her arms began stretching around her waist. In one motion, she planned on tightening her grip, pulling the girl to Ignis's body.
IRON=SAKURA
"How rude!" Sakura exclaimed indignantly to Mordred. "Do you think I'm some mindless gorilla who can't control their own strength? Sure, I can't do it perfectly, but I'd never rip anyone's arm off accidentally!"
Sakura
Sakura stared at Ron's face, taking in his body language and noting that he was still hiding stuff from her. No matter. Not for now, anyway. They'd only known each other for a few hours, being too prying would be highly inappropriate and rude. She'd only act if she found out about him being abused like she was suspecting.
"Well, I'm really glad you like it!" Sakura said with a smile. "How do you feel about 1200$ a month, utilities and internet included?" Sakura asked him, sitting down on the couch. She was clearly exhausted right now and needed to sit down. Could probably do with a small snack as well.
Ron
Well, on the one hand that was a lot of money. On the other hand that was everything included and Ron wasn't exactly the sort who would pay taxes now that he had superpowers anyway. Or before, even; most of his income had always been off the books. And it wasn't like he needed to worry about medical costs; his body handled everything on its own.
So after a few moments of counting things off on his hands and doing the math he started to nod a bit. "I'm definitely liking the sound of it. The look of it is nice too."
Ron noted she looked a bit tired, so he had to ask. "By the way, not to pry, but how far along are you anyway?"
Sakura Matou
"About five months. I should pop within the year!" She said, clearly happy about the prospect of giving birth to her child. "And that's great, I'm so happy to hear that! But before we start talking about a contract, do you mind if we stop at a fast food place real quick? I'm really uh, craving a nice burger and fries right now."
Ron
"Well, I would wish you luck with that but I suspect you don't need it. With magic, and all." Ron smiled, and turned his attention momentarily to the balcony again. He was going to have to get used to that, he could tell. Then Sakura said something that would be absurd coming from anyone but a pregnant woman. "So soon? Well, I guess it couldn't hurt..."
Lucy
"Well, she is rather pretty. Almost unnaturally so, wouldn't you say? But it isn't magic. My Messengers tell me so. So she's becomes an object of interest to me for now. Is that a good enough reason?" She walked a few steps behind William. Almost seeming subdued if not for the smirk on her face.
Erica
"Yes! That would be wonderful!" Her entire body was rather animated as she finished her food. She noticed that there was some strange liquid leaking from her eyes as she finished up but that was irrelevant. It wasn't as if such a thing meant anything to her. "Thank you..."
IRON=SAKURA
"How rude!" Sakura exclaimed indignantly to Mordred. "Do you think I'm some mindless gorilla who can't control their own strength? Sure, I can't do it perfectly, but I'd never rip anyone's arm off accidentally!"
Auspicious Breeze
"Ahh, don't worry about Mordred too much. She's too used to our teacher being all rough and scary sometimes." Breeze nodded firmly at this assertion, and then leaned to Sakura to whisper. "It makes her a little jumpy."
Mordred
Oh yeah. Him She didn't think of that Michael guy as someone she would just trust. He struck her as someone obsessed with martial arts to the point obsession, with no higher goals nor distractions allowed into his daily routine. Training to be a perfect martial artist? She didn't give a shit about that. The power and skill was meant to exercise them in a meaningful way. Unshaken dedication to martial arts was probably something that made one's life too empty. Admittedly, she was not the most healthy person, but there were lines she wouldn't cross and she had that disturbing feeling about Michael that he potentially had no moral brakes. She wondered if Breeze realized that. She was a pretty trusting person after all.
"Yeah, I do not appreciate nasty surprises." She nodded in confirmation. "But if you say so, then I will let you. Go ahead."
Neptune
She was gently pushed away from him to her dismay but that ended quickly as he mentioned the places of vital interest that he knew off. Despite not knowing where to head she grasped his hand and pulled him along with her. Such a lust for creamy delights, who could possibly match it? No one in existence that is.
"Come on Gaddy we gotta hurry before it's all sold out." They were moving across the former battlefield now littered with dogoo remains, if you could call it remains. "Oh and watch out for the Dogoo remains, it's slimy and sticky and it gets in everywhere."
Ron
"Well, I would wish you luck with that but I suspect you don't need it. With magic, and all." Ron smiled, and turned his attention momentarily to the balcony again. He was going to have to get used to that, he could tell. Then Sakura said something that would be absurd coming from anyone but a pregnant woman. "So soon? Well, I guess it couldn't hurt..."
Sakura Matou
Grumble!
As if to answer for her, her stomach suddenly let out a loud grumble, causing the girl to blush slightly in embarrassment. "Well, uh, let's get going then!" She said, suddenly standing up and almost gliding out of the apartment. Something about how she was moving would seem off to an obvserver.
IRON=SAKURA
Sakura began to gently stroke Mord's tail, feeling the fine red scales glide under her fingers. "They feel niiice~" She said, before returning to the previous issue. "But don't be mean about my strength! I don't like it." She said authoritatively.
Methuselah
"It's too late, how could I have forgotten..."
A bead of sweat, if it could be called that even, rolled down his face. With a furious, desperate but determined face, he grabbed Rafalia's hand and floated away like the wind. He had paid 12$ for an entire package, he wasn't going to let it all go to waste!
For you see, before leaving, the foolish God had put the hot pockets in the oven... only to forget to turn it off!
Sakura
Sakura, now somewhat recovered from her earlier exertion, smiled back at the man.
"Yes, that would be nice", she said. "But would you mind if my husband joined us? I don't think he's busy right now."
Shirou
Shirou looked on with confusion as the Pokemon ran ahead before turning around and running back to him, wagging it's tail and crying out.
What does he want? Shirou thought as the Pokemon stood by his leg, seemingly waiting for something. Does he want to play?
Noticing a convinient stick lying around in the alleyway, Shirou picked it up and threw it in the direction of a nearby park, well away from any cars or other dangers, intending to follow after the Pokemon if it ran.
"Go on, boy!" he shouted, excitedly, wondering if he would follow.
Ron
"Well, I would wish you luck with that but I suspect you don't need it. With magic, and all." Ron smiled, and turned his attention momentarily to the balcony again. He was going to have to get used to that, he could tell. Then Sakura said something that would be absurd coming from anyone but a pregnant woman. "So soon? Well, I guess it couldn't hurt..."
Sakura Matou
Grumble!
As if to answer for her, her stomach suddenly let out a loud grumble, causing the girl to blush slightly in embarrassment. "Well, uh, let's get going then!" She said, suddenly standing up and almost gliding out of the apartment. Something about how she was moving would seem off to an obvserver.
Ron
Ron was a really good observer. It came with being a werewolf, especially since he'd focused on his wolf senses from the moment he'd gotten into the apartment. That way he could sniff out and listen for any discreet nastiness that even Sakura might have missed. You never know when some of the contractors around here were gonna cheat you...
That's why you hired long-time locals, preferably. They had ties to keep them honest.
But enough of that. Once they were in the elevator he had to ask. "Are you alright, Sakura?"
Neptune
"Of course, the heroine always knows the way! It's left here!" She boldly said as she lead straight into a narrow alley. "Oops, it should have been here, my pudding radar couldn't be wrong, that's impossible...." She turned to him, looking pretty upset at things going the way they were. "Hey Gaddy, maybe you could lead instead, it looks like I was kinda wrong..... teehee."
Ron
"Well, I would wish you luck with that but I suspect you don't need it. With magic, and all." Ron smiled, and turned his attention momentarily to the balcony again. He was going to have to get used to that, he could tell. Then Sakura said something that would be absurd coming from anyone but a pregnant woman. "So soon? Well, I guess it couldn't hurt..."
Sakura Matou
Grumble!
As if to answer for her, her stomach suddenly let out a loud grumble, causing the girl to blush slightly in embarrassment. "Well, uh, let's get going then!" She said, suddenly standing up and almost gliding out of the apartment. Something about how she was moving would seem off to an obvserver.
Ron
Ron was a really good observer. It came with being a werewolf, especially since he'd focused on his wolf senses from the moment he'd gotten into the apartment. That way he could sniff out and listen for any discreet nastiness that even Sakura might have missed. You never know when some of the contractors around here were gonna cheat you...
That's why you hired long-time locals, preferably. They had ties to keep them honest.
But enough of that. Once they were in the elevator he had to ask. "Are you alright, Sakura?"
Sakura Matou
"Oh, uh, yeah. Yeah!" She said, suddenly dropping to the floor and walking normally. No way she was going to tell him she was actually just being super lazy and wasting prana by making herself levatate a bit. Rin would probably chew her out about how she shouldn't waste prana and other such nonsense. That doesn't matter when you have unlimited prana. She thought to herself, annoyed at the thought of her sister's miserness.
"Anyway, let's go!"
Neptune
"Noh... I'm the heroine, you dummy." The purple haired goddess tugged at his cheeks comically before finally giving up. "Sigh.... alright, if you're that determined. I'll just have to have you show me the way." She then quickly moved behind him and jumped on his back, grabbing hold of his shoulders and wrapping her legs around his waist.
"Go forth Gaddy, my trusty steed. To the pudding store!" Her right hand was by some miracle of the universe pointing in the right direction of the neareast place that sold it.
Methuselah
But once he arrived before the building he was all to accustomed to living under, he realized that his resolve hadn't been the only thing that burned. He stared, along with the horse, his companion, and the dozens of horror struck people looking up at the fiery apartment.
If he had the biological abilities to do so, there would be nothing but cold sweat dripping down his face. His body trembled, his voice shook, but luckily they were far too behind to be noticed by the distracted crowd.
"Aah...alright, I see. I s-see, let's keep calm. Just keep cool and be logical about this, Methuselah. T-t-they say that s-some doctors can change people's f-faces. That's right, r-right? All I need to do is hide and change name... it's fine that way, right? Yes, r-right?"
Shirou
Shirou quickly realised that his pet was not even remotely fazed by the fall he'd just had, walking towards him and wagging his tail excitedly. So, he decided against picking the creature up, instead moving to rub and stroke him for a while, before moving to pick up another stick to throw. Realising his previous mistake, Shirou decided to just throw the stick normally once more, reinforcing himself only slightly to add a little more power to the throw.
Ron
"... that was pretty cool." He had to admit he was jealous. Just a little. Sure he could do all kinds of things, but hovering wasn't one of those. Well there's no use crying over what you don't have, so he just shook his head and followed on after her. Knowing his luck something was going to come along and get them both in trouble.
Might be fun. Or they might just get fast food like normal people; that'd be nice too.
Neptune
And arrived they did, in no time at all. Nothing could stand in their way now, muahahahah! The power of the Goddess and her angelic steed was one to be feared indeed, no one could find pudding faster than them after all. Anyway as they arrived Neptune announced their glorious success. "Of course it worked, I even had some help from my Noble steed this time."
The purple haired goddess then relaxed against his back as she continued to praise him. "Thank you Gaddy, you're the bestest angel."
Ron
"... that was pretty cool." He had to admit he was jealous. Just a little. Sure he could do all kinds of things, but hovering wasn't one of those. Well there's no use crying over what you don't have, so he just shook his head and followed on after her. Knowing his luck something was going to come along and get them both in trouble.
Might be fun. Or they might just get fast food like normal people; that'd be nice too.
Sakura Matou
Sakura glanced back at him with a smile. "Hehe, you jealous of my awesomeness?" She asked in a jesting tone, aware that he'd figured her out.
Soon, the elevator dinged, and she bounded out to the car ahead of Ron, informing her driver of where they were taking a detour to next. After she finished telling them about that, she opened up the door for Ron and waited for him to get inside.
Ron
"... that was pretty cool." He had to admit he was jealous. Just a little. Sure he could do all kinds of things, but hovering wasn't one of those. Well there's no use crying over what you don't have, so he just shook his head and followed on after her. Knowing his luck something was going to come along and get them both in trouble.
Might be fun. Or they might just get fast food like normal people; that'd be nice too.
Sakura Matou
Sakura glanced back at him with a smile. "Hehe, you jealous of my awesomeness?" She asked in a jesting tone, aware that he'd figured her out.
Soon, the elevator dinged, and she bounded out to the car ahead of Ron, informing her driver of where they were taking a detour to next. After she finished telling them about that, she opened up the door for Ron and waited for him to get inside.
Ron
"Well on the one hand, yes. On the other hand, I'm reminded why I'm glad I'm a guy." Being pregnant looked like it sucked pretty hard. Not in the fun way exactly, but more like if you took a lime and put it in your mouth and sucked on it for an hour. Except it lasted for nine months. It seemed to be that kind of sucky.
When they got to the car, in he went. Ron marveled briefly at how not-violent things had been for the past few hours. Maybe today was turning around for him?
Mitsuba
Fuck. That was a stupid move. She had no idea that this enemy was so tough. The situation got messy enough that she honestly gave no shit about holding back. The enemy tried to suffocate her and she was in a grip of an enemy harder than steel. She would now fight as a weapon rather than a swordswoman.
Her body underwent an uncanny transformation. Her skin darkened and her skeleton was replaced with metallic bones. Her arms were covered with a pattern of red tattooes and her veins pulsed with plasma that flowed through them. She was still more human than not as she still had a human face and hair, shifting only partly to better wield Muramasa.
Mitsuba was angry. Beyond angry. Her mind was filled with cold rage as she was forced to reveal her true colors. Arguably, she wanted to kill them even more than Muramasa at this point. She kicked powerfully at the puppet with her still free legs, redirecting the power of her plasma reactor to release herself from the grip.
Neptune
"You don't need any stupid wings to be the bestest angel, you got my very special approval of awesomeness and that's all that matters to me." The strange looks thrown at the two of them went completely unnoticed by her as she waited for Gaddy to pick up the pudding. He sure was taking his time looking over all the kinds of pudding they had. None of them looked that amazing or anything, but pudding was pudding and she wasn't gonna let something like that stop her.
"Hey will you take the pudding already? I can't share it with you if you're just gonna drag your feet here all day. Maybe you'll move faster if I tickle you like mad. Sometimes my own ingenuity stuns the good old Nep here." And much like she threatened him, the purple haired goddess tried to tickle his chest and under his arms. She had to tighten the hold with her he feet however as she started sliding down a bit along his back.
Sakura Matou
"Huh? Whatever could you mean, Ron?" Sakura asked him. "Being pregnant is wonderful, if that's what you're getting at." She said. "Your lover pampers you even more, you get to eat what you want, it's just great!"
Sakura Matou
"Huh? Whatever could you mean, Ron?" Sakura asked him. "Being pregnant is wonderful, if that's what you're getting at." She said. "Your lover pampers you even more, you get to eat what you want, it's just great!"
Ron
He clenched his hands a bit, imagining them as paws and not being able to move as fast. Being weighed down by it all. It wasn't a comfortable thought. "I eat what I want anyway. And Anne isn't much of a pamper-er, if we're looking at my situation right now."
Neptune
"I call foul. You aren't allowed to pick apart inconsistencies in my dialogue." She tried her best to ignore the pudding he was dangling in front of her. The teasing was a bit annoying as she had honestly said what she felt.
"Oh gee I guess this is what you get for being nice. I wanted to share it with you Gaddy. Even if it isn't the best pudding ever, sharing it with friends like you makes it the best pudding."
Mordred
This didn't feel bad. Though honestly, she really should remind her to not treat her like a pet. Just in case. She moved away her tail when she deemed that it was enough. "You know, maybe I exaggarated. But I hope you don't wish to pet my tail too much, I'm not some sort of a domestic animal."
IRON=SAKURA
Sakura began to gently stroke Mord's tail, feeling the fine red scales glide under her fingers. "They feel niiice~" She said, before returning to the previous issue. "But don't be mean about my strength! I don't like it." She said authoritatively.
Auspicious Breeze
"I mean you're probably better at controlling it than I am mine, even!" Breeze nodded with much confidence in this opinion. She flexed her arm on that one. "What with having more of it. I'm glad my muscles don't cramp, hehe~."
Ron
He clenched his hands a bit, imagining them as paws and not being able to move as fast. Being weighed down by it all. It wasn't a comfortable thought. "I eat what I want anyway. And Anne isn't much of a pamper-er, if we're looking at my situation right now."
Sakura Matou
"I see. That's too bad, then." She said simply. "Being pampered is wonderful. I think it's a travesty she doesn't pamper you."
Mordred
This didn't feel bad. Though honestly, she really should remind her to not treat her like a pet. Just in case. She moved away her tail when she deemed that it was enough. "You know, maybe I exaggarated. But I hope you don't wish to pet my tail too much, I'm not some sort of a domestic animal."IRON=SAKURA
Sakura began to gently stroke Mord's tail, feeling the fine red scales glide under her fingers. "They feel niiice~" She said, before returning to the previous issue. "But don't be mean about my strength! I don't like it." She said authoritatively.
IRON=SAKURA
"Ehehe, what do you mean, pet?" She asked Mordred with a light chuckle. "People like getting massaged, right? This is just like that, so don't worry about it." With that said though, she did stop stroking it.
Then she turned to look at Breeze with a quizzical look. "Muscle?" She asked her. "I mean yeah, that's a part of it, but there's more to it than that. You probably wouldn't understand it."
Neptune
Neptune let go of him and landed on her feet once more so she could accept the pudding grudgingly. It looked like she was struggling with something, apparenlty it was bi enough to keep her from eating the pudding.
"Well this is a real pickle. I can't decide whether I should hug you or hit you. You really know how to push my buttons Gaddy. Did ya find some Nep manual lying around here, If that's what's happening I need to burn it. Can't have people know how to get me flustered hehe..."
Auspicious Breeze
Mordred is pretty silly. She needs to lighten up a bit! But right before Breeze could think of a way to do that something else happened. Sakura didn't have any way to know what she was doing, but in the moment that didn't really matter.
Is... is Sakura calling me dumb? The wind seemed to fall right out of the former gladiator's sails at that, her shoulders slumping down. "Ehh... probably. You're probably not wrong about that."
Ron
He clenched his hands a bit, imagining them as paws and not being able to move as fast. Being weighed down by it all. It wasn't a comfortable thought. "I eat what I want anyway. And Anne isn't much of a pamper-er, if we're looking at my situation right now."
Sakura Matou
"I see. That's too bad, then." She said simply. "Being pampered is wonderful. I think it's a travesty she doesn't pamper you."
Ron
Ron glanced out the window of Sakura's car with a frown. He wasn't sure what to think of that. He'd never really been pampered before. There was never really a lot of room for pampering growing up working class in this city. "A travesty, huh? That's a pretty strong word for it."
Auspicious Breeze
Mordred is pretty silly. She needs to lighten up a bit! But right before Breeze could think of a way to do that something else happened. Sakura didn't have any way to know what she was doing, but in the moment that didn't really matter.
Is... is Sakura calling me dumb? The wind seemed to fall right out of the former gladiator's sails at that, her shoulders slumping down. "Ehh... probably. You're probably not wrong about that."
IRON=SAKURA
As soon as she said those words, she knew she'd fucked up. "No, no, I mean, I barely get it myself, and you know, it's super complicated science stuff, I didn't mean it like that!"
Sakura Matou
"It is a strong word, and rightfully so! Pampering is important and wonderful! It's the greatest feeling, you know? Having someone just shower you with all the love in the world and cuddle you and all sorts of fun stuff!"
Neptune
"Oh no don't think I'm not onto you mister! That is the deflectionary tactic of a big time villain. But I'm onto you now. Giving me your pizza and even buying me pudding, you want to steal my powers by stealing my body! I guess I'm just that irresistable, but that doesn't mean I'll give in without a fight." She snatched the pudding from him and began feasting on it with much gusto.
"After I... munch finish munch... this. You just wait."
Mordred
"Geez, it will take a lot of time for you to adapt fully. Yeah, you're just out of your water, don't worry about that." Well, her knowledge of science was average, but she felt like a rocket scientist when compared to Breeze. Everyone had their assets and things they were weak at, anyway. Maybe it would even take years for her girlfriend to fully get accustomed to the new world she was in. "Anyway, what we're going to do now? Just standing here all time would be simply weird."
Sakura Matou
"It is a strong word, and rightfully so! Pampering is important and wonderful! It's the greatest feeling, you know? Having someone just shower you with all the love in the world and cuddle you and all sorts of fun stuff!"
Ron
"Well, right now I'll have to take your word for it." If he was going to find out what it felt like for himself one day, he would. If he wasn't, there was no point in longing for what he wouldn't have. Ron smiled and shrugged, and ignored the itch in the back of his mind that craved the tight bonds of pack. Or something; he wasn't really sure on that point.
Sakura Matou
"So, uh, if you don't mind me asking, of course, um, what do you think of your girlfriend?" Sakura asked awkwardly, blushing a bit. "I've only ever been in one relationship before, you see. And my circumstances have been highly unusual, so I'm curious, you know?"
Sakura Matou
"So, uh, if you don't mind me asking, of course, um, what do you think of your girlfriend?" Sakura asked awkwardly, blushing a bit. "I've only ever been in one relationship before, you see. And my circumstances have been highly unusual, so I'm curious, you know?"
Ron
"Just the one, huh? Let me guess: first love, high school sweetheart?" He grinned to Sakura with a knowing look. Unless he was totally off about her age then she was certainly young enough for him to believe that. "Yeah, I can see why you wouldn't have a lot of experience with variety then."
Not that there was anything wrong with that, though as Ron had figured out today in practice it was pretty hard to stick with. His grin disappeared into a thoughtful look as he tried to figure out how to explain it. He wasn't entirely sure himself right now. "Well, I guess it all started when I stumbled onto her and she'd just arrived here. Nowhere to go, no idea where anything was... I felt bad. So I showed her around some, we got some drinks, next thing I know things just happened and she was staying over at my place for lack of other options. And beating me up until I learned how to fight better, I guess."
Not that he particularly minded the violence; it was in his blood, it was instinct, that he was a fighter. But then there was the thing with his landlady and pointing a gun at the door and that was taking things too far. "Still can beat me up, though. Let's see... I don't think we actually said we were boyfriend and girlfriend until this morning? Well, it was mostly her saying we were while I was helping some other new girl who didn't now much about society in general, let alone this place."
Neptune
The purple haired goddess stopped mid bite as she heard his response. A look of shock briefly crossed her crossed her face before it turned into a friendly grin. "Oh you got me there Gaddy, I'd love to ride my trusty steed all day long and enojoy all the wonderful places he'd bring me to." She started eating her pudding again much slower this time, as she was busy observing the tall angel.
Sakura Matou
Sakura listened to his story attentively and silently, nodding occasionally throughout it, right up until the point where he got to the part where he said they'd just become boyfriend and girlfriend today, apparently. After having lived together for months.
"Wait, you were together for months, and you just now are calling each other boyfriend and girlfriend?" Sakura asked in disbelief. "Wow, normal relationships are weirder than I thought!" She told him jokingly, hiding her dislike at the part where she was beating him up. She knew it was just training, but it still always rubbed her the wrong way.
Sakura Matou
Sakura listened to his story attentively and silently, nodding occasionally throughout it, right up until the point where he got to the part where he said they'd just become boyfriend and girlfriend today, apparently. After having lived together for months.
"Wait, you were together for months, and you just now are calling each other boyfriend and girlfriend?" Sakura asked in disbelief. "Wow, normal relationships are weirder than I thought!" She told him jokingly, hiding her dislike at the part where she was beating him up. She knew it was just training, but it still always rubbed her the wrong way.
Ron
"I guess it just never came up? It's not really normal, actually. People will call each other boyfriend and girlfriend at the drop of a hat." Ron shrugged at the thought of it. "It just kind of happened. And you know, Anne is pretty scary. I didn't want to just assume."
Methuselah
Methuselah frowned. He really had no wish of having to deal with his, no, his retroposition's negligence. That aside, having to explain it would be more embarrassing. If there was a way to draw less attention to him, he would be mad not to take it. After all, even if his shadow shifted, he was still himself. His wish to sleep in a peaceful dream did not change.
Heh, how frustrating, how embarassing! Having to deal with all of these mundane problems was quite frustrating, but he supposed it was part of the package called mundane life.
"W-why would that be necessary? Hmph! Call it cowardly, but I would rather just wipe the slate clean. Besides, why should I pay for the mistakes of my past self, eh?"
Lucy
She gracefully shrugged her shoulders before leaning over to hug William from behind. "She thinks she's being a bit clever and brave. Maybe she'll even try to tell a few things to her friends? I love leaving bait for others to follow. They can do it so... thoughtlessly. Besides, there's no harm in playing with a toy every now and then."
"It's not a bad reason at all, master. I'd even consider it a rather good one."
Jasey
As the serial killer walked around wasting her precious daylight hours as she tried to decide who to kill next she encountered a pretty big problem. Namely, that she didn't know who to kill next! That was a pretty big problem. Usually she had someone on mind. A criminal, or a bully, or some popular kid, or a particularly annoying person. But right now she was out of ideas. Maybe she could stuff in a random one before homework?
Ehh. She'd never get anything done like that. Especially if It was gonna bug her today for a few more. She could never really resist It's little jabs and goads to action. For a moment Jasey just considered and scratched her head. Then she started to hear something that sounded like... yelling?
She looked up for a second and noticed some figure rapidly plummeting down towards her. Would she just splat if she hit the ground? It might have been kind of funny in a morbid sense, but come on, she wasn't that bad a person. Probably.
So she held out her arms and just waited patiently for the girl to land in her arms. The sudden jolt when the dark hair girl finally came down might have pulled around any ordinary person but she was completely fine. And... she's kinda cute.
Well, if people were literally dropping out of the sky into her arms she must be getting lucky in some sense! "Hi?"
Jasey
"So... you wanna go on a date some time? I'm Jasey." She had to take her chances when they literally came falling out of the sky! What was the chance of her getting this lucky again? Well, probably a bit high all things considered but she couldn't bet on that.
So the teenager kept a straight face as she gently placed the dark haired girl down. If she said yes that would be great; if she said no then there was no harm done.
Neptune
One of her her experience? Was he asking how old she was? Couldn't he see she was in tip top shape? On the other hand, that was actually a good question. How old she was, Histy probably knew, too bad she wasn't here or rather good for her. Wouldn't want to get scolded again so soon.
"Hmmm... I dunno, It's sooooo long ago my memories just kinda blur at a certain point ya know. But I'm preeeetty sure I've never ridden a steed as great as you Gaddy!"
Sakura Matou
"Hah, of course not, that'd be silly." Sakura chuckled again, still hiding the fact she was deeply uncomfortable with the fact he seemed to be scared of his girlfriend.
To her, that just seemed...
Wrong. It felt completely alien. Like something that shouldn't exist. The entire idea that it did made her feel physically ill.
Or maybe it was the pregnancy.
Probably both.
She still didn't know how to deal with this. Maybe she'd recommend him a relationship councilor. Counseling was helpful in her experience.
Sakura fell silent for a bit, just fidgeting in her seat, playing idly with her belly button through her clothes.
IRON=SAKURA
Sakura, who had been mostly silent up until now, finally put the two to the ground gently, adjusted her cap, and nodded. "Of course I know what arcade games are. I've never played any though."
Meti
The sword master looked around a bit in confusion. Did something just happen? She wasn't a kid! She was... uhh... huh. Well, she didn't actually remember, but she definitely wasn't a kid anymore! But she didn't have swords either, so there wasn't much she could do other than pout.
Then she just turned around and proceeded to run at a rapid pace. She needed to check on her cart! What if someone touched it or tried stealing one of her swords?
Jasey
With a bit of sheepishness Jasey scratched the back of her head and let out a little chuckle. "Why not be forward? Seems to be a lot easier than playing around and trying to see if maybe you're interested. Besides, you're cute, new here, and seem interesting enough to get to know. So is that a no?"
Sakura Matou
"Hah, of course not, that'd be silly." Sakura chuckled again, still hiding the fact she was deeply uncomfortable with the fact he seemed to be scared of his girlfriend.
To her, that just seemed...
Wrong. It felt completely alien. Like something that shouldn't exist. The entire idea that it did made her feel physically ill.
Or maybe it was the pregnancy.
Probably both.
She still didn't know how to deal with this. Maybe she'd recommend him a relationship councilor. Counseling was helpful in her experience.
Sakura fell silent for a bit, just fidgeting in her seat, playing idly with her belly button through her clothes.
Ron
Ron smiled after first, about to agree with her, but then he sniffed at the air and tilted his head to the side. There was something off about Sakura's scent right now that he couldn't quite place now. It could be the pregnancy of course; that did all kinds of weird things to the body that he could smell. Without turning into a wolf he wouldn't be able to pinpoint it exactly; his senses were only so sharp as a human.
Was there something wrong with what he'd said? Or was there just something going on in her body? "Are you sure everything's okay?"
Neptune
"You should do what they say you know, take the breadcrumbs when they're offered. Don't expect more compliments from Nep, yup. You're already ahead of every other male character to appear so far." She nodded to herself as if stating something obvious.
"And what other deities? There's only Goddesses in Gamindustri Gaddy. The guys who're interested in me like that are usually just creepers who hang around on N-chan and trade fake pictures of the Goddesses fooling around with each other."
Mitsuba
Tch, so he could call off that thing and summon it back at his leisure then? Dealing with that individual just kept aggravating her further. The wall of the building got severely damaged by the blast. The building became too unstable to fight in. As she looked now, with her features completely disguised, probably she wouldn't be recognized if they fought in the open.
Tactical retreat, let's engage him in the open before the building falls on us.
The Unchained user her internal source of power in an attempt to rapidly rush backwards towards the entrance into the street. If he wanted to be on the frontpage of news, then he would get his wish.
Mordred
"It's simpler than you think. You put a coin into a machine, and it lets you play games which look like a painting where figures are moving and you can actually control them with buttons. You'll get used to it in no time." The changeling explained as clear as possible. To be honest, she wasn't some expert in videogames, but this looked like a chance to get back at the two and probably outcompete them at games given their lack of experience. This would make her feel a lot better after that nearly disastrous eating contest.
Oren
And as she charged the beast took notice of the changes in her enemy. So instead of slamming into spikes Oren simply shifted and narrowly slipped between her legs and reverted the moment she was clear of the girl's reach. Then she started to run away again, racing away towards a nearby building to hide in.
Jasey
Well, that wasn't really surprising. Still a bit disappointing but not surprising. "Well, you're in Nexus City. I think that's what people like calling now. It's like some kind of magical world that teleports people inside. Dunno how to get out yet. Don't think anyone really knows."
Sakura Matou
"Um, yeah." Sakura lied to Ron. "I'm just hungry, see!" Sakura said, clearly somewhat flustered. Her stomach felt like it was in a knot right now. No good.
Sakura Matou
"Um, yeah." Sakura lied to Ron. "I'm just hungry, see!" Sakura said, clearly somewhat flustered. Her stomach felt like it was in a knot right now. No good.
Ron
She was probably just not comfortable telling him. Which was okay; all things considered they barely knew each other. It wasn't really wise to show too much weakness around new people in Nexus anyway. But if it kept up then he was going to push the point. "Well, if you're sure..."
He smiled, trying to put her a bit more at ease.
Neptune
"No no no, you're totally supposed to shake the gift before you unwrap it, it's sooo much better like that." Why did he have to be so stubborn about not taking the praise, was his self confdence that low, nah that could't be it. He looked more like the type who felt guilty about something. Yeah that must be it, he even said they threw him out, so he must have done something.
She finished her pussing and looked at him with a feeling of excitement, meeting new friends was always great. Now they just had to seal the deal the best way possible, by playing games of course!
"Now that we settled that, shouldn't you be inviting me home Gaddy? Your evil plan of taking advantage of poor little me would really be easier." The joke was too fun to end now so she kept going with it, having enjoyed his reactions so far.
Sakura Matou
Sakura smiled back at Ron, awkwardly. "Mhm, once I get some food in my belly, it'll all be fine. Everything will be great." She said, as much to herself as to Ron. Maybe if she said it enough, it would actually be true.
Jasey
"Uhh... I think they just call the whole place the Nexus, and I don't think we have a goddess either." She shrugged. "If there's one around then I definitely haven't heard about her before. Maybe that's just a thing from where you're from?"
Methuselah winced and blinked with wide eyes while Rafalia suddenly cut his dark dome. C-crap, why did she have to make things harder instead of easier for him!? How cruel of her, this was beyond what his dark heart could bear. He covered his face and narrowed his eyes, the sun almost seemed to be brighter all of a sudden. But when he glanced back at her weapon, he looked intrigued for a second.
"Jeez, what a waste. You're not very good at listening to others, are you?" He poked her forehead again, this time a little tad bit annoyed, though still warm in a way. "Can you lend me that butter knife for a second? I would like to gaze upon my humble reflection. You wouldn't be so savage as to deny me even that, would you?"
Neptune
"Sure I do, it wouldn't be much of a challenge if I didn't and I kinda like you, so you get bonus points there." As the angel then went and paid for the food he couldn't help but wonder what to do with all that he had in reserve, fear not for Neptune is here. She looked up at him, eager to have more fun with him. Hopefully a lot more fun. Soo much fun it would be ultra fun.
"But I wanna go now, I can even help you with the pudding. It's a total win-win for you." The heroine smiled proudly as she presented her flawless logic to him. There was no way he could resist that.
Ron
He wasn't entirely convinced, but if she really didn't want to tell him then who was he to force the point? Ron made himself relax then, and nod to Sakura. Soon they would be there, she would have some food, and he would know what came next. Besides, he was curious to see what a drive-thru window was like when you had a chauffeur.
Jasey
"Yep. Pretty positive. I can get a second opinion if you want." Then reality Shifted. It distorted. Something unknowable and vast reached upon the gap between worlds and... and massive spider popped into existence on top of Jasey's head.
"We don't have any goddesses or anything, right?" The massive arachnid made a loud chittering before shaking its body. "Nah, it doesn't think so either. Oh, right this is Spider. It reminds me to do my duties and stuff from its other world place thing."
Mordred
"It's simpler than you think. You put a coin into a machine, and it lets you play games which look like a painting where figures are moving and you can actually control them with buttons. You'll get used to it in no time." The changeling explained as clear as possible. To be honest, she wasn't some expert in videogames, but this looked like a chance to get back at the two and probably outcompete them at games given their lack of experience. This would make her feel a lot better after that nearly disastrous eating contest.
Auspicious Breeze
"Huuuh. Are you sure that isn't magic? Because that sounds like magic." Then the former gladiator shook her head, grinned, and grabbed both of their hands'. "Well whatever it is, it sounds like fun too! Come on, let's go while the going's good!"
Huuu. There's a lot of boys at an arcade, huh? Not that it was a reason to cancel the outing, but Breeze hadn't been expecting it when they went on through town. Oh well, she was here to have fun with Mordred and Sakura, not meet new girls! At least, that's all what she told herself as she took in the sight after Mordred found the place for them.
Mordred
They arrived at the arcade videogame place. It was filled with coin-operated machines but many of those would seem so alien for Breeze. Maybe just to ease her into whole thing, she should pick something with a premise clearly familiar to her. There was this arcade game that Mordred didn't recognize in her previous world, but which wasn't something unique. The game featured a wide roster of warriors from all around the world and eras, archetypes that you could pick and play to fight through hordes of enemies in a co-operative mode for up to 3 players. Players also could potentially fuck over each other when trying to seize a particular power up, something which added spice to the gameplay. Also ostensibly at the end of each map, a boss awaited.
"I guess we could play this, it's called Monster Crashers. It's a pretty simple but fun game, just pick one of warriors and we could plow through hordes of monsters showing up on the screen. And then defeat the big one at the end of each stage. Though I guess I should instruct you how to play it, Breeze. You heard about arcades, Sakura, so I guess I don't have to explain basics, then?"
They had been walking for a while together through the city, looking for a good spot to grab a bite. Along the way they found a nice sandwich shop, so he used what little remained of his pathetic savings to buy one for each. With that, they set off until they found a park where they could lie down and relax.
The dark god and the faerie were sitting on the grass under a tree. His back leaned against the trunk while he unwrapped his buffalo chicken sandwich and took a healthy bite. The cool wind, the comfortable shade of the tree's foliage, the ducks swimming peacefully on the pond. For a moment, he felt at peace.
"What a beautiful Nexus. There is no better place for a picnic as this, wouldn't you agree?" He said, turning back to look at the little cheeky fairy.
Oren
Oh wow. She was catching up pretty fast. Even with Oren switching between her two main forms as much as possible to squeeze and maneuver in ways no normal human could that girl was still on her tail.
So she tried her telltale method of jumping into a building through a window and shifting into a roll before turning back into slime. Her body splashed about and rolled a bit before sinking into a vent for air conditioning as she began to change. Hopefully she wouldn't be found?
Jasey
The girl let out a small chuckle at something the spider 'said', but that quickly died off at the other girl's reaction. Her demeanor became just a bit downcast and she removed the spider from her head. "Yeah... I guess it is a bit weird."
She squeezed a bit tighter and the arachnid in her hands vanished. "Do you need anything else?" Alright, she was being a little curt but today hadn't been the best of days and being called weird kinda bothered her. Just a bit.
IRON=SAKURA
Sakura shook her head at Mordred's question.
"Uh-uh." She said in response to her question. "I've played enough games to know the basics of controls, you know. Do you have any change? Or does this place use tokens?" She asked, ready to go gather change while Mord explained the basics to Breeze if they needed some.
Sakura Matou
Soon after that, the car arrived at the drive-through of a McDonalds. Sakura kinda knew that it probably wasn't the of ideas to eat shitty fast food crap while she was pregnant. It certainly wasn't healthy or nutritious in the slightest, but damnit she was hungry. She rolled down the window and spoke into the intercom, ordering her mean, a large double-quarter pounder meal with a large chocolate milkshake for the drink. That should be enough. Probably.
"Do you want anything?" She asked, turning to Ron. "It's my treat. Consider it an apology for dragging you here with me."
Neptune
He was looking back and forth between the pudding and herself. This wasn't good, all her plans would be ruined, RUINED. "Whoa whoa, hold your horses. I'm not a thief. As the heroine I can't have these lies told about me, people will totally stop believing in me. You believe in me, don't you Gaddy?" Her pleading voice would reach him even if she had to climb a mountain to do so. Neptune wasn't a villain!
She walked next to him on the way to his so called abode. The purple haired goddess did wonder what kind of place the Angel lived in. Calling it an abode might mean he's really modest and then it turns out it's huuuuge, and filled with weapons, because he's secretly a leading a secret organisation that's working to save world secretly.
Anastasia
The ice mage already undertook some preparations for the so called hunt, even if she had a lot of skepticism in her about this whole 'vampire' threat. If vampires existed, they could not be too competent as monsters, that was her assumption. So she simply looked for clothes she could change into, as she deemed her magic a sufficient tool for the potential threat she could encounter. Blue jeans and a black T-shirt she bought for herself were simple but enough for the trip. But she had so much spare time, what she could possibly do to kill some? She had no company, the boss wouldn't let her work more, and she was already full. What else was left for her than aimlessly wander?
So she simply walked around bored without any aim, but attentive to what was going around because maybe something interesting could happen or some threat rear its head and try to mug her or eat her. After a long walk she noticed a girl wearing something that resembled a peculiar hat from a distance and accompanied by some kind of moth that didn't look a natural animal. Then what else she could be if not some foreign wizard with a strange familiar? The hat clearly was the sign.
"Uh, hello..." She approached the strange foreigner as she had nothing else to do. Those Southern wizards were often eccentric, so who knew how she would act. In an awkward attempt of a small talk, Anastasia asked the obvious question. "Is this your familiar?"
Jasey
"Game industry?" She wasn't aware of any place called that. It would be a pretty strange thing to call a place too. Sounded like something someone made up. "Nah. Can't say I've ever heard of it before. Must just be a thing from where you're from."
Despite that she tried to look somewhat optimistic. "But if you need any help finding a place to stay or anything I can help. Most people won't mess with me and I know of a few places. It's better to have a roof over your head and stuff before getting used to this."
Sakura Matou
Soon after that, the car arrived at the drive-through of a McDonalds. Sakura kinda knew that it probably wasn't the of ideas to eat shitty fast food crap while she was pregnant. It certainly wasn't healthy or nutritious in the slightest, but damnit she was hungry. She rolled down the window and spoke into the intercom, ordering her mean, a large double-quarter pounder meal with a large chocolate milkshake for the drink. That should be enough. Probably.
"Do you want anything?" She asked, turning to Ron. "It's my treat. Consider it an apology for dragging you here with me."
Ron
Sure, he didn't get anything out of stuff that wasn't meat anymore... but he could still taste it. And sure, it was processed stuff and never tasted as good as what he hunted himself. But it still tasted good.
"Well, maybe a vanilla shake then?" Also you couldn't hunt milkshakes. Too bad he couldn't have the chocolate one with his digestive system being how it was now.
Anastasia
"I'm Anastasia." The tall girl introduced herself to the woman with weirdly colored hair. She must have been a wizard, then. It just looked like some result of a minor magical mishap. In some backwater villages peasants would flee from her, and in the most isolated ones they would probably burn her on a stake. She called those familiars friends, but she guessed they were still familiars. The fact that they looked unnatural remained.
"Huh, you do look quite young for someone who has a familiar. You must be good. Are magical beasts like this your specialty?" Anastasia didn't bother to introduce herself as a magician. Maybe the very fact that she recognized them as familiars would be enough. Knowledge on them was restricted for the majority of mundane people.
Jasey
That didn't seem really smart but Jasey knew a no when she saw one. Still, it would be kind of a shame if Noire were to die. She didn't seem that bad. So Jasey did take out her phone and pulled up the current map of the Nexus. "Well, I'm not sure how good you are at memorizing but here. You should at least get a general idea of where you want to go regardless of whether you can take care of yourself or not."
Then she just handed the other girl her phone as she kept talking. "You should stay out of all the areas highlighted in red. They're pretty dangerous. Gangers, monsters, and whatever are around there. The green places are the ones that take in strays every night, but they fill up kinda fast so you wanna get there early. And my number is 666-732-9811. If you run into some real bad trouble just call and I'll try to make it as soon as possible."
Mordred
"I have some coins in my wallet. And there is an ATM nearby. If I run out of cash, I will just withdraw some money, and buy something to get some change. I got you all covered." Mordred wouldn't invite them here if she was unprepared.
"Do you want to watch me and Sakura play first or do you prefer to learn through experimenting with controls?" She asked Breeze. "Don't worry about dragging us down in the game, it's just something for fun."
IRON=SAKURA
Sakura shook her head at Mordred's question.
"Uh-uh." She said in response to her question. "I've played enough games to know the basics of controls, you know. Do you have any change? Or does this place use tokens?" She asked, ready to go gather change while Mord explained the basics to Breeze if they needed some.
Auspicious Breeze
"Hmm!" She looked at the controls and tilted her head, a little confused already. "I guess one of you is gonna have to show me what to do, then! I'm in your capable hands." Cute girls' capable hands were always the best kind. Even when it wasn't, well, literally!
Neptune
And so the tall creeper of an Angel brought his nefarious plan in motion by bringing the heroine into his fold. In other word he invited her to his mundane looking apartment. Or at least normal at a first glance. On a second look once you got past the kitchen it was filled with weapons hanging on the walls, yup a secret base, Nep was always right.
"It totally looks like an awesome base!" The purple haired goddess went straight for weapons hanging on the walls and took down a broadsword. Swooshing sounds were made as begun swinging it through the air. On the surface it might look like she was just haphazardly swinging it around, but if viewed closer you could see she was switching from stance to stance at a fast pace while also making sure not to hit anything.
Sakura Matou
"Alrighty." Sakura said. "And one large vanilla milkshake please."
With that, they drove around the drive through, picked up their food, and continued on their way to the other place. As she sucked voraciously on her straw, she took a break to ask Ron a question. "So, are you interested in seeing the other location I can rent?" She asked seriously. She didn't want to waste his time after all.
IRON=SAKURA
"Oh, are you sure you don't want help? At least let me buy any snacks for us." Sakura said again. She didn't like relying on people completely. "And don't worry, the basics are easy. You'll probably just die alot and spend alot of Mord's money, hehe."
Anastasia
By any chance? Normally it should have been obvious that she was a one, but the girl claimed she couldn't cast magic at all. How then she tamed those obviously supernatural creatures? She was really, really curious how someone mundane got them. There was probably something more to that than friendship. Like where she found them, for example.
"Uh, yes, I'm one. I can control ice and freeze bad things, so I guess it's kinda like your pet, but our elements are different. Where did you get them?" She said after shaking Oka's hand. She was getting accustomed to people greeting like that, though she still felt a bit out of water.
Anastasia
Ars magus? Was this some foreign term? Anastasia didn't recognize it at all. "Uhh, I don't have a clue what this ars magus is. I just use elemental magic through magical energy in the environment. It's nothing too fancy, really."
Compared to some mages she was a blunt instrument even if she could control her powers to the point that she could avoid affecting her allies. But unlike them, she couldn't do stuff like creating intricate wonders of engineering or revitalizing fields and gardens. But she did her job well, and this was all that mattered.
"Did he or someone else make those things for you? They seem to be too convenient to be something simple." A tool for catching familiars that even a mundane could use must have been a creation of a genius.
Sakura Matou
"Alrighty." Sakura said. "And one large vanilla milkshake please."
With that, they drove around the drive through, picked up their food, and continued on their way to the other place. As she sucked voraciously on her straw, she took a break to ask Ron a question. "So, are you interested in seeing the other location I can rent?" She asked seriously. She didn't want to waste his time after all.
Ron
The werewolf as a bit slower about his milkshake, but since that was all he had he finished it faster than Sakura finished her's. Then he thought back to the apartment she'd shown him. It was pretty spacious, and as far as he could tell it was in a good area. And with his sense of smell he was sure there was nothing lurking in there he should worry about. The only real issue was the balcony.
"Hmm. Not today, no. Now, if it were just up to me I'd sign right now on that one you showed me already." He nodded to make his point clear. "But I do need to talk to Anne first."
Anastasia
The mage caught the pokeball without fail, her reflexes sharp as ever. "So I just have to throw it at an unusual animal? Got it."
An unusual animal, huh? Anastasia looked around only to notice a peculiar cat like creature trying to snatch shiny coins under a vending machine. Just throw it, huh? When the Meowth was too preoccupied with the loose change, Anastasia pitched the pokeball at it like in that folk game played with a bat and a ball. She wasn't an athlete, but precision and focus was something essential for her job, so the ball flew at the creature without fail, about to crash into it.
Mordred
"Sure, there should be some general store nearby, I think." Due to the tendency of large malls to explode or devolve into sanity crushing hellscapes, general stores started gaining some popularity as they were generally more low key and a less tempting target for supernatural terrorism. Monsters which usually targeted smaller stores were usually such small fries that she had no doubts that they would just end up as a smear on the wall with Sakura around. Trusting her capable (and much stronger) sidekick, she passed some money to Sakura and then started correcting Breeze.
"You just control them and they don't die. Those people are not real. They're about as real as a painting, but a moving one." Explaining things to Breeze was sometimes a real challenge. Hopefully her explanation was enough on point.
Jasey
"Yeah, yeah, have a good day and everything." Jasey took back her phone and gave Noire a little wave as the black haired girl went her way. Wherever that was supposed to be. Now then...
The spider popped back up on her shoulder chittering rather intensely. "I know... But I don't wanna do her. She's kinda cute, y'know? And seeing them at your place just isn't the same. They're all crying, or fighting, or in despair or something stupid like that."
Her finger tapped her chin. "But you're right about one thing. Just scaring her would be kinda fun if she doesn't freeze up like a rabbit." She reached behind her back and pulled a hockey mask out of nothing. Then she just slapped it on.
Ahh, that really felt good sometimes. The killer stretches a bit and cracked her joints before turning her view inside out and seeing the world through the twisted reflection of the Shift. She could still make out the faint flow of the dark haired girl's soul from here.
Then she just waited a bit for reality to twist and turn and walked forwards before vanishing in a slight distortion of darkness. Here she was all but flying, a barely substantial force wearing her telltale mask moving across the land towards her target.
The murderer peeled her way through reality behind her target as the air suddenly grew chilly and a tenseness saturated the area. Then she emerged, striding out of the dark with a terrifying presence and inhumane disposition that made the idea of her being Jasey irreconcilable.
She stared for a moment, an almost murderous intentness that was directed right at Noire. "Damn, she's cute even from this side."
Sakura Matou
Sakura nodded. "Alright, I understand. Take as much time as you need to discuss it." She said, but with a hidden undertone in her voice implying that sooner would in fact be better.
"I can take you home now, if you like. Just tell me your current address and we'll get there in a jiffy."
Methuselah
Methuselah looked like he was deeply absorbed in his own thoughts, trying to come up with an answer to Rafalia's question. His eyes closed, his serene expression turned into an ominous, mischievous smile.
"Hmm, I could start with eating your chips."
As soon as he said that, a pitch black snake-like tendril emerged from his shadow and went straight for the prize, fully intending on snatching a good couple of tasty snacks from poor innocent Rafalia's bag, bringing them back in the palm of the culprit's hand. And it did, oh dear lord it did, much to the dismay of the witnesses and children. Without a shred of mercy or compassion, he devoured them one by one much like a demon devours daughters and wives.
" *crunch* Forgive my callousness, but allow me to answer your question with another question. *munch* What would you consider an ideal peace?"
The dark god turned to face her with his moon pale face, closed eyes staring at her expectantly.
Neptune
"Need any help with that? I don't really have a place to stay and well..." She trailed off at the end, distracted by something else. The purple haired goddess had stopped swinging the sword she was holding around and turned to him. "I'd say this one's badly made. The weight is all unbalanced, too much of it is put in the handle. Here have a try Gaddy." She offered the broadsword to him in order for him to have a try.
Anastasia
Oh! For some reason it really worked out. Now she had this cat like animal or cat like spirit. Who knew. Lucky spirits after all liked to roam the land as cats. This wasn't so lucky though. And battling? Was it like pitting a dog or a bird against another animal? Then surely she knew more or less what to do!
"Alright!" She mustered all her enthusiasm and picked up the Pokeball. Then she threw it on the ground because she assumed that was the right thing to do. The Meowth popped out of the ball, ready for the fight. It looked cute, but that wouldn't stop Annie from pitting it against other animals.
Sakura Matou
Sakura nodded. "Alright, I understand. Take as much time as you need to discuss it." She said, but with a hidden undertone in her voice implying that sooner would in fact be better.
"I can take you home now, if you like. Just tell me your current address and we'll get there in a jiffy."
Ron
"I'll try not to keep you waiting then." He smiled to Sakura, then nodded and rattled off his address to her. Well, current address. It was easy enough to find because it was above the only bakery in that particular neighborhood, so there was no way they would miss it. Ron certainly wouldn't when he moved out.
Baked goods had lost their luster compared to fresh game.
Mordred
Breeze took the initiative and started playing with the controls. She managed to reach the character selection menu.
"You should use this stick to move around that thing called cursor. Then press that button to select a warrior over whom the cursor hovers. No need to rush, pick whomever your like." Her girlfriend advised. The selection was quite wide, but fortunately it had quite sizable number of female characters. Whoever made this game they certainly didn't ignore the fair gender.
Anastasia
What a weird animal. Hmm, what she was supposed to do now? Would ordering the cat like creature work? I guess learning if her new familiar understood her speech wouldn't hurt. Maybe it could attack and scratch the other animal with its claws.
"Go and scratch your enemy!" She shouted, pointing at Oka's Pokemon, as if she ordered a soldier to follow her orders and decimate the target.
Jasey
Huh? Why were Nexus people so damn nosy? This rarely ever happened back at home. People usually did smart things and stayed inside their homes and cars rather than poke at what she was trying to do. And she couldn't even kill him! Well she could. But that wasn't why she was here.
Whatever. She would just do this the old fashioned way. Then her frightening presence intensified and crashed down on the two as she just kept walking. If that didn't stop the buy she would justkill himbop him on the head or something.
Malcolm
The lonesome cowboy was walking back home, only slightly drunk and as dejected as ever. Honestly, after all was said and done, even the whole ordeal with that William guy wasn't as exciting as he first thought. The cheap thrill of being pushed in a corner loses its charm once you get used to it. This whole city was interesting at first, a new experience for him, and he was grateful for a chance to escape his dull monotony once more.
Sadly, what once broke a boring old routine became a new routine, one that didn't leave much excitement anymore. He wanted to play the hero, or go on some grand adventure, or play part in some intricate intrigue.
He didn't care if he had to make an enemy out of some divine force or whatever, just as long as he could get some cheap kicks out of it. He missed the adrenaline. More importantly, he really wanted to shoot at something at the moment, waiting until night time for some boring ass leech just wouldn't do.
Suddenly, he felt a shiver run down his spine. A woman was seemingly about to fight some humanoid thing. He couldn't quite tell from behind, but the more he looked at it the more he felt a bad vibe, an inexplicable feeling of danger. The fear he felt in his heart was very real, an instinct that told him to stay. The hell. Away.
So he walked forward until he reached the little lady, waving friendly, then put a hand on his hip and smiled at the masked freak.
“Woah, killer costume you got there. Is this some roleplaying session or something?"
William
The dark mage had finished his entertaining session with his maid, it appeared that the redhead had snuck away while he had been busy with Lucy. Not that it mattered much, dealing with her was Lucy's issue.
He was now on his way to oversee one of his projects. Admitedly he hadn't expected such a strange variety of people to use that workshop. It seems Vanguard was busy running some game of his. No doubt the old warrior was planning something behind his back, but little did he know he was merely dancing in the palm of his hand.
So as he made his way to Relius' workshop he happened upon a strange sight. Gazing down he saw what looked like your sterotypical killer about to gut someone. Only there was something different about this. The aura, the sheer killing intent being directed at that poor was quite monstrous. This could be fun.
And just like that, the man dropped down in between them with gentle thud. His cloak billowing in the wind as he straightened himself out.
"What a lovely afternoon we have here." Despite the chilling degree of killing intent being leaked the man remained calm, almost unnaturally so as he spoke. "Killing someone right now would totally ruin the mood wouldn't you agree?"
Jeanne
"Welcome home Master!"
The French servant was standing in the hallway, eagerly awaiting Sakura's return. "Shirou said he was going to be down, but he probably went back to napping after I left. So how has your day been and where's Rider?" She asked looking a bit fatigued herelf.
Neptune
"Sweet!" She gave the tall angel a big hug as he let her stay at his cool base. The purple haired goddess then gave hima curious look as he began testing the blade himself. "You could always try taping weights to the handle... No wait that would make it like an off hand weapon with an unwieldly modifier. Preettty bad idea and I've seen some bad ideas...." The goddess trailed off apparently having lost her train of thought.
Glancing back and forth between the sword and him she spoke up again. "I see what's going to happen now. You're gonna make do lewd things in exchange for the pudding aren't you?"
Anastasia
Aww, that was pretty dirty of that weird animal! But she believed in her new pet. Cats were smart and the Meowth was quick thinking and fast enough to evade this trick just in time. She knew how to motivate such a stray further as well. "You can do it, I'll buy you a fried chicken if you do well!"
The promise of the food that wasn't just a scrap out of garbage can hopefully would motivate that whiskered creature. That is, if it got what Anastasia just told it.
Mordred
Mordred really wondered if Breeze made a right choice by just winging it and picking a character like that on a whim. Unsurprisingly, it was a girl, but was really a huntress with a bow something she would be used to? Breeze was a warrior who was pretty straightforward about her methods and shooting people didn't seem to fit her style. But okay, it was her choice in the end, so she didn't speak up, but simply started explaining.
"Alright, you use that stick that you used before to move around the girl, and you click this button to jump and that one to shoot the bow. And that third button is for an alternate attack, like you can smash them with the bow. I don't advise that though, it's not that strong and basically just an emergency move." Though knowing Breeze maybe she would do it even outside a videogame.
William
Interesting, the supposed murderer pulled off the mask and revealed herself a young girl. A teenager most likely. He snorted as he heard her explanation, a valid attempt that might fool the mundane masses. He wasn't among them though. That had been some very real killing intent he had felt. Which meant she had either seriously been trying to kill the black haired girl with twintails behind him who he now knew as Noire, or she was capable of mustering such concentrated amount at will. Both of the answers were intriguing for different reasons.
"Nice attempt at deflecting there but there's two things that don't work out here. A: you're dressed as your typical horror movie killer and B: you were projecting actual killing intent. Which leaves us with the conclusion that you're either a bad liar or you treat death itself as a joke. That's pretty grim." He spoke with a serious but calm tone as he picked apart her statement.
The young man trying to run away was promptly ignored, he looked wholly insignificant.
Malcolm
Malcolm felt a bead of sweat drip down his brow. This was honestly terrifying, but sadly for her there was only one man in the entire universe who scared him, and it wasn't him. Feeling the rush of the duel, he readied his hand on his hip, more than prepared to draw his gun and blow that thing's head off, barely holding back a confident smirk.
But suddenly, there was a shadow that covered his line of sight, a terrible cloak fluttering to signal impending doom. Malcolm blinked once, twice, but it was only when he heard the voice that he reacted.
"Yes, good idea." He told the girl, turned backwards immediately and tried to take a run for it. D-dammit, he wasn't scared at all, he just remembered that he had a TV rerun to watch, nothing more!
Oren
Huh. A lot of stuff just happened. Unfortunately for the tiny one Oren was a massive creature of great strength and speed while she was just a tiny fast thing. Red kind of just bounced off of her scaly hide, but then the dragon snapped out with her maw and caught the kid in her mouth.
Then Oren landed back on the ground and spit the child back out onto the ground. Se tasted kinda nasty.
Jasey
God, couldn't she just get a break? Try to make a scary atmosphere and all that happened was some random fucks ruining it. With a frustrated huff she popped off er mask and tossed it away. "You know, it's really hard to try and scare someone when people keep interrupting. Well, sorry, Noire. It was supposed to be funny but I didn't manage to pull it off. Whoops?"
Anastasia
Aww, shucks. That's a bummer. Anastasia knew that people would murder for less, but such an incentive apparently wasn't effective in the world of Pokemon duels. They had to be shouted at like a bunch of peasant militiamen who barely knew to stab goblins with the pointy end of their spears. Note to herself: some harsh training routine was essential. Maybe with a fried chicken as the carrot.
"Forget what I said, bite it! That's your supper, the fried chicken will be your midnight snack!" Holding back wasn't an option, it was a battle after all.
Malcolm
S-shit! He was caught, dammit, this was bad, terrible! He didn’t care if the masked freak was a girl or whatever, but this was not the time for not being able to run away. Damn, at this rate, he’d have to shoot his arm off…
“H-hey, let go! I got nothing to do with this.” He said with a shaky voice, his face as pale as a ghost.
Meti
So the girl just went to each stand and ordered what was probably her own weight in fried food and other unhealthy things that amusement parks sell in droves. And then she started to stuff her face incredibly fast. She didn't even bother saving any for Michael.
She ate like someone who really understood what it felt like to be starving.
Jasey
The teen at least managed to look a bit ashamed. Like a puppy that had been kicked in the side or something. But she got over it anyways and looked at the other guy. He seemed kinda... clever? Intelligent? Something like that. He got that she wasn't just being intimidating.
"Hey! There's nothing wrong with my clothes. Besides, if I wanted to actually kill someone I would have appeared right behind them or above them. I wouldn't just appear a couple feet away and just walk menacingly. And, well, death is kind of a joke. At least to me." She shrugged her shoulders.
William
If she was trying to blow it off by looking cute, she was trying it on the wrong guy. The dark mage had been around long enough to see through such transparent coverup tactics, however he didn't particularly feel like calling her out on it. Besides she was decently cute after all.
"There's nothing wrong really with how you're dressed, you're not wearing that mask anymore. The miss behind me is dressed like an idol, albeit a cute one." He turned to said twintailed black haired idol. "Maybe you should let go of that man, he looks like he wants to run home."
Neptune
The purple leaned into his embrace, pushing her large breasts against him as she met his gaze with curiosity. "No there's also this handsome and horny fallen angel guy who keeps touching me in suggestive ways but never goes for the prize. Now I don't really mind that but really Gaddy, if you're that interested in me there's no need to hide it~ Having one Noire is enough, I wouldn't have time to tease them all. Hehehe..." Neptune laughed a bit at the absolutely amazing joke she had made.
Mitsuba
Tch. How inconvenient. She barely destroyed the obstacle that threatened to crush her and that lowlife's puppet rushed into the fray to catch her off guard. She called out mentally to Katase to summon one of her puppets for a brief moment so that Mitsuba could buy a little time to get away from Ignis through her propulsion.
Anastasia
Wow, bullshit. Surely there was something abnormal about her Pokemon, the more she observed it. Maybe just her society is in huge denial about their nature. Do they even mistake daemons, nature spirits and apparitions for something else and classify them as Pokemon? Honestly she wouldn't be surprised at all.
Her Meowth got off-guard as it got repelled by the forcefield. The watergun sprouted the feline mercilessly right into the face. Would it get up after such a blow?
Jeanne
A closet? It was probably just Sakura exxagerating, couldn't have been that bad. Sakura did have a strange perspective on wealth after all. The blond took hold of Sakura's right arm as she begun leading her in. "That's really generous of you, helping the poor in need." She then adressed Sakura's question, she wondered how to say. maybe she should just tease her instead. "Hmm.. maybe he did, care to try a guess?"
Mordred
Huh, Breeze was not doing bad yet, but it was only a matter of time before she would learn firsthand that she needed some patience to get through further in this game. The goblin like fodder wasn't a real challenge as it was the first stage, but pits with spikes were. "Watch out!" Breeze's girlfriend issued a warning as Breeze got close to one of the death traps. A badly timed jump would mean falling onto spikes and losing, with the game resuming only if she inserted a coin again.
Neptune
The surprise kiss caught her off guard and her entire body tensed for moment. She relaxed soon after and pushed back with her tongue, determined to not lose against him so easily. She sank deeper into the kiss, enjoying every moment to it's fullest extent. Eventually she was forced to pull back for air, her lungs screaming for it. Panting slightly, the purple haired goddess met his gaze with a hint of affection present in her eyes. "So do you like actually like me or do you just want to do me Gaddy?"
Mordred
Huh, Breeze was not doing bad yet, but it was only a matter of time before she would learn firsthand that she needed some patience to get through further in this game. The goblin like fodder wasn't a real challenge as it was the first stage, but pits with spikes were. "Watch out!" Breeze's girlfriend issued a warning as Breeze got close to one of the death traps. A badly timed jump would mean falling onto spikes and losing, with the game resuming only if she inserted a coin again.
Auspicious Breeze
"Eh?!" And then she fell in the doom pit and died, and let out a whine of dismay at he display. "Uhhh, Mordred, what do I do?!" She couldn't quite read the screen entirely so she was missing some words and she wasn't really sure. She tried pressing more buttons in the meantime.
Erica
She had seen Noel fight before. If Erica was to win then closing distance would be of the utmost importance. So the Spirit Vessel launched herself forward straight at the blonde as part of the Mantle morphed into the Needle and released a flood of projectiles at Noel.
Malcolm
That man's word flipped a switch, as if he had just struck a nerve. His vein nearly popped from his temple, and just when he was about to leave, he stopped his pace and put his foot firmly down the ground before turning around.
"Hmph! I wasn't scared at all. I just hate being grabbed like some kid. Stupid woman..."
He grit his teeth and focused back on the man. For some reason that dumb face of his really pissed him off, like he thought he was so high and mighty. Well, he may be right. He let out an annoyed tch and glared at the magician, ready to shoot or flee if he really got serious. He had no chance, but he wasn't going to give that mage the satisfaction.
"What do you want?"
Jasey
She gave the cowardly guy a good look. Jasey was pretty experienced in fear after all, and she could usually tell what they were afraid of and whether they were faking it or not. And that guy was utterly terrified of skinny over there. Kinda funny.
"Man, you're a pretty bad liar. You were completely terrified of that guy over there. It was actually kinda pathetic. Did you think he was gonna kill you or something? He could probably catch you if he wanted. Should have just taken it head on instead of trying to run."
"Anyways..." She looked at the other guy and raised her arm to shake his. "Hey, I'm Jasey. Noire already knows me for better or for worse."
William
This was far too easy. The twintailed girl looked away briefly out of embarassment. Now all that was needed was to set the bait. First however he turned to the coward with a dismissive look. "And who are you supposed to be?"
Then he turned back to Noire and took her hand shaking it gently. "Saving a cute girl like you Noire was my pleasure. You may call me William." That only left the culprit. With a sly smile he grabbed hold of her hand and shook it slowly. "Did you truly satiate your lust for blood? A sudden voice spoke to her in her head.
William
He let go of her hand as traces of her memories flashed him by. Gruesome memories at that, but they told him what he wanted. It was interesting, but he could see what her problem was. There was one thing she dearly lacked, direction. It was quite clear what she needed. "The true beauty lies in quality not quantity, that's what you're lacking."
Was that coward really crying now? It would be best for him if he followed the advice given and went home. Noire on the other hand appeared to be from another reality. "Lady Black Heart? Is that a demon? I'm afraid I've never heard of them. You're most likely from another dimension. This place known as the Nexus drawns in people from different worlds seemingly at random. Some however believe there's a higher force guiding it."
Mordred
"Right, right, it's not a disaster." She petted Breeze on the head as she was in panic over what she should do next time. "You can do over again, and do better next time. Should I join in? You might get bored if you play alone, right?"
IRON=SAKURA
Sakura, who had been silently enjoying the show of Breeze learning how to play arcade games, finally moved into action and "gently" (not really) slapped Breeze on the back. "It's alright. You just died and got a game over. If you insert another coin likeso..." Sakura said and inserted a coin into the machine, causing the game to resume where she had been previously. "It starts right back up. Pretty neat, right?"
Neptune
She glared at him a bit as he chuckled at the effort she had put in. Just because he was a dirty cheater with no air meter. She'd show him not to mess with the goddess of Planeptune. She just needed to find a game first.
The thing he said at the end though, was nothing unexpected, still she wasn't really comfortable heading down that route just yet. "I appreciate it Gaddy, but I just can't do it after one little date.... Tehe." The purple haired goddess made a really silly face as she said so.
Methuselah
The dark one's face flushed like a tomato when she suddenly grabbed his nose. "Erm, o-okay. If you say so!" He tried to muster, and perhaps even succeeded. He looked away, gazing down at his own two feet, then looked back at her, his tone and expression suddenly more serious.
"Still, I am too weak. Combat isn't in my nature, nor do I have any interest in power. However, I need to become strong if I want to protect anyone."
His thoughts trailed back to the earlier clash his previous self had against that girl. It wasn't solely about keeping the city safe from such outbursts, but as long as she roamed free and unchecked, he wouldn't be able to find peace.
He smiled and rose from his place, putting the sandwich bag in a nearby garbage bin. Then, he turned to Rafalia.
"I have fought little in the last few hundred years. Would you humor an old god's request and spar with me? I find that I have yet much to learn."
Jeanne
Jeanne flicked Sakura's head gently as the purple haired woman leaned too close to her in some attempt to pull a joke on her, not happening on her watch. "I'm not telling just yet, you'll have to wait and see Sakura. Could it be you're that anxious over it?" The blonde servant teased her back as the two of them made it down the hallway.
Anastasia
Was this their chance? Anastasia decided to gamble the outcome of the duel on this golden opportunity. If Meowth could counterattack effectively, it could deal a pretty serious blow to its opponent. "Alright! Turn around and counterattack it! I count on you!"
Jasey
Hey, hold on a sec! She was the only one who was allowed to be weirdly intense with people she just met! So Jasey just kind of gave Noire a gentle pull back while smiling at the guy. "Well yeah, she doesn't really look like a goddess but if she's telling the truth then there's no harm in giving her the benefit of the doubt, right? Besides, belief isn't that hard. We aren't gonna lose anything by giving it."
Belief wasn't too hard. She kinda worshiped a giant spider thing after all, and if Noire said she was and could prove it then Jasey had no issues believing that she was a goddess.
William
That couldn't be any harm in that now could there? He might as well go along with it then. Jasey had done so quite easily, did she know something he didn't? Still Cpu? Wasn't that something that made computers run? Wherever she were from they had some really strange naming conventions. He took a step back again when he noticed her uncomfort at the closeness, there was no need to alienate her right now.
He then regained control of his own curiosity and asked her with a more calm voice. "Alright Noire let's say I believe you're goddess, could you show me your form then?
Jasey
Oh wow. That was kinda different. Although Jasey didn't seem to notice anything particularly divine or anything all things considered. She seemed pretty strong though! So the teen just smiled and gave the now white haired girl a little bit of applause. "You look great, Noire! How long can you keep that up? Or will you be like that forever now?"
William
Just as he had finished his question she immediately complied and told them she was ready to tranform. And transform she did, the girl was enveloped in a white light and emerged changed. Her hair was now white and she was wearing some black skintight suit.
The now white haired "goddess" crossed her arms and boasted about her new great form, so her voice changed too huh. The way she crossed her arms however highlighted another big change that had occured.
"So is divinity measured by the size of your boobs?" The dark mage asked her.
Anastasia
She lost. Was it the matter of the affinity, Pokemon's inexperience or the reason was her own shortcomings? In spite of Oka's praise, she thought that it could have been a combination of all three. But of course there was no reason to deliberate too much about it, she could improve the second and the third. She returned Meowth back to this Pokeball contraption.
"Oh, thanks. I was supposed to meet with another mage near a place of a woman called Forest and we are supposed to go find some vampire but there's some time until the sun sets. If you have time, I'd gladly hang around and learn more, if you don't mind." It was true that she had an appointment, but there was still some time to spare.
Neptune
Neptune pulled away from him with a smile "Hah you you're so a horny fallen angel." She then went straight for his television to look for any games he had hidden in his cabinet. She bent over further to have a better look, her clothes riding up over her butt to completely expose her panties as she did. Hah, he was a total closet gamer, GTA V, so they make that here too.
The purple haired goddess then suddenly spoke up as she was searching through his collection. "And just how many virgin goddesses have you banged on the same day you met them?"
Jasey
Oh wow. This Noire seemed a lot more laid back. Jasey was pretty sure that if that question had gotten asked earlier the other girl wouldn't have been nearly as okay with it. Or maybe she would have. The teen really didn't know the other girl that well.
Jasey tilted her head a bit in a questioning pose. "So how strong are you now?"
William
The white haired goddess begun floating about a foot above the ground as she answered their questions. Interestingly enough she wasn't embarresed by his comment and even gave a concise answer. "That being so does not change them having a near perfect size and shape." He answered back.
Jasey did bring up a good point however, she did seem fairly strong. So he might as well try out just how strong. "Would you like to have a spar with me Lady Black Heart, you might serve as a nice warm up now." A slight smirk present as asked the question.
Jeanne
"My followers....After I got burned, they started doing strange things. One of them lost his mind and starting using children as musical instruments. I'm sure that's not a story you'd like to hear." Jeanne answered Sakura after taking a moment to think. Having continued walking throughout, The two of them was almost upon the room were Shirou was presumably resting now.
Mordred
"Right, right, it's not a disaster." She petted Breeze on the head as she was in panic over what she should do next time. "You can do over again, and do better next time. Should I join in? You might get bored if you play alone, right?"
Jasey
Huh, so they were gonna fight? Cool. Spider popped in on top of her head again as she took a seat on the ground. "Hey, try to slow it down a bit at the end if you're really fast, alright? It's annoying just watching blurs or nothing whirl around."
William
"That I cannot promise." And just like that the dark mage soared forward towards the white haired goddess, intent on landing a blow a blow to her stomach with his right hand. However it was naught but a feint as he changed course right before he was within striking distance and veered off to the right, the true blow coming from his left hand.
That itself was nothing but a feint within a feint as beneath it all the real attack was a sweeping kick. The mighty kick was delivered with a frightening grace that spoke of a man endlessly working to achieve perfection. His deadly form a result of years, no decades of experience.
William
Not bad. Not bad at all.
His feint was seen through and his attack was blocked, she then responded in turn with a kick of her own.
Using the same form of attack. How brash.
The former saint waited until the very last moment to dodge Black Heart's kick. Just as the kick was about to hit him, he leaned slightly away letting it brush past him almost skin to skin.
He acted quickly and took advantage of the small timeframe created by what would have appeared to have been an actual hit by grabbing hold of her leg. he kept the moment going from his initial dodge as to not loose even a fraction of time as he spun her around and threw her away.
Anastasia
"So, let me guess, Pokemon vary depending where they live, right?" Anastasia made an educated guess. She had fought monsters, so she knew firsthand that some creatures prefered some type of environment over another. "I doubt we have time to go outside the city, but a city park would be a better place to spot more? If I'm not mistaken we could find one of those Woopers near a pond or a river?"
Methuselah
The dark god flinched at the fae's sudden burst of movement, but he listened to her wise words regardless. Before he knew it, she leapt in the air and landed onto his shoulders. This might be harsh for a normal human, but even if he was weakened, he was still a god.
If he wasn't even able to lift this much, he would shame those who believed in him, wouldn't he? Which was why even if his back was sore, his knees did not falter.
"Y-yeah...You're heavier than I thought. Maybe you shouldn't eat so many chips."
Neptune
She finished searching through his games and settled for some violent fighting game and starting it up. "Nope pretty sure I am, I've never had anything bigger than a finger, definitely not anything as big as you inside." It wasn't like she'd have much of an opportunity to get it.
Neptune turned back to him and walked over, poking him in the chest. "And don't think I didn't notice, you totally didn't answer that hehe." Even if the words may have appeared accusing on the surface, they were delivered with and abundant degree of cheer.
Mitsuba
Soon after, their fight attracted attention of the public. The police and Enforcers were approaching the site and could be noticed from the afar. Not the best time to finish the duel if third parties were about to intervene. Unsatisfied with the outcome, but having no other choice, Mitsuba decided to pull back.
IRON=SAKURA
"Hey hey no fair." Sakura complained. "I wanna play!" She made a pouty face at Mordred. "Don't hog Breeze all to yourself!"
Meti
"Beautiful." She said it because the blade could only be called that. Meti almost felt weak in the knees just looking at it. Then the girl moved, her blade cutting soundlessly through the air as if from nowhere, with speed that seemed impossible given the limitations of her own by. Her target was the other woman's hand.
Meti
Yet, the motion which would have thrown the blade off course failed to hinder it at all. It shifted back without the slightest loss of motion to harmlessly parry the other blade. And with that her own hand flicked out and ran along the length of the blade.
Meti had felt it. That hunger and an intelligence behind it. "Absolutely magnificent.That blade deserves a far greater owner, one that can properly satiate its hunger. There is no point in asking you how many you have killed with it. The answer is clearly not enough. I have no more words for you."
"Sword, if you would have me I will do all I can to fulfill your needs. I am Meti. I would ask for your name once I slay the one who improperly wields you." Then she struck. And in that moment Meti displayed the perfection of her swordsmanship. She destroyed 'Meti' and became an extension of her blade itself, all sharpness and hunger. The flurry of strikes that she unleashed were each utterly deadly and relentless in nature.
Meti
Ah! This felt so strange, so good. The sword's resolve filling her limbs and moving her, as if she was nothing more than a part of it. Yes. This is what she wanted. The pain was inconsequential; it was nothing in exchange for another second of this.
Anything.
Neptune
The purple haired goddesss looked amused at his response and went up on her toes to give him a quick kiss. Enjoying the brief yet electrifying contact with his lips before she pulled back. The look of amusement hadn't faded as she spoke up. "Now Now Gaddy, you're just reading lines out the white knight hand book. Did ya practice infront of the mirror every morning or something?"
He was holding back something and no she didn't think it was his lust. There was something else that he was holding back. It was troubling him and she would break his shell. And by Nep she would do it.
William
His fist struck true, smacking into her gut with a hard blow. However at the same moment she had raised in her knee in respone, ready to strike at his side. The dark mage bent around the knee on the inside of her leg, as fluid as water itself he moved even closer to her. Not to let it end there he also in the same motion kept up the attack to her gut. Hitting her once more in the exact same place just as hard as before.
People tended to tire quicker after all if they were hit repeatedly in the same spot, at least mentally. That particualr area also came with the benefit of knocking the wind out of her.
Jeanne
The Saint felt relief at not having to diclose that topic at this point. It wasn't really something she felt like talking about at all. Ah so he was asleep after all, She noticed as she looked into the room. Sakura closed the door, obviously with the intent of letting him rest before asking her if she wanted to have something to eat.
"I would love to, if it's your making. The practice was more intense than usual and it seems like Shirou is getting worse somehow. Or maybe he's doing badly on purpose because he enjoys getting beaten up."
Vanguard
Vanguard was walking quite lightly along the city, seemingly taking a mere stroll as men of his age wont do. His smile, much like his step, was quite at ease, as if his mind was astray and looming elsewhere. And yet, his eyes couldn’t be any more determined.
He did not imagine that little girl could prove so devious. To think someone would plot against him, could it be someone disliked him already? It could have worked, if anyone in this city could do it, it certainly wouldn’t be William, but her.
However, she had most certainly chosen the cruelest of handicaps. He wasn’t so kind as to gift a body and to expect nothing in return. In this case, her eyes and ears would do for now. Sadly, he didn’t plan on letting her know just yet. Besides, he had to say he was curious to see just how far she would go.
If that was her blade’s ambition, he would certainly welcome it with open arms and destroy it.
"Hmmmm~♫"
Ah, but before that, there were more curious happenings in this city, matters he ought to take care of. How deplorable, for him to have to come back and see her under this wretched form. Ah, but if he waited too long, he might not get another chance. His time was trickling down, wasn't it?
Well, it didn't really matter in the grand scheme of things. As long as his goal wasn't reached, he wouldn't die. Of that, Vanguard was blindly certain to the point of delusion. Despite that, the possibility of him being defeated did not escape him. He was hard pressed, with his back against a figurative wall, and the meeting of that deplorable man only cemented this.
But it was in times like this that heroes would triumph against impossible odds. To do any less would be a mockery to all those who once and still believed in him. He couldn't allow such a thing now could he?
Well regardless, now was not the time to trouble himself with such affairs, so as calmly as ever, he directed himself to the manor where he once was summoned. It wasn't a bad time to meet an old friend.
"Fu fu fu..."
Mordred
"Sakura, go ahead and choose the fighter first. I've played such games much more than you two combined, so it would be unfair if you didn't get a chance to select whomever you want before me." The local video game expert proposed magnaminously. To be honest, it's not like she was a pro, but compared to the duo, yes, she was very experienced indeed.
IRON=SAKURA
"Hey hey no fair." Sakura complained. "I wanna play!" She made a pouty face at Mordred. "Don't hog Breeze all to yourself!"
Auspicious Breeze
Cute girls were fighting over her. It felt really nice actually! But there was more than enough Breeze to go around, and since Mordred said the game was for three people it should be fine, right? "Here, let me move over a bit so you can get in, Sakura."
Maybe she wouldn't fall over and die this time! With two girls there she definitely would win. Right?
Anastasia
"It doesn't look like it will rain any soon. And I cannot really do anything about it, see, I can conjure ice storms, but rainstorms are outside my specialty." In her world, it was better to be a master of one thing than be bad at everything. Unless someone lived for centuries like elves, and then only the few, be it humans who prolonged their lifespans with magic or elves who simply lived that long, could reach such level of mastery even if so old. "Unless there are Pokemon who like snow, then I can help with that."
William
She jumped away just after he landed his second blow, putting herself in a ready position with her sword up.
Playing defensive now. Wrong move.
With that the dark mage charged right at her and swiped his arm right before he was within striking range from her.
"Darkness Slash!"
A giant wave of utter darkness shot forwards, the darkness consuming er entire field of vision as it assailed her.
Neptune
The purple haired goddess snickered at him. Did he really expect her to believe that lame story. She could smell the make believe from a mile away. The best part was how he wasn't actually that at all. He was something else entirely.
Nevertheless she answered his question with as much cheer as he could muster, maybe she could get through to him by being genuine. "No not really, But I would appreciate it you were more true with you how ya feel and not covering it up and all."
Mordred
"Yup, that's a lot of change. Should be sufficient." Maybe after they're done she should encourage her to put some of that into a bank. Even with a super strength, just carrying that much money on you all the time seemed to be quite inconvenient. She could have emptied space in her bag for something else if she deposited some of her money in a relatively secure bank. It's not like Nexus was a constant warzone. It could improve, but there were relatively calm places here and there.
"Maybe someone who is quite straightforward in a style. To be honest, you're playing the game for the first time, it's no shame at playing it safe for now. Maybe one of those sword wielding warriors?" Mordred pointed at the selection screen.
Anastasia
"Tried ever chasing that Regice you mentioned? That it's just a rumor doesn't matter, sounds more interesting that what I wanted to do this night. Those bloodsucking humanoid monsters people keep rambling about seem to be kinda boring..." She wondered if she had to call off this 'vampire hunting trip'. She was just having too much fun learning about those Pokemon. "I'm game if you ever want to look for it."
Paladin
The man nodded but there was a cautious tone in his voice when he said, "It is a fast approach yes, but I would caution you with patrons. They can be fickle beings, and it is more often than not that they attempt to misuse the institutions they support for their own purposes."
But that did not stop Paladin from giving the man his address in case he require it later. Then he departed, in search of the vendor of the creature that the couple had owned. It was not incredibly peculiar, but he could sense a strange potential in it.
Eventually he stumbled upon what seemed to be creatures similar in nature to the one he saw along with... another Sakura. Or at least someone who seemed remarkably similar looking. This was beginning to become disconcerting.
Yet nonetheless he approached the two and waved a hand. "Greetings, have you two seen any creature resembling this?" He held out his own rough sketch of the animal he had seen with the couple prior.
Rafalia
It was unlike Rafalia to revel in the pain of her foes, but her veins trembled with joy at the wounding of someone who was all but the prey she had decided upon. Her expression was torn between celebrating the lesson her friend was learning, and mourning the pain of her instruction. But there was no pity to offer.
Beset by shadows made steel on all sides, the faerie hunter showed a gloating smile and spun. Her knife followed and vanquished what it reached, but her commitment left her too far to avoid them all. Like obsidian swords the threads of Methusalah's trap tore through her vest and her skin, as more passed between her steps and buried themselves in the ground or trees opposite to her.
Her cloak billowed to a stop, the gashes upon it vanishing as dark blood fell from the skewered limb that that shielded her face. She winced as she stained her now empty hand to remove the offending object, letting it fall on the grass and scatter into dust.
If it would've debilitated someone who relied on their arm, to her it meant little, and she trained her ebon bow on Methuselah once more, in her hands with the same familiarity as it always was.
"We aren't done yet, my brave fellow," she said, releasing the arrow with striking precision.
Jeanne
The Saint felt relief at not having to diclose that topic at this point. It wasn't really something she felt like talking about at all. Ah so he was asleep after all, She noticed as she looked into the room. Sakura closed the door, obviously with the intent of letting him rest before asking her if she wanted to have something to eat.
"I would love to, if it's your making. The practice was more intense than usual and it seems like Shirou is getting worse somehow. Or maybe he's doing badly on purpose because he enjoys getting beaten up."
Meti
The staff in her way jarred the girl out of her pure state of mind in a particularly unpleasant way, and she found her own thoughts resonating well with the sword's own. So that only made the near growl to escape her mouth at Michael's intrusion more fitting.
"I already told you that you are not my mentor! It is not a title for you to take ." She caressed the blade lovingly, almost distractedly as she spoke. Then she ran as fast as she could through and past the crowd. Back to the entrance where her cart was. She didn't even think to separate herself and the sword but instead took the few pieces of equipment she actually needed for maintenance. But then there was the question of what exactly to do with all of these.
Neptune
Oh it was on now, it was so on. You didn't make a challenge like that to the CPU of Planeptune and expect to walk home tonight, or the entire weekend for that matter. "You could just start talking right now, cause you're not gonna win!" She rushed over to the the sofa and dived into it.
"Ah it's so soft" Neptune squirmed around for a moment before settling in and casting an amused at him. "Will ya stop oggling me and get over here Gaddy. I'd rather beat you fairly and not because you were distracted by me."
Meti
The young woman's hands trembled at the motion. She even felt a little hurt. But, very reluctantly, she handed the sword back over to, err, itself. Then just turned back and surveyed her own cart. It seemed... empty in comparison. "What should I do with it all?"
Trivek
Urho
He was 'swimming' through the ground? What a peculiar dragon indeed! As they travelled further and further from the forest, the boy also noticed first signs of the civilization. Some sort of a castle? Someone standing on the roof of that structure? Oren leaped on the building.
"Whoa, Oren, be careful!" The boy yelled out as the ground dragon cracked the side of the building they landed on. That portion of the building could not survive if Oren moved in any sudden and forceful fashion. Petting her like a dog was out of question right now.
"Hello, everything's alright?" The boy waved to the old timer. After all, anyone could be startled if a giant wingless dragon crashed on a top of a castle.
William
As she emerged through the dark wave of darkness, she found herself charging straight into an empty street. When suddenly a voice was heard from right behind her.
"Darkness Slash!"
The former saint had immediately moved tho the side after his first spell. Using the fact it was obscuring her field of vision to move unnoticed in it's wake and thus passing her as she rushed right through it. Then he moved in behind her and used the same darkness move once more.
William
The dark mage showed no visible reaction as his attack only turning to face the counter attack. He raised his left hand, the fist was partly closed with his ndex finger and his middle finger extended as he drew some strange pattern in the air with immense speed. A barrier of the purest darkness appeared infront of him, completely swallowing the white haired goddess' blow.
Meanwhile his right foot had also left the ground in the same instance as he begun making the barrier. He kicked high in the air to the side of the barrier just as it appeared and continued right into Noire's head.
Sassguard
Despite its stone hardness and stoic gaze, if you could describe this subtle change of facial features you could almost say Vanguard brightened up.
"Ah, lady Sakura! It is good to see you, you've grown taller since the last time I've been in your presence." He said with a smile, only to put his hands on his waist and pouting with a haughty grin.
"Why, is visiting an old friend not business enough for thee? I hope I have not come in an inopportune time, to disturb you would bring me much displeasure."
Paladin
Hmm. An eevee? The name seemed somewhat fitting for whatever reason. But was this young woman truly so willing to simply sell these creatures? "These animals, they are capable of doing battle, are they not? I have seen one today with another man and I was worried of their potential and the difficulty of acquiring them."
Mordred
"Yup, that's a lot of change. Should be sufficient." Maybe after they're done she should encourage her to put some of that into a bank. Even with a super strength, just carrying that much money on you all the time seemed to be quite inconvenient. She could have emptied space in her bag for something else if she deposited some of her money in a relatively secure bank. It's not like Nexus was a constant warzone. It could improve, but there were relatively calm places here and there.
"Maybe someone who is quite straightforward in a style. To be honest, you're playing the game for the first time, it's no shame at playing it safe for now. Maybe one of those sword wielding warriors?" Mordred pointed at the selection screen.
Auspicious Breeze
"Hey, it's okay if you just push buttons. That's all of what I've been doing so far, Sakura!" It was pretty fun too, before she fell into The Pit. Stupid pit. She would try to break the ground and fill the pit in next time she reached it. Could the game do that? It seemed kinda limited about those things. "Just gotta stay away from the holes..."
William
Remarkable, truly remarkable.
She ducked under his kick and took advantage of his supposedly vulnerable position by slicing his outstretched leg. This was tricky, real tricky. He would have been in a real pinch here if hadn't spent years fighting armed opponent's with his bare hands.
Drawing upon every last bit of experience he possesed, the dark mage's body twisted in an almost unnatural way. The hand that had been making the barrier was closest to the ground so he used it to go onto a handstand while kicking off with other leg.
Then came the moment of truth. He reversed the course of his kick downwards, his other leg mirroring the action from the opposite direction. The whole of his focus camed down to that one instant.
His feet closed in, inch by inch, ever closer.
A heartbeat.
Then the sole of feet connected with Noire's blade locking it in place between them.
William
He was quite impressed with her as well. Her strength and speed was great as was her skill. It seemed like she was a bit lacking in actual exprience dealing with opponents with a versatile skill set.
Then the goddess reverted back to her human form and began falling towards the ground. He quickly moved to catch her before she hit the ground. "You were quite impressive yourself if a bit rough around the edges. Are you feeling alright?" He asked sounding concerned for her while examining her exposed stomach.
He had after all hit her twice there and she might have taken some damage from that. Well that and scoring more points with her would be beneficial for him.
Jasey
Huh. This was actually kinda cool. What she could actually see that is. Jasey had finished a bag of chips and a soda by the time the whole thing was done. As the girl fell Jasey bolted up with enough force to smash the concrete under her to catch the girl but quickly came to a literal ground breaking halt as William popped out of nowhere.
She only very lightly bumped into them considering all her restraint. "Oh, whoops. Sorry. Nice moves! The both of you guys."
The dark one grit its teeth as he fled to safer grounds so disgracefully, but his eyes didn't miss the little nuisance that fired yet another arrow. It wasn't speed or instinct that saved him, but merely the reflex to wave his arm forth, sending a wave of darkness against the arrow. However, it wasn't fast or strong enough, so the violent blast left a grievous wound on his chest, like a porcelain pot that had just been cracked.
It felt wonderful.
His expression suddenly shifted. It wasn't just agony, but pure fear not directed towards the monster before him, but the one inside him. The dark god howled in pain, clutching at his wounded arm as if to keep something from leaking out.
"S-stop!" He whined, trying to keep his mind and soul in check, begging for the daemonic pain of the blade not to make him lose reason. Whatever that blade was, its nature had dragged something out from his soul, something that he had rather kept buried.
The shadows in his cloak bulged and erupted like serpents, wrapping over the god as quickly as they could in order to form an orb of darkness and shadows to shield him from harm.
Or perhaps it was to shield her.
Anastasia
"Oh, don't worry, I can handle the little guy I captured just fine. Control and responsibility are one of first things that battle mages are taught." She was after all a pro. Less than 10 % of sanctioned magic users received a full license. Final exams weeded out the majority and those who failed usually stayed students for the rest of their lifes. "You're from a knightly order, right? I don't recognize your heraldry."
Paladin
"I see. That is somewhat unfortunate. I would have hoped to have limited the access that more unsavory characters would have to these creatures, but that appears to be entirely impossible. Still, I must thank you for practicing restraint in the sale of these beasts. You have a good heart, madame." He bowed his head towards her a bit.
Oh, but he had failed to answer their question! "But excuse my rudeness, I am Paladin. A knight in the service of Stribog."
Oren
The dragon gave a nod before reaching over and grabbing the mage with a grasping claw. Then she tossed him onto her back and leaped off of the building. But then she roared and shook a bit to get them off of her back before dissolving into roiling sludge.
Jasey
Huh. This was actually kinda cool. What she could actually see that is. Jasey had finished a bag of chips and a soda by the time the whole thing was done. As the girl fell Jasey bolted up with enough force to smash the concrete under her to catch the girl but quickly came to a literal ground breaking halt as William popped out of nowhere.
She only very lightly bumped into them considering all her restraint. "Oh, whoops. Sorry. Nice moves! The both of you guys."
William
He chuckled as Noire stumbled out ouf his arms. The slight collision with Jasey not even bothering him. "That was merely the fruits of over a thousand battles." He then took a step closer to the goddess when she turned back to him and then patted her head gently. " You're quite strong Noire. But I could could teach you a trick or two if you were willing to go and have something to eat with me."
You're quite a bit cuter in this form." He also projected to Noire's mind.
Meti
Meti's face glowed bright red in shame. "There is a promise of safety here. Cameras and guards to make sure vehicles and property are not stolen. If there was enough of a fuss I would have come and punished the thief personally. If I were to lose one I would kill until I rooted out the rat who took it and then cut them to slivers."
Neptune
The purple haired goddess flashed a victorious grin at his embarresed response as she took a controller herself and began the match. "Sure Sure. But do I really look angry? I'm pretty flattered that you think I'm so incredibly attractive." Neptune teased him like the true deviant she was, yes she took great pleasure knowing she had that effect on him.
Meti
"Yes! I've been keeping them sharp and sated ever since I was a child. I do not believe that I was much taller than my first blade when I began holding onto them either." She shifted for a bit then broke eye contact and asked, "May I hold you again, Lady Katase?"
Neptune
The purple haired goddess absent mindedly nodded to him. "More like I like you."
Not being familiar with this game in particular she cose a weapon she thought would most likely lose her the current match. A rapid fire SMG that is. Oh yeah she was playing the long game here. First person shooter were al built to be supposedly balanced, but most of them had one weapon class be clearly superior. This being Gaaddy's game he probably already knew that which is why she went with this weapon, to test the limits of it.
And unsurprisingly she couldn't match his knowledge of the game itself leading to him getting the first kill.
Shirou and Sakura
Shirou also nodded. Julius' idea seemed pretty sound, but Shirou could understand Paladin's objection. At the same time, though, he could see an easy way to avoid that problem.
"A patron would certainly be very helpful. We have been forced to take to bounty hunting to make ends meet and, whilst we would never take a bounty on someone who was not deserving of one, it would be nice to be able to prioritise more important cases", he began, noticing Paladin walk away as he did so.
"Paladin's worries are valid, but I do not think that it would be a problem. It does not sound like you plan for your club to be anything more than a group of like-minded citizens working together as they see fit, and if that is the case then a patron would not be able to force us to do their bidding."
Paladin
He gave an inquisitive hum. "I wouldn't suppose that you have any ice themed creatures, would you? I had hoped to acquire a companion in my line of work recently but the polar bears are currently either too old, too young, or are taking care of their current families. The population increase I had hoped for has yet to occur."
Meti
"Yes! I've been keeping them sharp and sated ever since I was a child. I do not believe that I was much taller than my first blade when I began holding onto them either." She shifted for a bit then broke eye contact and asked, "May I hold you again, Lady Katase?"
Auspicious Breeze
Button mashing got her through the day up until that point, as she did her best to pick up on this 'basic gamer logic' Sakura spoke of. It was harder than it looked, but she was having fun playing with both girls this way! More girls was almost always better after all. But then they reached the pit, and Breeze started to practice for the jump. It started with jumping around over solid ground to test how far she could go, and soon enough she was ready to leap!
Leap over the pit! Yay!
Vanguard
"That would be you." He answered plainly, returning her quizzical look. He might have had unreasonable expectations, thinking she could recognize him on voice alone might have been a gross overestimation. Tch, maybe he should have brought the armor along, or at least the helmet.
How fortunate.
Well, she seemed to have a new companion, he didn't recall seeing that one before, and when his eyes averted to the bulge in her stomach, he realized she must have been quite busy. Still, having to explain himself was the last thing he wanted.
"It's me, Vanguard. It's been a while, but I'm glad you seem to be doing well." He said kindly, only to suddenly excuse himself, his eyes faintly shocked like a child who had just caught doing some misdeed.
"Oh, do forgive me. I suppose you would like a more in depth explanation. I do not mind either way, but it would be demonic of me to force a poor pregnant woman to stand there and listen to a speech. Would't you agree?" He asked of her, bowing gracefully as a knight ought to give a lady her proper respects.
Neptune
The goddess leaned forwards at his question, exposing even more of her deep cleavage. She hadn't missed where his eyes were lingering even if he tried to distract her with that annoying smirk. Not that she was annoyed in the slightest, quite the opposite in fact. "Do you mean like a domain or something, Gaddy? I take care of national affairs and stuff like that. I guess you could say I'm a goddess of games though."
Meti
Her grip tightened.
You deserve perfection. They should be glad to slake your thirst, to carve up hundreds and cut through all other weapons to prove themselves to you! How could anything else suffice? Meti very nearly unsheathed the sword then and there, ready to prove once more that she could do it. That she would do it. But she controlled herself.
Mordred
Breeze adapted very well to the game for someone raised in a pre-industrial society. She honestly didn't know if she should feel proud right now or worry about losing any edge she had over her girlfriend. Maybe she worried needlessly. The fact that she wasted her life on such trivial pastimes when she had nothing better to do (sometimes no threat reared her nor she was in a condition for training harshly. That's when her inner NEET soul surfaced) gave her edge in experience that was hard to surmount.
Sakura was doing very well, but could she keep up with her? Her character concentrated and released an ice spell that rickosheted and took out a group of archers who were hiding on a top of a tower. Everyone could use ultimate attacks but it took a pro achieve similar results with less wasteful movements. She would conserve her ultimate spell to fight later bosses
And speaking of the devil, they reached the first one. Red Gobo, the goblin chief riding on a giant rhinoceros. He had some tricks in the sleeve, but she wouldn't tell the others. She wanted to see how they dealt with that one.
Neptune
The goddess returned her attention to the screen, visibly pleased by the reaction she had elicited. "Oh but I don't think an enigma would be so obviously transparent. I'm happy you enjoyed it though."
With that Neptune begun the next round. This time she approached it with the exact same strategy she'd seen Gaddy use in the last. Except there was something different about it. Every movement seemed more... refined. Every little action picked apart and put back together with maximum effiency. In the end she proved to be just a bit faster, winning this round.
She turned back to him with her brightest smile. "And there you have it, special Nep killing technique #28! So I wonder what should my question should be?"
Meti
Feeling a bit bold she unsheathed the sword and immediately slid her hand across the edge, spilling blood over it. Just something to sate her appetite for a moment. Her hand then began to gently take the measure of Katase, physically feeling the length of the blade despite knowing its dimensions already.
Then I will kill her, I swear so on the blood I've spilled for you. I would gladly move to a more private setting so that we could discuss things further, Lady Katase. So long as your are content to hold yourself I will pull the cart.
Oren
"Ehhhh? I was just as naked when I was a dragon. What's wrong with you two? Besides, I couldn't stretch right if I was wearing clothes." She demonstrated this as she lifted a lithe leg up so that it pointed right at the air as she kept her back straight.
Paladin
The knight stroked his, uhh, helmet as he considered the offer. "I cannot deny the tempting nature of such an offer, but I lack the funds to purchase any creature of quality. However, I would certainly wish to learn more about them. They seem to be fascinating beings and you are the expert here, Lady Oka."
Anastasia
"Oh, aren't knightly orders flowing with donations from pilgrims and merchants?" More like a polite version of protection rackets to be honest. They would protect all pilgrims in need and merchants in need, but slightly prioritize depending who gave the most charitable donations. Ironically priests of the god of gambling, luck and thieves were more upfront about their intentions than followers of more upstanding religions. That didn't mean she held back on them, but she appreciated such honesty.
But in this case, the knight professed himself to be destitute. How odd, maybe he was some lone stranded member of his cult. "Oh, I see. Do you accept donations, sir?"
Well, she did not prostrate themselves before gods. But bribing them by helping their followers was another question. Give-and-take relationship.
William
"Of course it works." He answered off handedly to Jasey before turning his attention back to Noire. All of her blushing only served to make her even cuter. "That you're fun and I want to give you something for that entertaining fight we had. And no I didn't read your mind during it, I read your movements. Strong and confident which is good and all except for the downside where they become telegraphed." He answered her truthfully, giving her a quick summary of what he'd seen.
And I haven't looked into your memories either for that matter Noire.
William
"You're full of suprises Noire. Your current form lacks that air of confidence. On the other hand you're incredibly cute." As he finished his compliments of the goddess he noticed the odd begaviour that the other girl was exhibiting.
"Do you know.... what she's doing?" He asked Noire a bit uncertain at the odd way she was behaving.
Vanguard
Vanguard looked shocked for a second. It wasn't that he didn't expect such suspicion, but he was surprised. He was but a man of little consequence, he didn't believe she would think him dead over such a brief departure, let alone show such sentimentality. As pathetic as it was, this stirred an emotion he couldn't quite pin down.
He shrugged thoughtlessly, his expression like an immovable mountain."You may believe whatever you want to believe. My words have no power over you, nor can they influence your decision. However, I can assure you without a shadow of a doubt that I am Vanguard. Or are you saying I have rolled my way into your doorstep as a helmet in order to prove myself more convincing?"
Vanguard
Vanguard held his hand out as if to say please, then he proceeded to tell of everything he said and did ever since he was summoned in the manor up until his departure. Every. Single. Thing.
Only she could stop him, but there was no escape. She asked for this, and now she would have to face the consequences, even if her legs turned sore.
Well, maybe if she asked him nicely. Maybe.
William
She mentioned the names of some girls who were most likely CPU's from the context presented. They probably weren't here though going by how she trailed off.
The other girl dissappeared in some rift, teleportation huh? He had seen it from time to time though it was quite rare.
"Say Noire how long would it take for you to be able to transform again?" Knowing her recharge time as it was would prove quite usefull.
"It would be easier to give pointers if you were in that state. Although my first impression would be that you could use those wonderful legs of yours to kick insteas of going for punches."
Neptune
Neptune looked on amused as he tried to be seductive as well. That distraction wouldn't work, not now. She knocked the controller away from his lap before straddling him once more like she had earlier in the day. Unlike that time something unexpected happened.
A bright light enveloped her form for a moment and when it receded, the fallen angel was greated by the visage of the CPU of Planeptune, Purple Heart.
Gone was oddly designed jacket, replaced by skintight revealing black bodysuit with what looked like mechanical wings attached to her back. Her hair now sported twin braids of an impressive length, while the color itself shifted into a darker hue of purple. Her eyes changed into something completely inhuman, strange symbols in place of irises.
"Now Gadreel, perhaps it's time you tell me how you fell?" Her voice was no longer carried the same bubbly energy as before. It had deepened, her commanding tone demanding an explanation.
Relius Clover
Relius smiled at the puppet's question. "Interesting. Perhaps I have wasted my resources using Vangaurd as I have."
Relius reached into his cape and pulled out a detonator switch. A strong gust of wind blew, causing the leaves to swirl around them. Then, just as he pressed the button, the wind ceased and an explosion went off in the backround. If the puppet did his job right, all that would be left of that hospital is a pile of corpses and rubble.
"Follow me, I shall escort you to the shop," he said turning around. The grass rustled beneath his feet as he took a gentle step forward. "Its time we deliver the 'parts' to the lab."
Jeanne
The blond saint finally approached them after her master had rushed into his arms and begun chastising him. There was something odd about his apology, something she couldn't quite out her fingers on.
"You're quite aloof for someone claiming to be sincerely apologetic. Now I don't what happened between you though, so my apologies if the comment offended you. And excuse me for not introducing myself yet, my name is Jeanne D'arc and I am master Sakura's loyal servant and friend." The blonde woman went down bowing with one knee to the ground, her right arm held to her chest. A customary greeting from a knight after all.
Vanguard
The giant warrior flinched and looked as tense as a man can possibly get. Just what was the meaning of this reaction? It's not like he had been with her for more than a day, he'd have expected a lady like her to show some reserve.
Such a reaction out of nowhere towards him, even for he who had witnessed the birth and death of universes, it was quite strange. He looked at the blonde woman with a mix of helplessness and confusion. The sort of look that said alright, what do I do here?
Still, he looked down, maintaining a certain semblance of composure and spoke with a surprisingly dignified tone, as if trying to keep the upper hand despite the awkward skinship.
"I couldn't have even if I was in a position to do so. Approaching you at an inopportune time would have exposed you and your loved ones to danger. After all, I made an oath didn't I?"
William
"Oh really, you seem to like it though." He smoothly countered her bashfulness. Seeing as that time had almost passed anyway, there wouldn't be much harm in taking another minute or two for this. "Well if that is the case we may as well start now, try to kick me." He took a stance next to her, showing that he was serious about it.
Joe
Joe leaned back reflexively. Oh shit, I forgot. Shes a mage.
"I thought you said you wouldn't do that!" he said, his eyes darting back and forth.
Medaka Kurokami
"Good! Then follow me to the apartment." With that being said, Medaka walked the two down a few blocks and escorted them into their apartment.
The young vampire enthusatically rushed through the apartment door, rushing to the refrigerator to put away her ingredients. The apartment had a pretty generous living space, with a living room that was large enough to hold a TV, couch, gaming consule, and a large desk. On the desk rested a large laptop, keyboard and modem. If you went past that, you would reach a medium sized kitchen, complete with a gas stove, and oven. The only downside to the kitchen was that the counter space was limited. It only had enough room for two people to cut at a time.
Medaka turned around, extended both arms outward to her two chiefs. "Alright! Today we will be making doughnuts! My companion's favorite treat! You see, ive been visiting her favorite shop in secret and reverse engineering a recipe," she announced with a booming voice. She reached into her bra and took out a sheet of paper. "Do you mind taking a look?"
OrenTrivek
With a bit of laughter the Fae dodged the clothing while indiscreetly giving them a full view of (her admittedly small) chest. She lifted a single finger and waved it back and forth as if she was chastising them. "Nope! You owe me something! I let you ride me for long enough, so you have to return the favor first before I do anything for you."
William
Her continued blushing was pretty cute, he was however forced out of his reflection by her sweeping kick. Not that there was much to it as he effortlessly caught it with a hand. "Hmm, tell me when it begins hurting." The mage begun lifting her leg higher, intent on seeing how flexible she was. Knowing that from the start would make it easier to plan on what to do.
Mordred
Breeze adapted very well to the game for someone raised in a pre-industrial society. She honestly didn't know if she should feel proud right now or worry about losing any edge she had over her girlfriend. Maybe she worried needlessly. The fact that she wasted her life on such trivial pastimes when she had nothing better to do (sometimes no threat reared her nor she was in a condition for training harshly. That's when her inner NEET soul surfaced) gave her edge in experience that was hard to surmount.
Sakura was doing very well, but could she keep up with her? Her character concentrated and released an ice spell that rickosheted and took out a group of archers who were hiding on a top of a tower. Everyone could use ultimate attacks but it took a pro achieve similar results with less wasteful movements. She would conserve her ultimate spell to fight later bosses
And speaking of the devil, they reached the first one. Red Gobo, the goblin chief riding on a giant rhinoceros. He had some tricks in the sleeve, but she wouldn't tell the others. She wanted to see how they dealt with that one.
Mordred
Breeze adapted very well to the game for someone raised in a pre-industrial society. She honestly didn't know if she should feel proud right now or worry about losing any edge she had over her girlfriend. Maybe she worried needlessly. The fact that she wasted her life on such trivial pastimes when she had nothing better to do (sometimes no threat reared her nor she was in a condition for training harshly. That's when her inner NEET soul surfaced) gave her edge in experience that was hard to surmount.
Sakura was doing very well, but could she keep up with her? Her character concentrated and released an ice spell that rickosheted and took out a group of archers who were hiding on a top of a tower. Everyone could use ultimate attacks but it took a pro achieve similar results with less wasteful movements. She would conserve her ultimate spell to fight later bosses
And speaking of the devil, they reached the first one. Red Gobo, the goblin chief riding on a giant rhinoceros. He had some tricks in the sleeve, but she wouldn't tell the others. She wanted to see how they dealt with that one.
Auspicious Breeze
Breeze just kept hitting things. Her character had some kind of axe since she couldn't find a punchy character and touching things up close seemed to go badly in this game anyway. At some points they threw the axe and hit things and it came back! If she'd used weapons she'd have to figure that trick out, or something. Later maybe?
Then there was the goblin, and she could only go "Huh. I haven't seen one of those in a while. Last time I was in an arena with it... uh, minus the goblin." She tried throwing stuff at it.
OrenTrivek
She could have simply accepted the offer but someone said no to her, so she had to make things more of an issue. That was just proper conduct! "Alright, but he has to apologize first!" She pointed at the boy she had been carrying on her back before.
"He went back on a deal! An implicit deal! Like a thief!"
Medaka
Medaka smiled at the two as they went over the recipe. They were already pretty focused. "The process of making the doughnuts is relatively straightforward. The toughest part should be making the consistency of the dough. I wrote down the instructions myself. What do you think?"
Erica
The blue haired girl simply read over Noel's shoulder. Well, 'read'. She needed only to look at it once to memorize the recipe perfectly.
Mordred and the boss
Oh, man. Mordred had figured out the sad truth by now. Sakura was as bad as Breeze! Her purplehaired friend just mashed the button in a response to the threat just like her. Breeze at least had more excuse for that. Didn't Sakura hear of videogames? Did she assure about her prior knowledge to not look bad? Geez, they probably needed her help.
Honestly their Leeroy Jenkins like approach complicated things. Sakura injured the rhinolike creature's legs which made it enter a state of frenzy. Breeze's axes missed the greenskin on the top of the furious steed, and the goblin threw something resembling a puffball. The mushroom exploded, spreading a cloud which was meant to stunlock Breeze and Sakura as the rhino was about to charge them.
Shit, she had no choice. Her mage unloaded an ultimate spell to save their hides. A strong gust of wind aimed at the forming cloud, hopefully blowing it away before their characters inhaled it.
Medaka Kurokami
Medaka's lips moved back into a more neutral position now that the girl got her thinking. She walked over to the fridge and opened a cabinet on top of it. Then, she pulled out a recipe book and placed it on the counter.
"Unfortunately this is all I have right now," she said making her way to the computer. She leaned over and pressed the power button to startup the computer. "I keep most of my recipes on my PC." Her breasts jiggled as her back straightened. She turned to the blond and smiled. "Do you want to take a look?"
William
He pushed her leg a bit further up at that. "Not so great. You didn't hesitate to do as I said but I only said to kick me. Your kick was uninspired, predictable and it lacked flair."
I know you can do better than this Noire." He spoke directly to her mind.
OrenTrivek
"That doesn't matter! You rode me, so you should return the favor! It's not just politeness; it's common decency! You're a cheat." She huffed and turned around before, well, dropping to the ground and rolling about a bit in the grass.
A shrill whistle slipped out off her lips and the vegetation broke apart and clung to her form. It was oddly soft for grass and left very little to the imagination but it was 'clothed'. Under some definition. Then she sprinted towards coat guy and leaped up onto his shoulders, pressing her thighs up against his neck. "But I guess you'll do. Onwards!"
Purple Heart
The goddess watched with intent as he begun his story. She didn't mind him trying to touch her wings as she didn't feel any sensations from them anyway. A certain part of his story caught her attention though. The specific time he mentioned could really only mean one thing.
"So what you are telling me is that in your quest to help humanity, you made a woman pregnant. You are making it sound like you commited some grave sin. Gadreel. Don't look so down ok, I can't possibly hate you for doing the right thing." She leaned forward to meet his gaze, determined to not let him slip away into some self blaming state.
Julius
And thus, Julius headed out of the park. The day turned into the night as Julius wandered the city. He could either go back to his cheap apartment, search throughout the city for more threats or do something relaxing for once. He needed money though. So, resigned, he went to a pawnshop like a pauper he was and sold his old clothes that he had repaired few months ago. How sad. He was largely out of equipment, he couldn't afford silver bullets for his pistol and thus he had to rely on his whip. However, he was still not willing to give up. Maybe he would use his money for something relaxing AND constructive.
Maybe in that classy bar for the rich he would find coincidentally found someone who could be interested in his initiative. Of course, he wouldn't beg but still, it'd be a nice surprise if he founded someone likeminded. In worst case scenario, he would spend some of his money and have a good time. Though, he really needed to find some occupation befitting his standing as a gentleman. Maybe a university needed a lecturer? He after all had a good education that he could utilize.
The place looked quite relaxing and elegant. As he approached the bar, he heard that one of clients seemed to be unfamiliar with the city. Julius couldn't help but intrude as he sat in the front of the bar: "This city seems to be a some sort of an occult place that keeps people in, but doesn't let out. I'm afraid there is no solution to that problem for now."
Mordred and the beast
This wasn't promising if she had to bail out them on the first stage. Her spell shook the beast and the rider couldn't anything but hold onto it. So there was their chance. The blinded beast trashed around and the goblin clearly lost as he jumped off the rhinoceros and started running away before Sakura's ultimate finished off the monster. Now somebody just had to kill the goblin before he escaped to clear the Ultimate Finish. Well, she wasn't going to do that. They did what they required to beat the stage and she would let them compete for the bonus.
Vanguard
The giant warrior flinched and looked as tense as a man can possibly get. Just what was the meaning of this reaction? It's not like he had been with her for more than a day, he'd have expected a lady like her to show some reserve.
Such a reaction out of nowhere towards him, even for he who had witnessed the birth and death of universes, it was quite strange. He looked at the blonde woman with a mix of helplessness and confusion. The sort of look that said alright, what do I do here?
Still, he looked down, maintaining a certain semblance of composure and spoke with a surprisingly dignified tone, as if trying to keep the upper hand despite the awkward skinship.
"I couldn't have even if I was in a position to do so. Approaching you at an inopportune time would have exposed you and your loved ones to danger. After all, I made an oath didn't I?"
Jeanne
She took his offered hand with uncertainty and stood up. There was a looming threat in her gaze now and it was directed at him, well as threatening as someone so much shorter than him could be. "That is nonsense I could never look down on you Lord Vanguard. Master Sakura values you highly so I won't allow you to view yourself as garbage."
A bright flash accompanied her speech as her clothes were replaced with a dress armor that accentuated her voluptuous frame. "Please stand back Master, I can't allow myself to be looked down upon by a hypocritical man who can't even cheerish the bonds he speaks off."
Vanguard
"Oh do forgive me, I did not mean to look down on you. Though even if I did do such a thing, you'd simply need to grow taller. Should I take this as a challenge?" He said with his usual kind smile, yet he rubbed his temple like he had just gotten a headache. It might be a little difficult for her to do such a thing if she was so eager to rush towards his blade.
If anything, the lack of a head might just make her smaller.
Anastasia
Balhjet Mountains. A windy mountain range located north to the cities, one of impassable barriers that seemingly barred from leaving the city in that direction. The few people who crossed the range just ended up facing the south after their trek. Those outskirts of Nexus also teemed with the wildlife, monsters and unknown horrors that laired in abandoned mineshafts. It was one of places where someone would search for a mythical beast that evaded capture.
Anastasia was serious about the trip. Before she and her companions headed there, she stopped by her apartment to once again used equipment she never needed. A set of armor, consisting of a chainmail shirt, leather armor and a cloak from a skinned wolf pelt, something which she didn't use to blend with the city. Not that it exactly aided her much as her magic was her key asset against monsters, but she wanted to show her serious she was about the task ahead for them.
The sun was slowly setting. "We will rely on your knowledge, Oka, you will most likely spot what you look for faster than I do. I will cover you all with magic and I guess the sir knight may get into the thick of the battle with any monster which wants to pick a fight." And act as a meatshie- vanguard against any opponent trying to close the distance.
Erica
Erica followed the other two to the computer. Of course, it was simple of her to notice the looks that Noel was directing towards the other girl's chest. Although determining whether it was envy, desire, or some mixture of both was not quite within her current capabilities.
But what was within her current capabilities was considering if an alteration in bust size was possible to her. A cursory look at the design of the Spirit Vessel did show such a thing was possible. It was merely an alteration of the shell which would necessitate a slight use of aura. Should she do it?
She leaned in and whispered the query into the blonde's ear. "Noel, are you jealous of Medaka's bust? Or are you merely interested by it? I have noticed several glances that you have directed at
Medaka Kurokami
Medeka's fingers danced across the keyboard in a blur, typing in her insanely long password. Then, she turned her head to the side to face Noel. It was at that point she realized what she was really looking at.
Oh
She couldn't help but wonder why she was so visably jealous. The girl had a wonderful body and she clearly wasn't afraid to show it. Maybe there was something she could do to help her feel more comfortable. She would have to think about it. A girl's body image is a delicate thing.
"For the most part, I take my recipes from the shokugeki show," she said calmly. "However, I also reverse engineer recipes from my friend's favorite restaurants."
Just then, the blue haired girl leaned in and addressed the blonds staring. This would be a good opportunity to see just how sensitive she was about this issue.
Shinobu
Medaka's shadow suddenly shifted as something came out of it. It rose up to a height slightly greater than that of the blue haired vampire. It was a blonde woman with bright golden eyes who was now in the process of stretching her limbs while making a satisifed sound.
"Ahh... Nothing can compare to the sweet sensation of a nap after an exhausting sessio-.... What is going on here?" The blonde's mouth was left half open, her fangs left exposed as she took in the scene she had stumbled into.
Joe
Joe walked to his seat and slowly eased his butt into the seat. After quickly glancing at the food, his eyes moved to Rin as he said, "Well, I know its kind of soon, but how about tomorrow? I don't really get too many days off, so if we cook tomorrow, ill have plenty of food for the week."
Medaka
Medaka immediately became attuned to the blond's cry. She stood up and looked around, wondering if there was anything in her immediate facility that could calm her down. Her mind raced, wondering what she could say to calm her down but came up short. If she had seen more of the girl's personality it would be easy but as of right now there was little she could do. When it comes to a woman's body words mean very little.
"There is no need to feel sorry, you have a lovely body," she tried to plead. "Please, I cannot stand to see you cry." No this was not enough, only action would break through her suffering.
She rushed over to the floating girl strafing past the blue haired one. "I know nothing I say will make you understand, so please, take this...."
And just like that, she wrapped her arms around the blond and gave her a warm kiss on the lips.
Shinobu
Her minion was acting highly suspiciously. It looked like she had been kissing the other blond in the room. But upon noticing her own return, Medaka had turned off the computer so quickly and rushed over to hid a note in her very deep and exciting cleavage.
The blonde vampire began walking walking over to the younger vampire with a great deal of sway to her hips. "I was having a good rest, but then I see you having fun with other blondes." She turned around and dashed over to the other blonde, embracing her tightly, while her hands moved all over the shorter blonde's back before stopping on butt. "Oh Medaka you prefer flat chests now? Although I suppose her behind is fairly developed."
William
He followed her spinning motion with the ease of a morning breeze. Her leg hit and stopped dead. His limb not moving an inch as she bounced of it.
"You can't overwhelm someone much stronger than you with brute force Noire. You are still fighting me as if your goddess power." Now to see if she was actually smart and would actually get what he was trying to teach. After all, the people you had to literally spell it out for would never amount to anything great.
Jeanne
Contrary to her master's expectation, the blond remained in place, facing the man with great ire. She couldn't allow this to pass, especially not when she had already spoken up. It was far too late for simple regrets now.
"I'm afraid I would master. My challenge has already been issued, this has to be settled here and now." Her expression was serious as she answered with a determined tone. She couldn't back down now.
Anastasia
"What about bagging and tagging it until it wakes up? It doesn't look edible, so I will pass." She poked the strange treelike creature and it seemed to be more like a rock like being in texture than a plant. Probably wouldn't be good to cook in case they had to eat something in the middle of the wilderness. "Would immobilizing them with magic work though? Keeping down in one place so that anybody else could throw a Pokeball at them, maybe."
Jasey
Huh. Was something glaring at her? Jasey turned around to see the other girl and, well, shrugged. "That isn't nearly enough to bother me. If you wanted my attention you should have just thrown a rock or something."
She slipped on her mask for a moment and tried her own way of intimidation. The crushing fear that could still the breath of normal humans flooding the entire room with its malevolence. Then she popped the mask off and approached the other woman.
Then she held out her hand. "I'm Jasey. That was actually kinda fun too."
Erica
The girl had attempted to maintain her composure. Medaka was fine. Somewhat. At the very least she was attempting to assuage Noel's concerns. But this was outright molestation for the sake of pleasure! Erica could allow no one to use Noel like that without consent.
But it was true that the entity was certainly fast. She was almost certainly weaker in every other manner as well. Erica exhaled almost unconsciously. She was... afraid. It made her hesitate. Refrain from decisive action. She knew this. It could not be allowed.
Her body didn't even tense. She had no muscles to do that with anyways. Instead she just dashed right at the entity and attempted to use her strength to pull her off with a good deal more force than she had done with Medaka.
Paladin
Absolutely fascinating. This woman seemed to be one of many talents. There were few hunters or tamers he had known at home that could manage such confidence. Furthermore, if those 'pokeballs' referred to the objects around her belt than she was surely a master in the leading of beasts.
He nodded his head deeply to her. "Forgive me, Oka. I treated you without the respect that your station deserved. Would I be correct in assuming that you are a master in the art of capturing and training these pokemon?"
The man was genuinely apologetic. Such skill deserved praise and acknowledgement.
Julius
"I am Julius Richter, Lady Irene." He introduced himself in response. "And it is understandable to feel skeptical about my assertions. This neighborhood seems to be clear of horrors that lurk in some parts of the city."
Rin
Rin caught Sakura as soon as she launched herself through the door.
Even though her sister was heavier now, she wasn't heavy enough that she had to reinforce to do so. She put Sakura back on the ground and answered, "Day was interesting to say the least. His name is Joe and I just fixed him dinner."
Her eyes narrowed and said, "However, we do have a bit of a problem. Some undead fire skeleton pirate who I know is going to be an issue later."
Forest
Forest saw Marcus reclining on the bed, looking at the ceiling as she returned. He sat up, looked her over and actually payed her a genuine complement lacking teasing and sarcasm. Which was nice, she had to admit.
Then she had to chuckle at the fact he missed her pants. "Thanks, and vampire. I can book if I want to. Well, it's kind of hot . . . Outside. Anyway, you ready?" she asked, "Or are you comfortable laying like a slug?"
Anastasia
"Oh, what kind of training? I had to swim in freezing temperatures, do my teacher's errands, run away from bears until I learned to kill them with magic and pay off his debts by taking jobs no other journeyman would." Anastasia shrugged as she reminisced her past. Maybe risking her life beyond what was considered the sane norm made her complete her training relatively faster than other apprentices, so she didn't complain much. "I also enlisted for a rudimentary military training because of my vocation as a battle mage. Pushups, situps, a basic weapon training and drill masters whacking you with blunt objects for lagging behind. You gotta know the soldier's life before you assist them on the battlefield."
It seemed that the knight wasn't just all words as he was able to lift that rather heavy creature. "Oh, thanks for carrying it."
Paladin
"Ah, your grandfather? Was he your trainer? Oh, and allow me." The man asked this as he walked over to the creature and lifted it up without too much trouble. It was actually surprising heavy, and there was a sturdiness to its form as he carried it for his other companion.
Jasey
The girl was mostly uncaring as the other woman grew fiercer and stronger. She met the grip head on with equivalent strength, neither being able to outdo the other yet. Then she looked at Costin and smiled. "Eh. I just kind of know how to do it. It's natural. And nah, I owe that kind of stuff to my, uhh, friend."
The spider appeared on her head and instantly devoured half of the offered limb.
Joe
"Bah, I'll just send Rider to turn him into dust if he bothers you again. Don't worry about it."
Joe's muscles tensed as he shrunk in his seat. His thoughts were as incoherent as they were desperate Did she say "turn into dust" does this rider person kill people with a rocket launcher or something?! Or maybe he has some sort of weird exploding superpower?!
Joe's pupil's locked on to Sakura's as she entered his field of vision, following her with precision as she placed herself in front of him. She was definitely the sister. There was no doubt in Joe's mind after he watched her size him up.
Still visibly tense, he flashed her a nervous smile while greeting her hand with a shake. "Ummm.. hello," he said his voice as shaky as his terrible handshake. "Are you the sister I have heard so much about?"
Marcus
Marcus raised an eyebrow at Forest and said, "Yeah, my entire wardrobe is gone. I don't really think it matters. I just need new clothes at a decent price." He looked down at his clothes, reflecting on what he usually wears. "I suppose I'd want something loose enough that I can fight in it. Id feel helpless in something that's too tight."
Meti
The sword master submitted entirely to the will of the demonic blade. Eagerly as well. Meti allowed herself to gleefully slip away, nothing more than a part of the sword. Smooth soul bound to the metal and hunger in her hands, controlling her.
You can do whatever you wish with me.
Meti
The sword master bit her lip. Then she reached out with a hand (a hand filled with will and a sharpness that made her warm) and ran them over the blades. They were simple things, but she could communicate with them, let them recognize the overwhelming killing desire of the sword in her hands.
A sword could not be a hindrance to its wielder. A wielder could not be a hindrance to its sword. This they all knew. And this is what let Meti raise her weapon. They could not be weak, such was their love.
The blade came down with impossible skill. Others might have seen a multitude of simultaneous strikes, but it was merely the unnatural speed and fluidity of the blade as it lashed out and cut every single blade in the cart in half. None at the same time. Each were broken separately.
To her shame her hand was shaking as she finished. She had clipped the cart, sullying the blade in her hand with lesser materials because of her ineptitude. One of her hands moved to cover her face and whatever might be dripping down it.
"I'm sorry."
Relius Clover
Relius continued his confident stride forward, not even bothering to look back and address the puppet. Instead, he shrugged his shoulders and said, "Of course, you have to be thorough when you clean up trash. Besides, it would be rather rude to make you do it on your first job yes?" His voice was casual, yet punctuated with its normal regal politeness which gave it a sort of matter of fact feel.
A bell rang as Relius opened the door to his shop. He walked over to the counter, bent down and grabbed a checkbook from a cabinet. Then with a quick flourish, he wrote a sizable check. He reached out his hand, expecting the puppet to approach him.
"Here is your payment."
Purple Heart
"I'm....."
She pulled him into a hug as she saw him tense up for the first time since she met him.
"Calm down Gadreel, they aren't here. If they were here I'd show them what happens when they cross my friends." Her own anger started building as she took in the whole meaning of what he had said.
"And they dare call themselves angels. They're supposed to protect humans. Where are they Gadreel? So I can pull down every last one of them and teach them a lesson!"
Meti
She stiffened a bit at the hold of the puppet. There was little comfort in any of its movements or gestures. It was Katase's voice, blood red and cutting in sound that assuaged her. "Y-Yes. Yes. Tenfold for each of them at least!"
Meti ignored the puppet. Instead she caressed the blade and ran a finger down Katase's perfect edge. It made a fine cut, dribbling blood down the sword. "But I have a promise to keep to you, Lady Katase. That I would satiate your thirst for blood, and I will do so. Would you allow me to take you up for this purpose?"
It sounded formal. Almost like a proposal.
Mordred
Breeze claimed the kill as they cleared the Ultimate Finish. She would get some bonus experience points for that. Those two honestly deserved every advantage they could get.
"Alright, we did it!" Mordred exclaimed. Well, it wasn't a feat, but gotta bolster their morale. She hugged Breeze with one arm as she raised the other arm to high five Sakura. Even if she guessed that high fiving her could hurt a bit.
STAGE CLEARED
INSERT A COIN
Fucking cash grabbers.
Oren
She squeezed her legs together a bit as she played with this guy's hair. "Well, I'm Oren! I am a Fae, but only sometimes." There was a special bit of emphasis on that final word. Almost a degree of religious reverence slipped into her voice as she said it.
William
Her complaining was a bit amusing He flashed over to the black haired goddess and stopped her. "Do you really have to complain so much Noire? I only teach people with actual potential. If you were awful I'd have stopped by now. And you aren't, not by a long shot. That you're so damn cute is just a big plus on the side."
Julius
"There is a lot of monsters and monstrous people alike. Some weave a web of lies to pull their victims into their plots and machinations, some cow people into submission by threats and fear, and others just prey on the body and the soul. To be honest the first are the most problematic. It takes more than a good weapon and a sharp resolve to crush their nefarious plans." Julius explained the situation to the lady while grabbing the menu to have a look at its contents.
Anastasia
"Eh, I got used to it. I pick up knowledge quickly, and we had guns and even steam engines, so not completely foreign for me to see people carrying around sidearms. And one of southern craftsmen even invented tanks. Slow, unwieldy, but it's convenient to have a cannon that can move itself." Anastasia explained how developed her world was in relation to the city. "While we do have magic it's not something readily available to the public, so there is a drive to innovate. Plus the ever shifting landscape is not really confusing to me. The city where majority of human wizardly schools are located shifts its layout randomly from time to time from the sheer amount of magic flowing through leylines."
Jasey
She scratched her head. Then she shrugged. "If you're fast enough that I can't stop you then there's no point in fighting. And I really don't like dying. It's a real pain in the ass. So can you not? I'd be fine going off and killing other stuff though. That's good."
Paladin
"It would be a shame on anyone of my order if they could not do such a thing. If one cannot protect themselves then they can protect no one. A weak body is a flimsy shield." He gave a definitive nod at that before addressing Oka next.
"In some ways yes. In others no. This land lacks the capacity for large scale teleportation, its city lacks the levels of self organization that the Northern Cities do, and there are a few other things. But there are certainly things that are new to me."
Oren
"Yep, yep!" She said to the mage person. "I can become anything in the world! So long as it's dead. One of my cousins even became a small god! She was pretty cool. I was actually thinking of getting another skin soon. I heard a forest dragon was around here...." Oren was talking as if she was a girl shopping for clothes more than anything else.
Paladin
Ho? A golem? No, if Oka spoke up then this must be another one of those pokemon creatures. It was rather large as well. He would have to draw its attention before it squashed his companion. So the knight rushed forwards at speeds beyond that of a normal human.
His blade flashed out and grew in size until he had to hold it with both hands and the knight swung it at one of the creature's segments. Under the strength of the swing and the chill of the blade its stone hide cracked and broke against his sword, leaving a rough cut in the creature's body. He continued to make these slices as he traveled past the beast's body.
It was a surprisingly tough creature.
Anastasia
A "switch" in her mind "flipped", in response to the mind physical trauma. Anastasia was pretty laid back on surface, but when faced with what could be considered a threat, she behaved efficiently thanks to years of indoctrination and mental and physical training. Even before she landed on the ground she already started forming a barrier of solid ice into which Onyx was about to slam. Leylines were good here and the weather made drawing mana from them more efficient. This action would buy seconds vital for her full recovery.
Jeanne
"My master isn't terrifying at all, that's some horrible rumors you're trying to spread Lord Vanguard." She rejected his comment about her master. Her master in question just had to come around though and have a closer look, couldn't she read the mood? Jeanne sighed, knowing that an explanation was inevitable.
"Judging by how he's carrying me around like a sack, it would appear he's the victor." She answered sounding utterly resigned in the face of her currrent predicament.
VanguardSakura Matou
"Not at all. You have amassed a considerable strength in a few months worth, the power to have powerful warriors point their blades at your enemies. Compared to such a thing, even my own skill is trifling." He said earnestly.
But just what was that knight thinking, saying such nonsense? If this was some ploy to make him feel indebted, she should know better. But very well, he could play along.
Vanguard smiled smugly. "Indeed, though she fought impressively. Her honor and valor were only matched by her blade. Though if she fought a bit more seriously, she could have had a chance." He said assuredly, not holding a trace of deceit or trickery in his words.
William
Her denial was quite cute to watch, but it was beginning to get a bit tiresome. It was time to step up the game. The mage wrapped his other arm around her slim waist, enjoying the feel of her soft back against his hand as he pulled her into a tight embrace. "Oh really because I like you a whole lot." He leaned in even closer until their lips met.
Mordred
"Alright, we shouldn't just stick to one game. Breeze, you remember what a gun is, right?" Mordred likely already explained her what firearms are some time ago, but she wanted to make sure. "The controller is basically in a similar shape. You point at the screen, pull the trigger, and the machine registers everything."
Purple Heart
She couldn't deny that the feel of his toned body against her was very pleasant. But she couldn't let herself be distracted by that now, Gadreel still needed her.
"I know you're hurting, but please trust me Gadreel., I want you to be happy with what you're doing.... And who you're doing to." The goddess couldn't help but adding the last part to lighten the mood, they needed it.
Julius
"A few cases. A vigilante who meted out disproportional retribution for sins committed by mortals. He took the name of god in vain and that didn't protect him from blessed weapons. There was also a coven of undead witches working together with another monster I pursued. But I cannot say I have a particular experience regarding vampires." Incidents involving them in his experience weren't particularly common compared to some other supernaturals.
William
He deepened the kiss further, his tongue invading her mouth. His hand were busy as well, caressing the black haired goddess' body gently. It would be quite easy to mess with her right now, just press the right button. And he knew exactly what to do.
You taste amazing Noire. He telepathically told her. Overloading her with stimuli, would make it so much easier to persuade her. That and he enjoyed having his way with her.
OrenTrivek
"Yep, yep!" She said to the mage person. "I can become anything in the world! So long as it's dead. One of my cousins even became a small god! She was pretty cool. I was actually thinking of getting another skin soon. I heard a forest dragon was around here...." Oren was talking as if she was a girl shopping for clothes more than anything else.
Neptune
She was about to reply to him when she was enveloped in another pillar of light. When it subsided, the goddess had reverted back to her previous form. The previously comforting hug turned more sensual, as the goddess was not so subtly feeling up his toned body now. "How'd you like it Gaddy? Pretty awesome tranformation right?" The nickname was back again as was the bubbly personality. Her looks changed into something a bit more puzzled. "I thought guys were supposed to get boners when you acted like this."
William
His hands kept roaming over her body even as he was pushed down, until they finally settled on massaging her lower back just above her ass. Pushing him down like this, she was quite daring. The way her personality shifted so drastically did make for an entertaining experience though. He smirked at her though as he responded.
"Yet you change into that sexy outfit and push me down on the ground. Who's the one being bold here? My dear Lady Black Heart."
William
This was unexpected for sure. He didn't have much experience with being dragged through the sky, by a lady no less. He'd by lying if he said he didn't get enjoyment from it though. This sexy goddess was a fiesty one for sure, all the more sweet when he tamed her. Maybe he shouldn't focus on these thoughts right now, it was beginning to cause a reaction .
"Me bold? You're the one being a seductive vixen here.... sigh, so what kind of food do you like?"
William
He'd never heard of this creature before. Was it a horse with wings? A horse with feather or maybe a bird with hooves? The name itself didn't help. "Horsebird you say. Is that a bird or a horse?
The part about it being low calorie made him snort. "Do you really need to worry about the calories of the meat? I can tell you barely have any fat whatsoever. You're in great shape." While his hands had been roaming it had been hard not to pick up on her superb physical form. "Hmm... There's a place right about here that serves all kinds of different meat sorts."
Julius
"I did not overcome them alone. As a warrior I'm more proficient at duels than dealing alone with numerous foes. I had allies to fall back on during that incident. There were four of us in total. There was Father Raul from Spain who was an agent of the Church, wielding his faith to the detriment of his foes. A Frenchman Raymond who pursued justice against a mass murderer who slayed his relative. To this day I wonder if he hunted down the killer. And there was a diplomat from the United States of America called Fitzmorris whose political allies secretly worked against the vampiric influence in the former colonies. He not only supported us with his resources, but also participated in the fight. But as I said, I do not have that much experience when it comes to vampires so I was fortunate that two of my comrades could be considered experts in the field." Julius explained. While he could be considered a nemesis for many supernaturals, it was still prudent to fight along with likeminded people.
"But why do you ask about vampires, specifically? Are you particularly interested in the topic or had you any firsthand experience in the matter?" It would be fortunate indeed if he met another expert in the field.
William
Interdimensional travel huh, he really needed her now. He'd probably have to invest more time than usual into this, it was quite the the find after all.
Monsters though, well he could start with the more stereotypical one and then work his way up. "There's the vampires... creatures of the night that wear the guise of Man. They sustain themselves on the blood of their victims which they usually lul into submission through hypnotic powers. They're immortal, sustained by the very lifeforce they take." He took a breathe there before he continued.
"Vampires usually only drain your blood. Werewolves on the other hand also appear as mere humans. They however morph into feral wolfpeople that feast on the flesh of humans..."
"... Both of these number in the thousands easily." His hands were now gently stroking her back as he waited for the goddess to take it all in.
Methuselah
Methuselah smiled and shook his head. "I'm afraid not. In truth, I don't enjoy teasing just about anyone. Peevish faes like yourself, on the other hand..."
He took the moment of distraction to rub Rafalia's head.
"It's moments just like these that make immortality a little more bearable."
Relius Clover
The scientist grabbed the two bodies and made his way to the back door. He tilted his head to the right as he left. "These two are not important, merely material meant to contribute to a larger project," he said with a smirk. His voice was dry yet passionate, as if he were trying to hold back his excitement. "Now run along. I have work to do."
Neptune
The purple haired girl broke out into a soft giggle as he lightly traced her back. "hehehe... that tickles Gaddy." She squirmed a bit at the sensation, her boobs bouncing a bit as she did. After a moment she finally managed to relax. "Uh yeah I'm still me when I transform into Purple Heart. I just become this super serious leader type that's all...." A short pause followed as she asked a question of her own. "So how big does it get when it's not diminished and stuff?"
Mordred
"Huh, so vague." Mordred frowned at Sakura. "Dunno, not getting into bets like this without knowing any details."
Someone had to be the voice of reason and get out of Sakura what she really had in mind. Breeze probably wouldn't think it through and just agree for the bet.
Mordred
"Huh, so vague." Mordred frowned at Sakura. "Dunno, not getting into bets like this without knowing any details."
Someone had to be the voice of reason and get out of Sakura what she really had in mind. Breeze probably wouldn't think it through and just agree for the bet.
Auspicious Breeze
"Ohh... I wish my hair was fireproof like that!" Still, she grinned and felt all happy for Sakura rather than jealous. After all, they were friends and Breeze's mistress had made her plenty hot enough as it was. She'd just like a little more proof against other kinds of hotness.
And punishment didn't sound so bad! "Hmm, I don't know, I think I'm up for it!" Her face was a little red.
Mordred
"No. I want you to know what kind of Hell may await you if you lose..." Mordred smirked quite devilishly. Out of the trio, only she could come up with such a thing. "How's your math? The loser will have to solve equations!"
That would be honestly a sort of pain of ass for her too, so it was clearly fair.
William
The goddess eventually landed and released him infront of a pizzeria. To be honest he couldn't have her die on him, not when she had opened up so many opportunities. Although he could easily spin that desire to something favourable for him.
"Pizza huh, I guess that will be fine for me but what ever happened to your esteemed healthy diet?" Most likely doinf it just to look good and not because she wanted, judging by how she acted at the mere sight of pizza.
"And I don't think I can allow you to run around and beat monsters as you are now. You would cause great havoc."
Shirou and Sakura
For a moment, Sakura was confused, wondering why Shirou wanted her to watch what seemed to be a simple game of fetch. As soon as Shirou threw the stick, though, Sakura's eyes widened as the Pokemon flew into the air at incredible speed, catching the stick before landing safely on the ground and returning the stick to Shirou, his tail wagging happily all the while.
"Good boy Moko!" Sakura said enthusiastically, clapping at the sight.
Shirou, meanwhile, bent down to retrieve the stick, giving the cute Pokemon a quick stroke as he did so, before releasing the stick again, this time throwing it at a higher angle, and somewhat faster.
Lorenzo
The pirate was walking around, minding and business and planning his next move, when suddenly he bumped into something, or well, someone. Taking a tep back by reflex, he then noticed the odd looking lad, and swiftly sent his arm forward to catch him by the hand before he fell.
"Huh? Oh, sorry kiddo." he said, kinda embarrassed by how he spaced out. He had gotten so carried away by his plans that he didn't even notice what was right in front of him. "You okay?"
Lorry
A...doll? He thought as he noticed the porcelain quality and joints of the boy. But before he could ponder on it further, he heard the remark and twitched his metaphorical eyebrow.
"Ehh? I'm not taking that lip from a-" The pirate suddenly stopped, realizing that near outburst of anger was unwarranted. "Sorry, I got carried away." He apologized, feeling a bit awkward about it. But at the same time, he was intrigued.
"What's your name, boy?" He asked him casually.
William
He followed her to the booth she had so graciously pointed out for them. There was a shift here, perhaps she decided to stop holding back, her pitch had certainly changed. "Then is not now, think about the future but live in the now." He sat down at the table and got comfortable.
"And tell me how would you go about to... help people? How would you know who needed help and with what. Would you wander the streets aimlessly?" He asked these questions because he wanted to see how she would respond to being faced with an unknown. "This city is ruled by gangs. The esteemed government is both weak and corrupt. The only reason they're called the government is because they're what you'd call the biggest gang."
William
He merely waved his hand for her to stop her pointless ranting. "Firstly you begin with dropping the mentality of trying to solve everything in one hour. Sorry, that's not happening. And when did I ever imply I wouldn't help you? In fact I'm doing it right now by pointing out what you're doing wrong." She was being far too hasty.
"Before you can solve a problem you'd need to know what the problem is and you don't know that right now. But you happen to have the solution to that right here."
He pushed the menu over to her. She really needed to eat, that was probably why she was rushed. "You can decide what we're having Noire, and don't think you can get away with something light. You'll have it even if I have to feed it to you."
Lorenzo
The pirate was a bit surprised, he'd never quite seen a living sentient doll like that. Well, he always used to say that nothing was impossible, so there's that. For a moment, he hesitated, but then he took the doll guy's hand and shook it warmly.
"Heh. You can call me Lorenzo. Lorenzo Remei, great captain and scourge of the seven seas." He said in a friendly tone, only to let go and put a hand on his skeletal hip.
"So, whatcha doing?" He asked Coppelius casually.
Coppelius
Lorenzo
The pirate chuckled and gave Coppelius a hearty slap on the back, pulling him closer.
"Of course! Though you can find them ashore all over the place, the greatest seas are often the ones found... in men's hearts."
Damn, that really sounded better in his head. " *ahem* Anyways, what sort of jobs do you do? You seem pretty capable."
Julius
For most of her life? But she didn't look younger than him. Did that mean that she had fought them since her early childhood? This was not only peculiar, but also tragic. He did not pick up his vigil until he was almost adult.
"Then I don't have nearly as much experience as you in fighting threats to the common people. I wasn't much younger than I'm now when I first stood up against injustice. 8 years ago rumors started to spread that a noble was growing mad with power, keeping local peasants under his heel. It unfortunately wouldn't be that abnormal if not for the fact that this fear also started infecting dreams of the people. And in my own dreams I saw what he truly was. Not just a monstrous human, but a monster wearing human skin. This sounds like a story where a hero would just challenge the monster in straightforward manner and valiantly defeat it, but it wouldn't be an act of true justice. I wasn't a judge, jury and executioner. I decided to infiltrate the castle and find incriminating proof as the local population was too cowed into submission to report his crimes. Let's just say that I succeeded." Such grim details weren't appropriate for a talk in a public establishment like that. "Unless there is no other way to neutralize a threat, I try to make it so that the authorities bring such fiends to the justice with my support. This is my code as a hunter."
Mordred
"Heh, team ups are not a thing in this game, so good luck. I'm pretty confident about my aim. After all, I can kill vampires by shooting light from my finger. That needs precision just like a firearm." Plus she was pretty confident about being able to solve equations as in she surely could grasp that better than Breeze as of now. Not sure about Sakura though. After all she did not have any clear knowledge about her education. "So yeah, let's do it."
Neptune
"Oooh what do ya mean by tha-- hauu..." The purple haired goddess ley out a paicularly big yawn. Her body slowly fell down completely on him. Her face coming to rest on his broad chest, snuggling against him like the world's biggest pillow. "Mhmm...Gaddy so warm...." Neptune mumbled almost inaudibly as her eyes closed. Only mere moments later the sounds of girl snoring could be heard.
Oren
"Mhm. I see, I see. So I come from primordial chaos, rock boy came from somewhere, probably some mountain spirit or somesuch, but what about you, Mr. Pervert?" She squeezed her legs a bit as if reminding him of his position.
Anastasia
"Eh, I wonder. She doesn't feel like something from the Aether. If Mimikyu was an Aetheric spirit, I would have already noticed that so up close. "I wouldn't be so optimistic. Such spirits can take many forms and incarnations. We cannot be sure with what sort of thing we will have to deal here with it."
It seemed as if Paladin on another hand was more pessimistic than her in a way. "A nature spirit would be actually a desirable outcome. Maybe her Wormy would have elemental affinity against it or in the worst case scenario at least match it. But with Abyssal creatures things would be more unpredictable. They're creatures of chaos, passions and other unrestrained emotions. Not only body but one's mind could be at peril if we lower our guard."
Methuselah
The dark god blushed, shocked at how she could say such a thing casually. Messing with her was one thing,but this was a bit far. He looked away, only to puff his chest and pout.
"Of course. What kind of god would I be if I couldn't keep a single promise?"
William
"Oh really?" He reached over and lifted the light weighted goddess with utmost ease before putting her down on his lap. He then wrapped his arms comfortably around her waist to keep her in place.
"You don't really have a choice my dear Noire. I have you now, right in the place needed to set my evil pizza feeding plan into motion. You have no choice but to submit muahahaha."
Mordred
"Heh, team ups are not a thing in this game, so good luck. I'm pretty confident about my aim. After all, I can kill vampires by shooting light from my finger. That needs precision just like a firearm." Plus she was pretty confident about being able to solve equations as in she surely could grasp that better than Breeze as of now. Not sure about Sakura though. After all she did not have any clear knowledge about her education. "So yeah, let's do it."
Auspicious Breeze
"Okay!" She put some coins in, too, to get ready to go. Breeze had a natural talent for anything that involved fighting, even if punching things was her specialty. Even if she'd never fired a gun before, she'd pick it up fast! And that would be enough for her to get scary good at it. It came with being Exalted apparently.
Or at least, her kind of Exalted. Some were more like Oren and took shapes by skinning or eating people. Or other weird things (not that Oren was weird).
Lorenzo
"Don't be silly! Does it look like I have the heart for that?" He answered in a snappy yet cheerful tone. "Well, look, I don't mean to bug ya about it, but I could use a pair of extra good hands. I'm planning to do a heist, see, but honestly, doing it alone is really no fun. How about it partner? If you want, I'll share the loot with ya, 50/50."
At that moment, who could tell what was stranger. The fact anyone would speak of a robbery in broad daylight (evening technically, but semantics), or the fact he was so casual about it.
"Well, if you're intrested. I'm not going to force ya into it or anything kiddo. Whether you want to make a quick buck and help a poor old man is all up to you."
Julius
"I am doing what I am best at. It is unfortunate for my family that their eldest son is a traveller who adheres to his sense of justice rather than carrying other responsibilities of a noble. It would be truly a tragedy for the line if not for my younger brother and sister. They are more down to Earth than I ever was. Even if there seems to be no way of return, I am not worried about who will inherit my fortune." The count was enough self aware to know that they could have been more productive ways of helping people than his methods as a rich man. Well, now formerly a rich man. "That said, I also travel around. That is not just because my enemies would not just come to me. The world on its own is filled with wonders to behold."
LorenzoCoppelius
The pirate was almost taken aback. He didn't expect the kid to be so.... compliant. Well, he wasn't going to complain! Besides, it was a fair deal, and he let him choose fairly.
"Alright!" He said in a confident cheer. "Well, if we're going to do this, I think we should get to know each other a bit better. To get a feel of how we both work, you know. Got any ideas partner?"
Jeanne
This was utterly embarassing, a total failure. How could she live with this.
"No."
The blond Saint somehow stood even taller, one could almost see a white aura surround her briefly.
"If you don't let me go master, Then from now on I'll wear Shirou out to the point he can't cuddle with you anymore." Her voice was deadly serious, carrying the gravity of the threat like an impending doomsday.
William
In response to her complaints her enacted the ultimate countermeasure, a tickling assault, unleashed furiously on her unguarded stomach. "I'm afraid I'll have to charge a fee for an advanced service like that. Treating a girl as a queen is a daunting task after all." He went along with the joke she made.
"So tell me what we will be having Queen Noire, or do you prefer Black Heart... or maybe Empty Heart, since you're so hungry."
Mordred
Sigh. Time to use that Contract. For a trivial cause, yes, but she couldn't just give up and lag behind those two. So she used Fortune's Cornucopia to double effect of her efforts. Mordred was now back in the competition as luck and probability started working in her favor. Some targets just started appearing in right places for her to pick them off before Breeze or Sakura got to them. Her luck managed to match Sakura's reflexes and Breeze's adaptability.
Meti
Encouraged by the sword's reaction Meti continued to provide her service, a gentle smile appearing on her face as her hand went back and forth. As she gave even Katase's edge special attention Meti made sure that the cloth would not undergo too much damage.
"I am glad that you appreciate my help, Lady Katase." Formality had returned to her. The blade was after all a lady.
William
She didn't really sound convincing when she claimed that she hated being tikled but he allowed her to halt his hands anyway. But he did not release his hod on her, she would remain here for as long as he wished.
"Supreme pizza for the supreme diety you say and with extra bacon too, are you trying to fill out even more? Is that you're plan? Using your body to seduce me so I'll train you. How naughty, I've underestimated you haha." He chuckled a bit jovially. Yes his plan was going along smoothly. He'd have to ease her into his inner circle slowly.
IRON=SAKURA
Sakura suddenly tripped, falling faceforward towards the arcade machine. Unless they somehow stopped her, it'd be crushed.
Meti
Meti nodded her head at the notion. She could have kissed the blade as well, but that would have sullied its perfect image. The thought still darkened her cheeks as she stood up. Then she held the blade with absolute ease but perfect firmness.
"But now that is done, I did promise to sate, did I not? I would love to make you happy right now." Her bare feet made a distinctive sound against the floor as the moved towards the door.
Meti
Her face scrunched up in confusion. Was this a euphemism? She had never heard of one involving a cup of tea before. Usually statements implying death had some sort of nuance that she could catch onto. But something about this was eluding her. She eloquently gave her confusion form with a, "Bwuh?"
Meti
Oh. Ohhhhhhh. Meep. Her face turned deep read in a mixture of embarrassment and confusion. This all felt rather strange and nice. But there was some strange wrongness twisting in her gut. The hard, sharp grit of her soul that held little feeling for anything but cutting reacting against what seemed like... waste in a sword.
She moved past her unconscious feeling as she nodded her head. "Yes! Of course! ...But I do not know of any good tea shops in this city."
William
And of course she became embarassed at the subject being brought up. She got so easily flustered and then she'd end up making a hasty move leading to her getting even more flustered.
"Hello...." He whispered back to her jokingly.
"And believe it or not but I wasn't making fun of you." He had stopped whispering. "You'd look pretty hot in those clothes with the proportions of your other form.... And who's Vert?" He added at the end after a short pause.
William
So they were immortal like he suspected, halted aging of some kind. Perhaps it was possible to obtain this for himself, suggesting it outright would be far too suspicous though, and he had another minor issue at hand. Her incredible closeness was causing him to get stiff, he wasn't at full masr anything but she'd probably notice any time now.
"That does explain some things but there's nothing saying you can't change clothes in your other form is there? And a sister huh, that's a bit different." It was usually children if anything.
William
He completely broke out in laughter as he lifted her off his lap and put her down next to him. "Pfffhhahaha..." Downstairs, that was certainly a new one. It was almost hilarious how inexperienced she was.
"No that was merely the beginning of one." His laughter finally died down.
"Maybe you should order now."
William
He moved along with the force of her push so she didn't sprain herself, unlikely but you never knew, and shaking his head while doing so. More than 50 years old and had never dated anyone, this was turning into a real goldmine.
She did do as he suggested as pitched the order to a waitress. Only to go back to her amusing behaviour a mere moment later, glancing at his pants while beginning to say something only to change her mind. Maybe a more direct approach should be taken here.
"Were you wondering something? You could always answer here if you can't say it out loud." He sent this to her mind.
William
She denied having anything to say before turning to look at a wall for a while. He maintained his presence watching out for any changes. Finally it came, and quite amusing as well. "You know you can't lower the volume of your thoughts."
"Oh and too big for you to handle right now."
Mordred
She felt the disappointment in her more strongly than any physical blow from Sakura. That was just... crushing. "Okay..." Not even meds would supress the feeling of depression she experienced.
Meti
Then they were at a tea house. Hands warmed a bit by the hot tea in mugs as they both assumed seiza around a table. Meti was... extremely embarassed. She wasn't prepared for this! It wasn't a part of her real training either!
The killer was just kind of red and blushing as she followed Katase's lead, refraining from keeping both of her hands around the sword sheathed and resting on the cushion that was supposed to be for her.
UrhoTrivek
"Hey, don't assume things about me like that, Miss Pervert!" The one who was a pervert was surely her, given how reluctant she was to wear anything without fooling around first. Primordial chaos? Her brain was in chaos. "Do I look like a spirit? I can't pass walls, you know."
The old(er) guy talked about some dimensional planes and shit he really didn't understand. "Some planes? What do you even mean? You two are weird."
Annabeth
The Hunter continued along her way, striding out of the hotel and making her way through the streets back towards their apartment, slowly feeling the violent urge to throw up fading as that odd little thing she'd gotten from Ron accelerated her sobering up. Wincing from the minor hangover, Annabeth rubbed her forehead as she made her way back, part of her considering swearing off drinking altogether after this mess.
Still, there was the matter of how she'd explain this to Ron to figure out...or maybe she could just not explain it? No, Ron could probably smell the other guy on her.
Probably be better off just telling him, in that case.
Allowing a resigned sigh, the Hunter continued along her way, soon entering the building and making her way to their apartment.
Annabeth
The Hunter slipped into the room, shutting the door behind her as she heard the shower slowing down, soon coming to a stop. Annabeth stood there for a moment, unsure of whether she should sit or stand for this. Fidgeting a bit where she stood, Annabeth suddenly found herself wishing she had taken the opportunity to take a shower back in that hotel, but it was too late for regrets now. Shifting her weight from one foot to the other, Annabeth opted to stand, unable to help feeling at least a little nervous as she waited for Ron.
Meti
"Follow the will of the sword." She repeated it with the absolute certainty that Katase invoked in her. Meti spoke the words with an absolute faith that even zealots would admire. She had more faith in Katase than she did in anything else.
Mordred
Eh? She really shouldn't just get away with such light "punishment." She was really, really sorry after all. Mordred was quite embarassed by that, but then regained her cool and made a serious offer. "Sakura, to show how I'm really sorry, I can swear a magic oath. If I ever use that spell in your presence, I will suffer appropriate backlash. You should set it so that it's fair."
Mordred
She felt the disappointment in her more strongly than any physical blow from Sakura. That was just... crushing. "Okay..." Not even meds would supress the feeling of depression she experienced.
Auspicious Breeze
Guh. Seeing Mordred so crushed by what just happened was pretty painful. But, she'd done something wrong and so that just had to be how it was. A least she could give Mordred her punishment now.
So after nodding to Sakura with a smile the former gladiator turned to Mordred, and kissed her on the cheek. "Everything will be okay as long as it doesn't happen again, Mordred. Though I won't stop Sakura..."
Then she turned to Sakura again, and tried to convey that she wanted to punish the purple haired cutie too.
LorenzoCoppelius
"Nah. A closed space like that d'be no good. Besides, wouldn't want to total your shop by accident now would I?"
The pirate sighed, then gave Coppelius a pat on the shoulder. "Here, come. I think I got something in mind."
The sun was already starting to set. Well, they had some time left until the time was ripe. The two were surrounded by trees, a small forest located at the outskirts of town. These automobile buses were a real life saver, let me tell ya. Either way, the place looked ideal. It wasn't much, but they should have about... 20 minutes?
"Usually, people don't come around these woods often. Peace, quiet, perfect place to test out a technique or too." He said casually, taking a calm stride around the puppet. "Well, here we are. Show me what you can do."
William
Of course the Goddess rebutted with great determination. That determination would be helpful but mere determination wouldn't be enough. But she did seem to have taken it more as an insult than a simple statement, oh well.
The pizza finally arrrived at their table, as if the godessess' prayers were answered in a divine sesne of irony.
Do you even know what to do?"
He pulled up a slice and moved it towards her mouth as he had promised he would.
Meti
So Meti drank the tea as she stole glances at the blade, her face glowing red with pride at the approval in the puppet's face. The words repeated themselves in her head. An unceasing mantra that only grew in force as she drank.
Then she was done. and Meti put her tea mug on the table as she waited for further instruction.
Mordred
Eh? She really shouldn't just get away with such light "punishment." She was really, really sorry after all. Mordred was quite embarassed by that, but then regained her cool and made a serious offer. "Sakura, to show how I'm really sorry, I can swear a magic oath. If I ever use that spell in your presence, I will suffer appropriate backlash. You should set it so that it's fair."
IRON=SAKURA
Sakura laughed at Breeze's punishment. "What kind of punishment is that? You gotta do something more nefarious for her crimes, Breeze. That's just nothing." Sakura leaned forward and kissed Breeze on the forehead. "See. Totally ineffective punishment."
She then turned her attention to Mordred's suggestion. She suddenly flicked Mordred on the forehead, giving her a big red welt, and shook her head. "Dummy. I couldn't ask you to do that. What if we were in a fight against something big and scary together, and you needed to use that ars? It would be super bad to limit yourself like that. Never intentionally cripple yourself." She put Mordred down after that. "That flick was your punishment. Please don't do something reckless like that again, ok?" The purplehead asked, smiling at her friend genuinely. "I'll be happy if you just don't do it again."
Molly
The Hunter cheerfully skipped down the almost completely dark alley leaving a broken body in her wake. It was way too easy. Just go to the shadier parts of the city and act lost and eventually they'd come. Seeking a cute defenseless girl, they would come. Guys wanting her, wanting to rape her that is. Little did they know what they were in for.
Maybe she needed a change, her underwear was completely soaked huh.
Coming here had actually made her life easier. She no longer had to be careful for the Association to catch wind of what she was doing. She was desperately out of money though and wanted something else than that for a change. What a thought, before coming here she'd never think something like that. How things change.
Tchhh... I guess I have no choice then. I'll have to find someone who'd hire a maid. But what if they are perverts with maid fetishes and want me to do really creepy stuff? There's no limit to what it could be. This is the Nexus after all You never know. I'm here after all hehe... I don't even... Could I do it? I do need money but..... Ahhh what to do?"
"Whaaaaaa!"
She didn't notice the bump in the ground and tripped, which lead to a quite spectacular face plant in the ground.
Annabeth
The Hunter gave him a short smile at the greeting before she started fidgeting again. Should she launch into now or start with something else? Chances were he'd smelled someone else on her by now, so there was no point trying to hide it. At the same time, launching straight into it might be a bit much...
"Guess this is good timing then, or the closest thing I can get," Annabeth said, wavering on her words for a moment before pushing on through, "How did your time with Rikuyo go after I left?"
Damn it, can't really stall much and I shouldn't really try.
Meti
Her eyes were wet at the mention of the blades. Grief pooled inside her and weighed heavily on her heart. Then, with some bit of audacity and courage, held the puppet's hand as she cast her eyes to the blade. "Yes, for you. You are beyond value. A blade that has perfection lurk in its edge. I saw it. They saw it. A wielder who holds back its blade is useless, but the opposite holds true as well."
"I want to become one with you. Sharpening ourselves against each other, fighting together, correcting one another, alloying ourselves into one perfect philosophy and purpose. To become the very act of Cutting."
"I love you!"
Meti
Meti's eyes were filled with loving admiration at the tale. How much killing intent had those people mustered? A great amount indeed to have nurtured such a fine mind within the blade that was Katase. After all this time Meti had not kindled a single entity such as Katase despite the blood she had spilled.
There was history behind Katase. Strong feelings and a bloodlust nurtured by years of struggle. It made her heart throb. Enough that she lifted the sword, taking it under her clothes and pressing it against her heart. So it could hear that steady beat for violence in her too.
William
He smirked as he brought the pizza slice ever closer to the awaiting godesses' mouth. He was tempted to eat for himself but decided against it. She most likely wouldn't aprreciae it at this point going by how much her stomach was growling.
As the slice was gently pushed into her mouth he struck with his next question. "Oh would be so kind to enlighten me then?"
William
It was almost hypnotic the way she devoured the slice, the sheer level of joy was quite spectacular. She barely had time to finish her request before he was on it and brought it closer to let her have a second bite.
"I could feeding you all day if you're gonna keep looking that damn cute while eating."
Lorenzo
"Well duh. Cooperating with a lad whose powers you don't even know seems like a pretty bad idea. Even I'm not that dumb." He said casually, putting his back against a tree. "Consider this your 'job interview.' Now come on, don't be shy, impress me. Though I do suggest keeping your strength for later."
Shirou and Sakura
Sakura and Shirou laughed as they chased after Moko, using reinforcement to run faster as they attempted to grab hold of the cute Pokemon.
Vanguard
"Yes. And even my parents were civilized enough to understand the importance of fresh vegetables, which is more than I can say for some savages I've had the pleasure of knowing. Besides, you've asked me to prepare the meal without the slightest instruction or direction, is playing with one's thumbs a new head chef's practice nowadays? " He said coldly.
At that moment, he was staring into her eyes with a glare that seemed to shoot lightning and a terrifying and menacing aura that dwarfed the terrifying and menacing aura that dwarfed his terrifying and menacing aura. If someone didn't stop them soon, there might just be a very different kind of meat being served for dinner.
Alternatively, you could grab the popcorn.
Annabeth
The Hunter cocked an eyebrow at the events Ron described, finding it a bit odd that they'd meet vampires at a doughnut shop of all places. The cowgirl's hand twitched before she reined herself in, reminding herself that she couldn't exactly expect him to stay out of trouble in a city like this. Accidents were bound to happen after all. Part of her didn't want to see how long he'd wait before asking and just go ahead and tell him now, but it would just make things worse to interrupt him like this, especially when she was the one to ask.
"Mhm, how'd it go?" she said with a nod, "Seems like you handled yourself pretty well."
Molly
As she pulled her face up from the ground, the sound of footsteps became apparent, someone was approaching her from behind. Whoever it was was approaching rapidly.
Nooo, this is too embarassing.
It turned out to be a man, she saw as he kneeled down to help her get back on her feet. She graciosuly accepted the help and bounced back up with much gusto.
"Thank you so so much kind Sir. I'm not usually that clumsy Hehehe. You see I was thinking really hard on how to get hired now that I'm unemployed and in dire need of money. But then I started thinking about what kind of people would hire a maid here and that they might be be really weird and do all kinds of creepy stuff to me. Then before I knew it I crashed." Somehow she miraculously managed to say all of that in one breath.
"Oh so sorry I forgot to introduce myself. Stupid stupid me getting distracted again. I'm Molly professional Maid and Hunter, I even have this nice looking card." She pulled out a lisence that looked like it had seen better days.
Lucy
Then Lucy laughed. A triumphant sound that was as clear as the blaring of a trumpet at the conclusion of a battle. "Your heart is such a difficult thing to wrangle, Raf. It must have taken a miracle to slip a chain around your hollow self. I admire him for it."
For now the Messengers withdrew their intrusive mental footholds as she continued, uncaring of the slightest degree of tension in the air. "But you know me, Raf. Even the riders must pray to me. The tower that is Victory rests its foundation on my soul and my dominion is Conquest." She bites the excrucian's neck, just hard enough to leave a bit of a mark on her skin but still soft enough to send shivers up anyone's spine.
"And lo and behold, I find a rider kissed by evil. Can you blame me for attempting this little campaign?" Pressing her palm to the girl's face for another kiss.
Mordred
Ouuuchhhh. That really stung, but she did deserve it for having Sakura nearly crash into that machine. Even if that wasn't her intention at all back then. "Uhhh, I honestly wish we don't have to fight any soon. I enjoy the current peace, thank you very much. I'd be really sore about it if I had to fight on one of my few days off..."
Anastasia
"I'll advance together with you. Now that I'm closer, I don't sense any Abyssal tint to the Aether I detect. I'm not saying it's on our side, but it might not be automatically aggressive if we're not hostile. After all, any creature with a common sense just wipes out Goblins." As they progressed through the corridor, they've seen carvings on the wall. Made by human or humanoid hands. Some sort of writing? Didn't look like something that goblins would be capable of. Also lots of footsteps of goblins that implied that goblins fled from something. "I think Goblins could have woken up whatever slumbered there and then it chased them down, killed and went back to slumber. It most likely didn't kill them for food given how their bodies were not eaten. Can anyone here read those carvings, by chance?"
LorenzoCoppelius
The skeleton could almost feel a shiver run down his spine. Incredible. It's almost like he's actually trying to kill me...
He chuckled and brandished his blade in an instant, slashing steel over the soll's shoulder and nearly cleaving it off with a swift strike while dodging the doll's before piercing it all over with a deadly flurry, kicking it away with a final kick. "I see. But it's a captain's job to deal with such insubordination!" He declared in response, pointing his sword at the puppet with the same cocky grin.
"I don't have much time or energy to spare before the heist, so do try to keep the interview brief." He added, and with that he burst in motion faster than before, propelling himself even faster thanks to a burst of fire that left a trail behind him.
William
He kept feeding her the pizza while also saving some for himself, and just like that the pizza was gone. The heavenly treat had fulfilled it's role and reached the end of it's existence.
"I'm sorry I can't keep that promise, the pizza is gone." He said with an overly serious voice.
Molly
Her excitement rose as she realised that he was looking for a maid apparently.
I can't believe how lucky I am. He does look pretty tasty. No you can't eat him, yet.
She eyed him eerily with flushed cheeks. It was like a wolf seeing a delicious lamb presented to them. But that wasn't the strangest part, despite the feast she was indulging in, her absentminded rambling continued.
"Ehhh....Oh right I am. Of course I am, hehe."
She smiled. A smile that didn't match her eyes at all.
"So what kind of work are talking about Liam, I'm up for almost anything."
Mordred
Ouuuchhhh. That really stung, but she did deserve it for having Sakura nearly crash into that machine. Even if that wasn't her intention at all back then. "Uhhh, I honestly wish we don't have to fight any soon. I enjoy the current peace, thank you very much. I'd be really sore about it if I had to fight on one of my few days off..."
IRON=SAKURA
"Stop being a silly girl, Mordred. I meant in the future, if you ever needed my help. After all, if I can't pummel it to death, you've got serious issues." She nodded to herself. "After all, I haven't even shown you my real strength, ehehehe~" She said to Breeze and Mord.
"Maybe we could spar or do some other girl stuff?" Sakura asked them. "I don't really feel like hanging out in an arcade after that, kinda ruined the mood for me."
Annabeth
The Hunter almost let out a sigh as Ron made his question, part of it shame for that near-miss to begin with and part of it relief that she was at least saved the headache of having to be the one to bring it up.
"Not really sure, his name's Gabriel and I came across him recently after a boring hunt and there was alcohol and something else that I don't understand involved and when I was myself again we were in a hotel room," the Hunter carried on, quickly growing short of breath as the whole event came pouring out, along with her disgust in herself for ending up in that kind of predicament, "Didn't seem like much actually happened there, if he was telling the truth, but something about the whole situation felt off and I am so sorry it happened..."
Spent for the moment, Annabeth fell silent, unsure of how to really finish what had essentially turned into an explanation and an attempt at an apology all rolled into one.
Mordred
"I don't really feel like sparring..." To be honest even in two against one she predicted that they stood little chance against Sakura. The purple haired girl just seemed that overwhelmingly stronger than them combined. "Ah, that sounds much better than sparring, I guess I still owe you something for that accident."
Mordred
Ouuuchhhh. That really stung, but she did deserve it for having Sakura nearly crash into that machine. Even if that wasn't her intention at all back then. "Uhhh, I honestly wish we don't have to fight any soon. I enjoy the current peace, thank you very much. I'd be really sore about it if I had to fight on one of my few days off..."
IRON=SAKURA
"Stop being a silly girl, Mordred. I meant in the future, if you ever needed my help. After all, if I can't pummel it to death, you've got serious issues." She nodded to herself. "After all, I haven't even shown you my real strength, ehehehe~" She said to Breeze and Mord.
"Maybe we could spar or do some other girl stuff?" Sakura asked them. "I don't really feel like hanging out in an arcade after that, kinda ruined the mood for me."
Auspicious Breeze
"Hmm... what kind of girl stuff, though?" She tilted her head, thinking about it for a moment before grinning. "Oh hey, you're new to this place! Right, Sakura? That must be the only outfit you have right now. We should go get you some new stuff!"
Then she could play dress up with her and how did her mistress put it? Ohohoho? No, that was her mistress' mother.
Mmm, mistress' mother...
IRON=SAKURA
Sakura pondered that suggestion. "Sure, I guess. This is basically all I really wear, but having other clothes could be fun, I guess." She said, not particularly enthused by the suggestion but nor was she unwilling to go along with the two. "Maybe shopping for clothes is more fun with more people?" Sakura wondered aloud, grabbing Mordred and Breeze snugly, and walking out of the arcade.
"So which direction are we going?" Sakura asked as she poised her legs, getting ready to jump in whatever direction she was told to go.
Lucy
Lucy's tongue flicked over the the other girl's ear. "Oh, now look at you! So serious. How are we supposed to have any fun if you're going to act your age? That would be so boring." That definitely didn't stop her hands from slipping under the excrucian's clothes with experienced finesse as she slowly traced the girl's curves upwards.
"Blah blah, Creation is worse than nothing, something new can be built, but what's now is beautiful, blah blah, and we settle on the fact that there's a world with nothing to prove or be except itself. So since we got that out of the way we can get to the fun stuff."
William
Noire suddenly climbed onto his lap by her own volition acting all cutesy and stuff. While the situation and her offer was quite tempting there was one detail that stood out in the back of his mind, she was bending over forwards. It took a second or two to figure out why that bothered him but when he did, his arm immediately went for her waist and straightened her posture. "Your skirt is rather short." Was all the info he sent her, He trusted her to figure out what he meant by it.
He then continued speaking out with the same serious tone. "But of course I was already planning to help you with that. And you shouldn't make losely worded promises like that, someone might just take advantage of you."
Molly
Molly happily moved closer to him as he begun explaining what she was going to do for him. Not a bad deal at all that was being offered, she sould accept it. But all was not as it seemed.
Hmm that's weird, he lacks that.
The maid tiptoed all the way into his space and looked up at him, she appeared to be amused by something. "Are you actually alive mister?"
Gabriel
The hybrid had followed Annabeth to what Gabriel had to reason her place of residence from her boyfriend.
Well, that is different, he thought to himself as he watched the two of them from the Shadows. He chuckled at Annabeth's description of him and shook his head. However, her lover seemed quite interesting.
For one he was a supernatural, some sort of shapeshifter from what Gabriel was sensing, and his Sex Sense picked up something even more fascinating. So he backed up and walked out of the Shadows, right at the door of the apartment. He gently rapped his knuckles against said door, waiting for an answer.
Molly
"You kind do lack Aura, the life force inherent in all us humans. A bit weird, you sure don't look like an animal, so you must be dead."
The maid poked his chest as she finished her explanation. That wasn't true at all, he could have been suppressing it, she just felt like being unsettling. It's not like he could be dead after all.
"And you don't look like a dead fish either! You're a delicious fresh fish!"
Neptune
"Hey Gaddy where do ya think your going?"
Just as the Fallen Angel was about to walk out through the door, Neptune's voice could be heard echoing throughout the apartment.
The purple haired goddess turned in the bed a few times and then suddenly shot up as if stung, the covers being flung away. She rushed over in a highly comedic fashion as her legs got tangled in the bedcover.
She then tumbled forward, literally doing several forwards facing rolls before ending up at the angel's feet somehow unscathed.
"Here's Neptune!"
William
His body may not lie but it could certainly fly and so it did. He shot up into the air keeping a firm grip on the white haired goddess so she wouldn't fall. "Looks like we have a winner here. This naughty little goddess will now get her prize. It's going to be a private tour of my magnificent castle, starting with my private quarters."
They shot through the air at immense speed, faster than any bird could fly. As a matter of fact, in the time it had taken him to say that, the magnificent castle was already becoming visible near the horizon.
LorenzoCoppelius
Clever kid, now all three came for him. Seriosly, what a bother, its like he was asking him to take his life. Heh. Then again, neither had a life to be taken, now did they?
Normally, he would be cornered and skewered by all sides. It was logical, the sort of outcome you’d expect from any man.
To hell with that, as if he’d lose to a couple of half assed toys. With a sudden spin, he kicked Coppelius into the bladed puppet's chest only to strike the other two with his flaming fists in the face
Tch, he’s pretty crafty. He thought he leapt with beast-like agility, his fiery hands immediately landing on one of the doll’s heads, enabling him to flip out of the way and deliver a swift kick at Coppelius’s face in order to propel himself out of the puppets ranges.
Julius
The gentleman unveiled his whip to catch the other ruffian who was gathering the loot offguard, wrapping the whip around his body and restraining him like with a rope. Seems like Irene dealt with the other criminal quite... effectively. Though maybe cracking his bone was a bit too much. Looks like she didn't know her strength.
The whimpering burglar surrended in pain, and it was all over quite soon as they got properly tied up, Julius calling for the police with the phone on the wall, who would pick up those two... eventually. Waiting for the arrival of whoever was the owner or manager of the shop, he commented: "That was quite... violent. You sure have a lot of strength, lady Irene."
Molly
"Why would I believe something like that, it's way more likely you're a corpse being remotely controlled by someone. But you don't stink so that's out." She absent-mindedly rambled on.
Then her eyes narrowed as the maid begun glaring at him.
"What did you just do?"
Neptune
She stood up and bowed to her enthralled audience and then she gave him a playful push. "Like I could sleep when my Gaddy is going out to have all the fun times. No, no, no. Not allowed. Nada. Rejected. I'm coming with you to Nep things ups."
"Oh and for the record, You're much much more comfortable than any old bed."
William
They gracefully passed above the castle and the courtyard before entering through a window that was conveniantly open. "I wouldn't know about it being elegant or anything.You can complain to my to maid if you want to but beware, you might chew off more than you can bite. She like to toy with people, especially girls."
The two of them landed in a hallway on the third floor and he was about to put her down but halted his move at the last second. "Still feel like being carried all ovet the place my cute goddess?"
Lucy
"The fact that you're married just makes it exciting! Devotion doesn't necessitate faithfulness after all, and romantic dramas are always the most interesting ones. And you can call me Lucy. Or anything especially lewd. Either is good." The hands were now cupping Raf's mounds, working their way under her bra and lightly teasing her nipples.
"Well, maybe you're right. Not *all* of it. But that's what you're here for, isn't it? This world is the perfect stage for your performance." Then those lips sealed themselves on part of the excrucian's sensitive neck. Sucking hard, intent on leaving a mark.
AdjutorGojira:
The monster hunter barely restrained a chuckle as their pursuer did a double-take as he approached the alley before pulling back. While Gojira surveyed the crowd below, Adjutor was turned the other way, looking at the city extending out before them. Ordinarily, high ground like this would be a nice place to survey the area, maybe reflect a little while she waited for something to happen. As it was, however, the monster hunter found herself growing increasingly annoyed with whatever this damned noisy box was.
Toying with the urge to jam a sword into the damn thing just to make it stop, Adjutor perked up at Gojira's offer, which drew her attention to the fact that she was feeling a bit more than peckish as well.
"Sounds good," the monster hunter said, allowing a smirk as the sound of her new friend's stomach growling registered, "Do you know any decent places?"
William
"You looked really troubled earlier and you don't look like the type to break down so easily." He answered while wrapping his other arm around her. Her back was really soft he noted while slowly rubbing it.
"By the way Noire, where are you planning on staying?" It would be amusing to see what this might suggest.
William
His hand left her back when he saw her display and he proceeded to flick her forehead. "You may stay here as long you'd like, I wouldn't have brought you here if I was planning to kick you out. But let me apologize for the mess this place is. I just recently moved in so I wouldn't know how it lives up to the standards of a goddess."
Vanguard
Vanguard nodded, as if he understood, but his intention didn't change. He rose up and spoke calmly, as one talks of a matter of fact.
"I'm afraid I have no such ambitions. It just so happens that I need a home, and you happen to be someone I know who might be able to help me in that regard. A cheap apartment would do, as long as I had a place to myself. The issue is to find someone willing to sell property."
Lorry
"Mhm, as a matter of fact, I was. Well, you can certainly hold yourself in a fight, I'll give you that, but we're not going to go for that play I'm afraid. I'd rather not have things get... messy. Still, that doesn't rule out the option of a more fiery approach."
The skeleton's fist connected with the puppet.
"Say, why do you want to do this? What could a fellow like you gain from siding with a poor crook like me?"
Trivek
Urho
"Oh, she left just like that. Well, whatever, do you do anything else than magic, mister? You know, fun things." He was also bored, but wouldn't follow Oren. It didn't feel right for me him to follow that exhibitionist.
William
He didn't have any delusions about her origins but his was an opportune time to tease her once more. "Naturally, with how dazzling you are, there could be no other alternative." It was pretty clear from his tone that he was joking though.. "But I did mean what I said, feel free to stay as long you'd like, I'd prefer if you did. I just have one request..."
He patted his lap. "Take a seat Noire." He asked her with a grin.
Vanguard
The warrior sighed and chuckled bitterly before raising his hands in abandon.
"It seems you have got me all figured out. Yes, I was planning to kidnap all the residents in my secret lab, have them vivisected, turn them into loyal mindless automatons and run insidious experiments using the building as a cover in order to design a weapon that could destroy all creation as we know it. And as it turns out, a little girl is standing right in the way." He answered sarcastically.
"Was that what you wanted to hear?"
William
"I've seen too many people burn to enjoy the sound of it." He sounded faraway as if he was reliving something from the past.
"Have you ever taken someone's life?" He asked her seriously.
Lucy
"Far better a savage universe with happy end than a happy universe with no hope, hmm? But what if there's already a happy end in mind? What if those starry eyes see less than you think?" Fingers prodded Raf's side. Then they began to tickle her.
Neptune
She grabbed hold of his arm with a fiery passion to match the stars in the sky. So bright was her intensity it would outshine the sun and various other overblown metaphors to be had.
"Yes led the way my very very brave Angel. Time to beat up the bad guys real good!" Despite telling him to lead the way she was the one pulling him out of the apartment.
Molly
The maid gave him an almost bore look at his supposed confession. She let out a sigh and then begun chuckling slightly.
"Hehe...You know, Just a few minutes ago this man wanted to have his way with me....."
She looked down for a moment and then raised her head again meeting his gaze head on. "I killed him. Altough I have to admit your perforance is quite amusing to behold."
Oren
Once she had gotten far enough away Oren turned back into the Lycan and began sniffing around again. She took a while, the Nexus was pretty big after all! But her nose was good, and she knew exactly what Breeze smelled like.
Then she found her! And Mord! And some other girl with purple hair. Didn't really matter. She changed back into her normal self, the grass suit a bit loose around her, and ran right at her girlfriends. "Breeze!" She hugged the brawler while waving at the Changeling. "And hi, Mord!"
Molly
The hunter's eyes narrowed at his insistence at being 'dead'. It was utterly ridiculous. Dead people didn't run around and talk to you. "Dead, Dead you say? Stop being ridiculous you smug bastard!
Her gaze gaze gradually softened and her features relaxed. The girl's mouth even formed a small smile that looked for more sincere than anything shown earlier.
"Now stop speaking in riddles or I'll rip your balls off and feed them to you."
Neptune
"That would be kinda bad though, if they all just ran when they saw us. How'd we even catch them like that?" She suddenly stopped and turned to the angel with a confused look "Hold ya horses Gaddy. Since when am I scary? My charmpoint has always been my cute bubbly personality, and with how much skin I'm showingit would be kinda weird for guys to run away."
Anastasia
"You know, you didn't answer my question yet. I think that leaving something nasty as a goblin trap like a wild Pokemon could work out. So would the fake tree do well here? We will just put up a sign to warn humans. Goblins can't read." Oka seemed to be distracted with the gold enough to not answer her previous question.
Paladin
The bath was going to be ice cold. Terribly freezing. He was going to soak like an iceberg until he had returned to sufficiently frigid temperatures. But he gratefully nodded at Oka's offer. "Hah... Thank you, Oka. I have not been exposed to such heat since my first fight with a drake, and that was several years ago."
He made sure his book was still unharmed as held out a hand for a pouch or canister. "This is also a mote off topic, but Oka, it would be greatly appreciated if you would allow me the permission to draw and detail the abilities of your pokemon." Paladin patted the journal at his side again.
UrhoTrivek
"Geez, that's... limited. Were you born an old guy, or were a kid once. I was pressured into the family business all the time, but still had time for diversions. Have you played one of those games where you hit a ball with a bat, at least?" The kid proceeded to probe him with questions. "And if you count the forest shack, then yes. But why would I go back there? Pretty dull place."
Lucy
The false savior was about to make a destructive rebuttal, one so powerful that it would completely destroy the Excrucian. So powerful that it would reduce the rider to a fawning slave and- woah. Hoho. Damn. Lucy tapped her chest and a Messenger popped out. One which she grabbed by the leg and shook around a little.
"Bad Asmodeus! You're supposed to infect people other than me with perversion. I already have that in spades. Now whadda you need?" Then the doll leaned in and began whispering to her. "Mhm. I see, I see. Twintails, huh. Good."
Then the began to pet Raf's head. "My dear new friend, we're going to make a quick detour. Do you wanna see a castle and its new lord?"
Roderick
"Where are you, my dear nephew?"
Roderick Blakely pressed his lips together as he stayed low into some bushes, sweat trickling down his brow. He even was holding his breath as he heard his aunt and her "demonic death squad" approach. His hands curled into fists as his skin felt feverish to the touch.
The magic within him wanted - no ached - to be released upon his enemies. Even though they slaughtered my bodyguards . . . He knew Gormalith would be upset because one of them had been trained by the ancient hero personally. He hadn't gotten to know the rest of his guard yet and they had been slaughtered by his aunt's demonic guards and now they were after him, to bring him back to her alive.
Because she probably wants to give my body to her demonic patron so he can materialize in the real world, he thought before gathering the components to a teleportation spell from his pouch. Roderick chanted the spell and stood up.
Two red skinned and winged cambions lead the progression, with a large woman with a snake's body for her lower half and six arms proceeding with them. Above them, sitting side saddle on a broom stick, was his aunt Reina in her crimson robes. "Ah there you are!" she said with a smile, "How nice of you to join us, darling boy."
"Fuck you," Roderick said before activating his teleportation spell.
Sigils lit up at his feet and he felt that familiar queasiness every time he teleported, like his stomach rising into his throat and his head spinning. Lights sparked around him as he felt his stomach drop down back into place as he couldn't tell what was up and what was down. The world ended up ass over teakettle and instead of materializing into place, he felt the ground reach up and hit him in the face.
"What in nine Hells happened," Roderick muttered as his ears were filled with loud, strange noises. Pushing himself up, he looked around only to hear a loud roar and lights nearly blinding him as something came barreling at him. Something very large.
"Fly!" he shouted before shooting up into the air above the carriage like object, only to discover countless more on a road unlike any he had ever seen before with buildings made of steel and crystal that touched the sky.
"I am not in Wulfscry anymore, that is certain," he said to himself before landing on a place were other people were standing safely.
Molly
The threat was seemingly forgotten as he smiled. His teeth were weird. A set of razor sharp fangs stared back at her.
Her smile widened a bit and a hand reached out to brush past his inner thigh, working it's way upwards slowly. "But that's booriing~ and those might be fake for all I know."
Neptune
The goddess visibly beamed at the praise given to her by b the Fallen Angel. He was obviously checking her out again, having made up her mind she decided to be a bit more daring than before.
"Heh you'd love to see even more wouldn't you?" To punctuate what she said, the purple haired goddess began pulling down the zipper of her oddly designed dress. She stopped just short of her nipples being shown, her large breasts almost threatening to burst out of their confinement. "How about this Gaddy?"
Rin
Rin chuckled at Joe's enthusiasm and smiled with a shake of her head.
"After a big meal like that? You'll just make yourself sick. Now after we let our food settle for a while it should be good."
She tilted her head and asked, "Did you still want to see a movie?"
Forest
These would look good on her, Forest heard Marcus think. Tilting her head to look at him, she saw him looking at some panties. She chuckled before walking over to him, not making a sound as she did before wrapping her arms around his waist.
She rested her cheek against his back in a hug.
"I don't think those would look good on you," she said.
Roderick
"Cars?" the half-elf said, the word awkward on his tongue. "What is a car? And it is the year 1493 DR of course."
William
"Hahaha....Did that make you calm down? You really did look like you needed relax. Hasn't anyone told you that before?" He then pushed back real hard and wrestled his way back up. Did she truly believe he'd allow her to be the one on top.
"And Black Heart, if there's something you'd like to do say it clearly and with no regrets." He might be laying it on a bit thick now but apparenty you needed to hammer things in to get through to her, she was really stubborn.
Vanguard
After he had finished cooking the meal, the three set the table and feasted on the great dinner. However, despite his hard work, he found that while the meal was quite succulent, he could not find as much appetite as the others. He tried to finish his portion, but in the end he found that while they could eagerly go for seconds and thirds, he simply couldn't take another bite.
"That was an adequate meal." He said with a grateful smile, trying to ease the tension he was feeling.
"I must say, the decor for this kitchen is quite exquisite. It is a shame your sister couldn't join us though. Is she doing well?"
William
He stood up from the couch and turned to the door. Her small form wasn't even small.
Her stomach growling was just comedic. They'd just had dinner, was there no end for her crave?
Oh well time to go eat again. Seeing as she consumed so much energy he only had one choice. To carry her.
He swiftly lifted her by her back and legs, holding like one would a princess.
"If you're insisting on being in that form I'll have to carry you. To minimize the energy consumption of course. Now shall we go?" Not waiting for her answer, the dark mage set off for the kitchen.
Forest
Forest blinked at the person's voice on the other line and then nodded. "Of course, I'm not going to renig on my offer. I have plenty of room if you and a friend need it. Just don't bring a face collection, okay? Or any body part collection."
Roderick
Roderick nodded and said, "I am afraid I am quite lost. A teleportation spell went awry and I have no idea how I got here. I would be in your debt if you gave me assistance."
Rin
"Well, you can get better then," Rin said before letting him go, "Plus you'll have magic bullets."
Lorenzo
The pirate couldn't help but laugh at the puppet's honest response. They really were too alike, it was almost frightening! Then again, did either really have the heart to be scared?
"I really like you, boy." He said earnestly before giving him a good slap in the back. "Well, it would be bad if we let the authorities react in time. I'm thinking a diversion or two could split them up, get them spread and panicking. Then, we use the cracks to slip in, get our goods and get out. Disguises would probably be useful, just so we can lose them more easily."
The pirate put a finger on his chin, as if thinking.
"Hmm, we'd need somewhere to hide the stolen goods though, and maybe a way to quickly escape before things go south. Got any ideas?"
William
The former Saint merely shook his head at how she worded her request. Did she expect there to be a whole menu to chose from. Hmm, if he stalled long enough then perhaps his maid could actually be useful for something. His eyes travelled over her short and appealing frame as he moved through the hallway with at a slow pace.
"It's unbelievable, how this short and light weight I'm carrying right now, is a goddess. A beautiful vision of divinity and it's in my grasp." He said to her, apparently lost in thought.
Thr mage quickly got out of his thinking and continued on. "Don't expect too much in the way of dining. I haven't had the time to aquire a great chef or anything of that kind just yet."
Vanguard
"Oh, terrible. These past few months have been the worst I have lived in my entire life, and I don't know if that says more about this city or myself." He answered casually, to the point it sounded like an unbelievable jest.
"Well, I did manage to provide myself with this body though, so I suppose it wasn't a total waste." He opened the palm of his hand and took some time to observe his arm, or perhaps he was drawing attention to it in order to show off.
"But enough about me. You know, I've talked so much about myself, it almost makes me feel vain. And yet, I barely know anything about you. Surely you've been up to some interesting things, mhhh?"
Costin
Costin wasn't sure what to think or say, but for a moment her face brightened up when Jasey talked with some Forest girl in order to find a place to stay. Then, she managed to overhear the stranger's condition, and her eyes drooped and she looked down sadly, like a puppy who had just been kicked.
"Aww."
Paladin
The knight had finally finalized the drawing. He paired that along with a short descriptor of Wormy and the pokemon's abilities. Paladin nodded his head gratefully. "You are a magnificent creature, Sir Wormy. I hope that to see you fight at your greatest during these upcoming battles."
He gave the fiery insect a solid thumbs up.
Anastasia
"Oh, so it cohabitated with the spirit? Maybe it was a badger or some other species that tolerates some of other animals. Oh yeah, I'll tell you about something interesting. I've talked about Abyssal creatures and nature spirits, but I didn't get into greater picture. Basically, there is the material world that you live in. But there's also Aether, a place where every thought of sentient beings rises birth to disturbances which eventually form a spirit. I wouldn't be surprised if Pokemon give rise to them, they seem pretty smart." Anastasia continued her explanation. "In turn, stronger Aetheric beings have interests in affecting the material world in order to cultivate such emotions that make them stronger. As above, so below. Fortunately, the strongest of such beings cannot fully manifest, so they work through more indirect means."
But why she was explaining that?
"Exceptionally powerful mortals usually make more disturbance in the Aether. This Regice sounds strong. I'd not be surprised if it eventually spawned what people might call a god. Well, nothing to be concerned over. Such god wouldn't be able to manifest here. But if there are signs of such subtle and indirect influence, it may give us hints about its whereabouts. I'll keep my eyes open for them in turn."
Molly
Her hand stopped it's ascent, apparently content with softly stroking back and forth along his upper thigh. She smiled back excitedly.
"Sure that's exactly what I want. Show me or else." The threat was clear as day.
Neptune
Aww that was cute. She grinned happily from the attention given her. But she agreed with what he said and nodded while pulling the zipper back up to it's previous position. Leaving the upper parts of her boobs still exposed.
"That was a special treat for you Gaddy, there might be more when we get back~"
"So are ya gonna show your cute goddess this awesome patrol route you have?"
Gabriel
While Fey weren't on the top of the list when it came to supernatural senses except when it came to magic, but Incubi, while not on a vampire or werewolf's level, had fairly decent senses of hearing, sight, and smell. Well, enough to know that both Annabeth and her partner were upset about his presence, and Annabeth's partner felt . . . well the closest he could think of was a werewolf. Yet he felt different than the werewolves that he was used to dealing with.
If push came to shove, this werewolf was tapped into primal forces that would take Gabriel months to understand.
The Shadow cleared his throat and said, "Actually, I have came to discuss business. And Sir Big Bad Wolf, I did nothing untoward to your mate."
Forest
Forest blinked as Jasey got off the phone with her. "Eh, I'll text her my address or something," the blond said with a sigh before giving Marcus a sheepish look.
He'll probably leave as soon as he finds out that I'll have someone else here. I know part of the reason he's staying is pity. I mean, I know everyone else leaves, Forest thought to herself before sighing.
"Well, someone else, I think maybe two others, are coming to stay. I met this girl who didn't have a home a little while back and offered her a place to stay. Now she's taking that offer," Forest said before turning away and waiting for the inevitable rejection.
Roderick
Roderick tilted his head at the white haired young woman and held out his hands, getting the reading of at least the general area around them. Normally Identify was used on things, not places, but he tweaked the spell ever so slightly. His blue eyes glowed for a moment as he took the reading with a nod.
"You are correct. This is some sort of odd pocket dimension that takes people, places, and things and brings them here. This place is called Nexus City," Roderick said before his handsome face twisted into the scowl as the spell informed him of something alarming.
Roderick eyed the young woman and said, "Apparently once someone or something is brought here, it can never leave."
And at that moment something crashed on him from above.
He didn't even have time to conjure some Mage Armor in reaction and his face hit the ground again. The smell of tar and things he was completely unfamiliar with hit his nostrils as he felt a warm weight on his back. A soft, warm weight.
He felt healing magic pour over him and sat up, eying a rather lovely blond human in front of him. If she had been an elf, he would have mistaken her for Brona, the daughter of the monk who slayed the Death Shadow Thrice with her bare hands. Except Brona generally scowled around him and looked as if she was about to punch him in preemptive defense.
He smiled at her and said, "I had a similar experience getting here, but I hadn't botched a teleportation spell since I was thirteen."
Rin
Rin nodded and said, "Of course! And I won't even charge you for them."
"Magical bullets Rin. Really, are you planning on getting your own hitman?" the medieval French colored voice belonging to Jeanne of Arc said as the Servant entered the room. The blond bowed, her armor clanging ever so slightly as she said, "I'm servant Ruler and I welcome you to this mansion, I hope Rin has been an entertaining host."
I swear, next person who comes in to "check" on me I will gandr in the goddamn face, Rin thought to herself before forcing a smile towards the blond. "I mean, my younger sister has a small army of Servants and her husband at her beck and call. I at least need something that's mine," she said with a shrug.
Vanguard
Vanguard smiled and gave the knight a departing glance before focusing back on Sakura. His cheek resting on his hand, he allowed himself to toy with the fork before him as he spoke.
"Not really. You've managed to protect your little world all this time, and even in a place like this you have found a little happiness to cherish. Compared to grand tales of heroism or adventure, a dull mundane tale like yours seems much more interesting. It's quite enviable really."
Lorenzo
"Nice!" He gasped, this was just perfect. "Can you put people in there too? Like, me for example? I might just have an idea..." He chuckled like an evil mastermind.
Anastasia
"Oh, so they're like the Elder Race? Tales say that once a mighty race of material beings that emerged from primordial chaos created everything, those beings older than even oldest Aetheric beings. Some say that Dragons are their weak and shattered descendants, others point that Giants were their lesser younger kin. One thing is known, they no longer meddle in affairs of other races for some unknown reason. My master claimed that they turned into the starlight. Could be honestly just his drunken tale."
And a god didn't have to be so potent to be considered a god by someone. After all, halflings worshipped a god of pies.
The sky was getting darker and darker as they emerged out of the den. "I honestly miss seeing two moons on the sky." She remarked as she looked at the sky. "The stars are also different. Are these unfamiliar for you as well?"
Paladin
Paladin hustled over when Oka called, so he only heard the last of Anastasia's statement. "Ah, yes. The stars are far more messy here. In my home they are arranged in precise patterns. The god of time routinely redirects the light they give off in order to give signs of prophecy."
He sounded a bit nostalgic at that. There was nothing that made you feel more like a stranger than staring up at a sky that was not your own. But there was a beauty to it as well, even if it was different.
Grigori
She nodded her head at Olga's greeting before following the younger girl to the park. As she took her seat she took note of the field around them and quirked her lips for a moment. Maybe they could have fun with this?
Grigori twisted a field of magic tight around the gazebo that would twist their words into a different meaningless conversation to anyone who could actually hear them. "So then, Lady Animusphere, what sort of plan have you come up with regarding our mutual inconvenience?"
Anastasia
"Wow, your world seems more ordered if even the sky is like that. I honestly don't think that this city is too wretched as some claim. In a way, it looks quite peaceful to me. I'm more like a soldier than a wizard, so I can tell. There's nothing here compared to the northern hosts that threathen my country." Anastasia reminisced about the past. "But I guess you want to catch this Regice. Shall we go, then?"
Lorenzo
"Nice!" He gasped, this was just perfect. "Can you put people in there too? Like, me for example? I might just have an idea..." He chuckled like an evil mastermind.
Grigori
"Money will not be much of an issue. We have services to offer and ways of gaining resources that few others could hope to achieve. But save your gold. Clearing out a few criminals is not worth the expense, and I do not have the patience to deal with the beggars and thieves it would attract. They're like flies." Unless they offered themselves as research material. That was acceptable. But saying something such as that out loud would be foolish.
She stood up, ready to leave. "So, shall we get going. I don't care much who fights, although I would rather not leave witnesses. Subtlety would be better as well. Or at least quick and overwhelming firepower. I can provide either if you have a preference, Lady Animusphere."
Then the mage held out a hand towards the other woman. As polite and gentlemanly as she could be to help her up. She was genuinely starting to enjoy Olga's company. The other woman was powerful and sharp. A dangerous combination but also a rather useful one.
Molly
The self proclaimed dead man led her down to a far more desolated alley in order to prove he was right. She had grudgingly moved her hand away to allow him to walk properly.
She was surprised when he suddenly pulled her close, was he actually coming on to her? This was a pretty lame eat to do it. Then he took one of her hands and lowered his mouth as to kiss it.
It stung.
Then it happened.
A wave of emotion burst through her. She tried to hold it in but it was futile. A nearby inaudible high pitched moan did leave her small throat.
That wasn't the end, no it was only the beginning. She rubbed her thighs together as a familiar wetness appeared between her legs.
Thud.
It felt like her heart was beating a thousand times per minute and she was left speechless.
Neptune
The purple haired goddess appeared to be thinking about the choice given her. A grin started forming as she made up her mind. Mere momens later a bright flash enveloped her. When it was over Neptune had been replaced by her goddess form Purple Heart. "We're going to have a better view now." Her now deeper said as she moved into action.
Purple Heart didn't even both to wait for his consent, she grabbed hold of him and blasted off. Her strange mechanical spread out as the two of them took to the skies. High into the air she took them, until they passed the peak of the skyscrapers and beyond, reaching for the clouds themselves.
"I hope you like it Gadreel. Being back here I mean." The true intent of her sudden brash action revealed itself with that curious statement.
Huang
No, it tasted absolutely abhorrent. Just how much spices you could put into a spoon of food? She felt that functions of her body were shutting down from the imbalance in ingredients. For the first time since the monk's first years in a temple, she passed out.
Vanguard
"I see. It was a foolish question, forgive my callousness." He excused himself cordially, much like a valorous knight of old ought do. "Though I suppose I cannot say the same of myself. Memory really is a troublesome thing, no matter how you look at it we are all chained to our pasts and futures. If there's any time to act, the present is the one thing any man can change. At least, that is what I used to believe."
Saber
She found herself being pulled along by her tall master, closer to the group. Her masterful plan foiled in one move, what an improvement from her master.
Place? Oh right, sorry Master. I was going to scout it but then I smelled this heavenly aroma and happened upon a small shop. They were selling some form of pasta in a broth and there was chicken, but not just any chicken. Impossibly crispy and the taste....." The blonde servant excitedly described her experience of this wonderful treat.
The other blond woman caught her attention, what a sharp one. "That's correct, I'm not exactly human." She took the offered hand but instead of shaking it she pulled the blond mage closer into tight hug with surprising strength. "But I do love blondes!" She said with an overtly cutesy voice.
Grigori
There was an undignified sound that was most certainly not a squeak as Grigori was pulled into the taller girl's embrace. "Oh, I, uhh, I see." She was a bit certain that getting out of this would not be particularly easy, and the mage was rather certain that neither Olga nor her servant would appreciate any magic being cast on her.
So instead she just rested into the other girl's hold. All things considered it was rather comfortable. Not as good as magically constructed beds but fine enough.
Purple Heart
Oh my, it seems like it was a bit too much of an emotional response for poor Gadreel who appeared to have been struck to tears. She gave him a smile and a pat on the head as response to the sincere thank you.
After a brief moment she lowered the alitutde and landed on the roof of one of the skyscrapers closest to where Gadreel lived. She put him down and turned to look at the city.
"So how is this patrol route of yours shaped? Is there anything special to it, what kind of things could we encounter?" She fired of the questions with almost machine like effieciency. The difference between this form and her other, was quite staggering.
Molly
"Hah.... What.... was that?"
The hunter found herself panting after that weirdly fulfilling experience. She needed to regain her bearing. No. She needed to get back control, and fast, this just wouldn't do.
Molly took a deep breath, her heart rate went down as she came down from whatever that was. "Oh You're getting off on it, aren't you?" She asked him, her voice was much more steady now.
Annabeth
The Hunter's frown didn't leave her face at Gabe's remark, her fingers twitching for a gun as she made no attempts to hide her annoyance.
"Great, so I don't have to put one in your lap first," the Hunter snapped, "What's the job and what's got you brave enough to come running this soon?"
IRON=SAKURA
"Stop complaining Mord, that's the least you can do after making me trip." Sakura said. "Jumping is so much faster, and I haaaate walking. Once you get used to it you'll be fine."
Lorenzo
"Hehe. Alright then, I'll make myself comfortable." He chuckled before taking a confident stride forward. His steps left burning marks on the grass, no, perhaps it was something else. But as he advanced and entered the boy's cape, the flames spread at a frightening rate and cloaked the forest around them. The flames licking the air around the pirate danced and shifted out of the earth and took the shape of birds, as if bending to his will.
No, it wasn't just the flame, but almost as if the fire around them was taking life. Either way, a skeletal hand dragged the puppet with a nonchalant but harsh thug and reeled him into the portal with him, letting the cloak dance along with the flames before drifting through the skies under the winds of a bird of fire.
The workshop, if he could call it as such, was not really what he was expecting. Well, it sure looked empty. And oh, jeez, how long had it been since Coppie did some upkeep? Well, if he was some uppity princess there was no way he'd stay here any longer, but a trashy looking place like this suited him best.
"Woah, it's pretty spacious. A bit hard to breathe though, cleaning a bit once in a while won't kill you will it?" He sighed casually before picking one of the books lying around. "Huh. You like to read?"
Rin
Joe was trying to smooth over the situation, and Jeanne was trying to help, but their words just grated on Rin almost like salt on an open wound.
So she carried the dishes to the kitchen, scraped the left overs in the trash, and then sat them at the sink. She put on her apron and gloves before turning the water on hot. The steam that rose from the faucet formed fanciful eddies in the air conditioned room that she idly watched for a moment.
Maybe this was a bad idea, she thought as she started to scrub,Maybe a normal guy like him shouldn't mix with a magus like me. Or maybe he should just fucking apologize about the blunder instead of trying to make me feel better with stupid flattery that just kind of really sounds hollow right now!
Roderick
I think I'm just being ignored here . . . Roderick thought as he shoulders slumped. It was an odd feeling, this rejection, even if it wasn't intentional it was obvious. The only other time he'd felt anything like this even though it was to a greater degree when he'd first met his twin sister and she told him point blank that he wasn't her brother despite all the obvious signs that he was.
It gnawed at the pit of his stomach ever so slightly and he looked away from the exuberant blonds, even though they were a nice sight, and sighed.
He wondered if he should teleport away, just vanish.
Then his eyes widened as Animusphere's words set in. Then he chuckled and said, "Any decent cleric would be able to bring her back from the dead. Is Resurrection not common where you are from? A powerful enough wizard or cleric could easily bring her back to flesh and blood. Or are you more powerful in this familiar form?"
Forest
Forest grinned and said, "Just because you can copy my powers doesn't mean you can copy my skill. I can defend myself if you get too rowdy."
Or, I can just bite you until you pass out from blood loss and orgasm overload, Forest thought to herself, even though she really didn't want it to go that far.
Purple Heart
"FLYING BEASTS in the city!"
The purplehead of a goddess exlaimed with great suprise. The mere notion of greater beasts roaming the midsts of a city being completely alien to her. She turned to him frantically and took hold of shoulders shaking him with unrestrained force. "Are you sure of this Gadreel?" She sounded scared, not for herself, but for the people who lived here.
She blinked, and halted her shaking of him slowly, her hands withdrawing in embarassment. "I-I, I don't know what came over me there, forgive me."
William
He didn't even deign the maid a second glance after her act. He could almost feel his plan collpase around him. No. It wasn't over, perhaps it was even better this way. That however, did not change the circumstance.
Thus the master of the castle turned to his other guest who had been watching this exchange silently. "So I've come to understand you wish to decorate this place Rafalia, is that true?"
Meti
The feeling of the blade warming up against her had the sword master blush. Then she shifted over a bit, hands tight on the sword. "Katase," a breath of hesitation, "should I treat this puppet as if it was you?" Her question was genuine as she stroked the blade lovingly.
Engetsu
The demon only listened absentmindedly, by that I mean not at all, because he was suddenly distracted by booming steps that almost made the ground quake. He immediately let go of the monk without warning and headed out the door, peeking out of it to see the source of the commotion.
His eyes opened wide when he saw the massive hulking oni strolling along the streets, scaring most away. Not him, instead, he saw the opportunity for what it was and smiled as brightly as ever before waving joyously at him.
"Hey! Over here! Promotion day, all you can eat food at half price! Free sake!"
There was no way anyone could resist. By that, of course he meant, he would never be able to resist. Now to see if it worked on the big guy...
Meti
If Meti still had total control of her body's functions she probably would have made some impossibly pleased and somewhat indecent sound. Instead she let herself sink in as close as possible into the wild storm that was the blade's being. She began to feel whole and real. Nearing completeness. But not quite yet. She needed time.
Until her breath, and body, and mind, and spirit were sharp. Perfect as Katase was perfect. Would the blade know these thoughts, she wondered. Her heartfelt desires.
Purple Heart
The strange feeling reached the breaching point as he kissed her hand. "Pffft hahaha... You actually kissed my hand. Are you a fairu tail knight, Sir Gadreel?" She shook her head slightly and pulled her hand back.
"Oh so you want a demonstration well..." An evil grinned formed as she spoke. "I can...." She quickly grabbed him and threw him over the edge of the roof. A blink of an eye later, she appeared beneath him to catch him. "...Do this."
Meti
"It was. But it was better because it was with you." She could feel the sword's will through her. Saturating every tendon and muscle with its power. Utterly controlling her. Making her completely beholden to Katase's whims and desire. She could barely feel her own body as it moved.
But it was more than that. Her very soul had been pulled as deep as it could into the blade. She allowed every border she could to dissolved. To hammer herself into the vastness of Katase's soul. Meti could barely perceive anything that wasn't Katase. Everything was as it should be.
At total peace, Meti performed the practice of self-annihilation. Her hand a hand that was cutting, her body a body that was cutting, her mind a mind that was cutting, her soul a soul that was cutting. The ultimate expression and wish of a sword. And she rested in the embrace of the blade, content in being as indistinct and influenced as possible.
Huang
Incorrigible, huh? With such stubborness, it would be hard to convince the sword that his cooking had to be changed. Well, if he would botch tea too, then he would be truly hopeless. As for the oni, he would tower over even in a sitting position regardless of what form she took. Such height was a rare sight.
"You're welcome. My name is Fenghuang, but just call me Huang." She introduced herself properly.
Purple Heart
Although surprised, she kissed him back with as much passion as she could muster. Her flying got a bit shaky and she bumped into the wall before managing to land back on the roof again.
Only then did the goddess seperate herself from him and break the kiss. She gave him a serious look and spoke to him. "What are your intentions with me?"
IRON=SAKURA
"Yeah, sure!" The purplehead said to both Breeze and Mordred. "I don't really have anything I'm really searching for, but browsing can be fun sometimes too." She said as she walked towards the door. "Lets just have fun and get some cute clothes!"
Molly
Alrighty now that that's settled how about you show me the place I'm gonna work at master." She let go of him and turned around to leave the alley, completely exposing herself to the one she had just pinned to a wall. Was this utter trust in the knowledge he wouldn't lash out at her? Or was the maid perhaps truly insane?
As if that wasn't bizzare enough, Molly had begun skipping on her feet while humming a cheerful melody...
AdjutorGojira:
The monster hunter considered Gojira's apparent eagerness to get in the burger joint, but opted not to say anything about it. Shrugging, Adjutor followed closely behind, shadowing the lizardwoman without thinking much of it, toying with her thoughtmetal in one hand absentmindedly.
Hazel
Hazel's eyes widened as the girl took the kick. As her claws came down, the blond reflexively turned her lower body into smoke, reducing her legs to nothing more than a smoke tail. At the same time, she reached out her hands and touched the girl's arm, encapsulating the girl in ice once more. However, this time, she let her hands rest on the ice, forcing it to cool the girl's body at a much faster rate than before. She might be able to slow the freezing with that technique of hers, but eventually, her body should succumb to her touch.
It was because of this startling brashness that Hazel neglected to consider the cute blond man. Hazel's back hyper extended, writhing in pain from the knives that brutally sunk into her back. "Don't worry, it will be your turn next."
Vanguard
"...Are you mocking me?" He pouted, folding his arms like a hurt puppy. Then, he quickly brought a finger to Sakura's face, almost accusatorily.
"What I'm saying is, if there's something you want to do or say, you'd better do it now. It's no good dwelling or waiting, you'll just end up with more regrets later. Trust me, I'd know. Staying behind the same sheltered walls forever can't be good for your skin. Though i suppose a spell or two might help in that regard."
Lucy
Bah, she got no appreciation anymore. On the other hand, no work! Just as planned?? Well, that just meant she had to find something else to entertain herself with. And, well, she did have an apology to make? Kind of.
So Lucy sauntered off and took the long way around to find the goddess. She needed to be careful about this. Or she might die! How exciting.
After Noire made her declaration Lucy finally made her way into the area, her head bowed low and her face softened into one of regret. "No, you are not. I apologize profusely for making such an assumption. It wasn't my intention to offend."
Grigori
The mage brushed herself off once the other girl let go. It was rather disappointing that the man couldn't manage it himself but the possibilities that such a thing opened up were fascinating. "I wouldn't be so quick to dismiss our friend, Lady Animusphere. After all, being able to learn of a different base of magic in and of itself could be interesting. Especially if it has fields not quite open to us yet."
Saber
Her master was as bad as ever at coaxing information out of people ,already deeming it a lost cause before even trying. Well this attitude was typical of nobles who had everything served to them on a silver platter. It would be rather rude to ignore the question of the one she was holding though. "My name is a secret~ But just for you I'll say it. I'm Brutae, nice to meet you."
Then the blonde Servant gave Grigori a final pat on the head before releasing her. "You give up far too easily master, he still has information you desire." She told Olga telepathically and then set her sights on him, the sorcerer. He was probably having some strange ideas now.
"I wouldn't mind having that taught, acquiring a few gems wouldn't too hard for me." She moved closer and closer, until she was so close she could have choked him to death. That's when she hugged him just as deeply as she had with Grigori.
She leaned in and whispered so that only he could hear. "Red hair is cute too~"
Anastasia
Anastasia knew what her role in this situation should be. Use her magic to support the Pokemon and
create an advantageous situation to exploit. But first, she had to take some precautions. Casting Aegis carried some risk, but if she shielded herself with Aetheric Winds, Oka could focus more on offensive. Before she used any other magic, she focused on that particular spell. She couldn't guarantee complete success, but attempt to minimalize the risk.
Paladin
The freezing chill was almost refreshing to Paladin at this point. As the steam exploded outwards he traced the outside of the hot cloud, moving on the golem-like being the moment he saw an opening.The joints would be most vulnerable, so with his shield up he moved in to flank the pokemon and strike where its arm met its main body.
Molly
"You don't have any big home that you need fixed mmhm? She asked still skipping along the path but makig sure to match the pace of his stride. "How thick is the dust layer, is it millenial?" She inocently asked. Yeah right innocently, as if there was anything innocent about her.
Neptune
Actually itt would be better to conserve this power for later.
A familiar flash of light.
"Silly Gaddy, I said no to the deed. I never said anything 'bout anything else." The goddess bounced in a circle around around him. "And I still have all my memories, no need to act like we're different people. Me and Purple Heart is the same person, she's just a different more serious side of me ya know." This endless stream of dialogue was somehow delivered in a single breath, the goddess only stopping at the end to for some needed air.
"Oh right, you wanted to know what I could do. My awesome transformation makes me really strong and fast but it eat up share energy so fast, and I barely have any here. In other words, the cooldown's really long so don't think I'll spam it." And now she suddenly switched to game terms of all things.
Engetsu
The demon smiled and nodded, taking a liter sized sip out of his own cup. Drink sure tasted better in company, that much he couldn't deny."Say, you're pretty big . A large strong stomach needs to be filled with more than just sake, friend." His face was only slightly flushed, but he didn't notice or care. Instead, he gave the oni one friendly slap on the back and the widest grin.
"How about I cook something up for you? Don't worry, I won't charge you. Consider this a welcome gift."
Auspicious Breeze
Aww, there went Mordred and Oren. And Oren had just gotten back, too. That made Breeze pout all curious about what they were going off and doing without her. What if Oren was being naughty and trying to do things with Mordred behind her back, without inviting her?!
Her face was all red and stuff by the time she shook herself out of it and turned her attention back to Sakura. She rubbed the back of her head, embarrassed. "Aahh, right, so! Let's get a head start so we can find nice clothes and show off when they get back!"
Vanguard
"I see. It was a foolish question, forgive my callousness." He excused himself cordially, much like a valorous knight of old ought do. "Though I suppose I cannot say the same of myself. Memory really is a troublesome thing, no matter how you look at it we are all chained to our pasts and futures. If there's any time to act, the present is the one thing any man can change. At least, that is what I used to believe."
Lucy
The blue eyed girl laughed (not at her, Noire would have the feeling that it wasn't) and moved closer before holding out a hand. "I'm Lucy." And bit by bit the goddess could feel that loneliness slowly being chased away. Not gone, but definitely lessened.
Lucy
A curious warmth spread through Noire's body when she held hands with the other girl. "Sure, but don't say I didn't warn you!" Yeah, everything just felt a bit better. Probably because she wasn't nearly as alone as before.
They ended up at a slightly crowded Japanese noodle place. They both had menus filled with all kinds of exotic animals and ingredients as they took a seat in a booth. "I've been to this place a couple of times. It's pretty nice. And they serve wonderful kinds of pudding for desert."
Her voice lowered a bit though. "But I'm pretty certain that most of this new stuff is Cheiron product. They won't say it but there's no way they're hunting enough dragon to make that a house special."
Lucy
Booth was pretty nice. It was clean and the seats were soft, and there were thin walls and a white screen door to provide some privacy if wanted. "Oh, they're like the medical specialist and biology company. They run all the hospitals. And they can do things like give you cat ears or turn you into a chimera if you want."
She popped open the menu on the table and began to point a few of the better meals out. "Oh, but since you asked me a question I'll ask you one. Who's Nep?" Just some genuine curiosity. The Messengers made sure to slowly spike Noire's happiness while they were together. A steady flow of contentment and just general enjoyment while they were together.
"And by the way, I would recommend the chimera dish if you were into variety. Lots of different meats, and the broth actually changes flavor a bit as the seasoning gets into it."
Lucy
Lucy herself ended up choosing a spicy flame salamander ramen. Then she let the waitress come and take their orders before responding. "Hmm, well you could try being more competitive! More so, I mean. After all, if your country becomes massive she would have to start getting into it, right? Unless... well, she isn't a basement dweller, is she?"
Lucy
The girl nodded a bit. Then, almost as if she was aware of Noire's issues, she patted the dark haired girl on the shoulder. "Well, if you've put them in that good of a position I wouldn't worry about it too much! Besides, there's no use in focusing too much on what you can't fix."
The Messengers helped in coaxing away those negative thoughts.
Lucy
"Well, I'm kinda stuck working for my dad." She made a bit of a sour face. "We made a deal a while ago over how I was supposed to handle living and now I'm doing odd jobs for him and stuff. He hasn't called recently so I-"
She was interrupted by the screen door opening and the large bowls of ramen being placed on the table. Noire's had an array of meats of different cuts, all seasoned and surrounded by just the right amount of noodles and an arrangement of vegetables. Lucy's on the other hand was a shade of darker red with its reptilian meat. It was absolutely spicy.
"Mhh, I was saying something... Oh right! So since he hasn't been calling I found work with Master William as his maid. It's been nice so far, but the castle has been getting pretty busy."
Lucy
There was only a slight burning sensation as Lucy took a sip of the broth before chowing down on the meat and noodles. She made sure to swallow first before speaking though. "Well, didn't you see all the guys there? They moved in pretty recently, and they all have some amount of power."
She nodded at the next question as she took a sip from her drink. "Oh yeah, definitely. He's one of the strongest guy's I know. I can count the people on one hand who can actually fight him when he isn't holding back and messing around. Besides, if something bad happened to him I would know."
Chopsticks snapped together as Lucy's utensils neared Noire's bowl. "Master William's pretty fine. He can seem a bit standoffish and stuff but it's because he's got ambitions. Big plans. I can feel it. But uhh, do you mind sharing a bit? You can have some of mine?"
Lucy
The tall girl smiled at the other girl's reaction as she took some food from the goddess' bowl from herself. Ahh, fake chimera, where would the world be without you being served in restaurants? "He's not the strongest person I've met either to be honest. But I think he's strong enough to at least try and get what he wants."
She let out a little snort at the next question though, almost choking on a noodle. "Pffft, nah. Well, probably not? If he is then he's probably the best at hiding it I've ever seen. Considering that I haven't seen him bring a girl around there other than you I'm pretty sure he doesn't play around like that"
Lucy
It didn't take Lucy much longer to finish after Noire. "Ahhhh, well, I did mention the pudding, didn't I? They have about of many flavors of it as they do meat. Wanna get a jumbo multiflavor pudding dessert to share?"
"Oh, and have your eyes on Master William, hmm?" She wiggled her eyebrows. "Well I could see it. He was a bit upset when you left. At me though. Not you."
Lucy
"Hmm, same size or do you want a champion's kind of bowl? And you didn't answer my question~" She finished her last sentence with a teasing, almost sing-songy tune. An image passed through Noire's head of William holding her close.
Lucy
Lucy ordered another bowl with a more traditional beef broth as she returned to the situation at hand. "Ohhh. We're gonna have to make up for that, aren't we? Yes, I have the idea already. William will already probably want to make amends next time you meet, so something nice and romantic should be called for..."
The image was slowly coming together in the twintailed girl's head. Dinner, and compliments, and a kiss?!
Molly
The feeling hadn't faded away at all, it lingered like a shadow in the corner. She had thought talking about the layout would have served as enough of a distraction but it didn't. The feeling instead grew and grew, until she could no longer endure it.
She was so wet.
She had to have him, there was no other way. In a heartbeat her mood shifted, and she leapt at him, wrapping her legs around his waist and her arms around his neck. Gazing directly into his eyes, she spoke with a clearly aroused voice. "Look what you've done to me. You have a choice here. Either you fuck me or I'll have to satisfy myself with you in other ways . So what's it going to be?
Neptune
She actually blinked at that. "You...You wanted direct permission? Don't hold yourself back for little me's sake Gaddy, I'll tell you if you ever cross a line." That felt weird to say. Better go back to shares to clear her head.
"Yeah they go up by helping lots and lots of people and then we get stronger. Not that I wouldn't help them anyway, It would be nice if everyone could wear a smile on their face. Hehehe... sounds like a silly dream doesn't it?" Yet another example of her lung capacity presented itself to him. She must be used to holding long monologues.
IRON=SAKURA
Sakura patted Breeze on the head. "Stop thinking of lewd things and get your mind on clothes!" She exclaimed, grabbing Breeze by the hand and dragging her into the store.
"Hmmmmmm, what should we look at first..." Sakura wondered aloud.
"Let's go look at swimsuits! That's why we originally came here, right?" She said excitedly. Wearing a nice girly swimsuit should be super nice.
Anastasia
There was enough water in the air and magical energy in leylines that if the enemy was vulnerable to ice and cold then defeating it would be trivial. That was however not the case. But still Anastasia formed pillars and spikes to pin down the Pokemon further in order to render the target more immobile.
Paladin
The knight had been prepared for many things. Being telekinetically smashed through a sheet of ice and getting embedded in the wall was not one of these things. He had barely managed to slip his shield back onto his back in time, and that only stopped him from being knocked out.
As he was, a dull pain was blossoming across his back as he groaned. "Oka? Some help would be," he gave a small shout of effort as he tried to free himself, "would be most appreciated once the opportunity presents itself!"
Lucy
Lucy smirked and prodded Noire's red cheek with one of her lithe fingers for a moment. "You're thinking all about it, aren't you? Yep. I'm sure of it. You definitely want something going on with William. And it won't be too hard to set up at all."
The next bowl was set down as the images slowly began to fade. They were still there just not as blatant. Just plain figments of her mind now.
Grigori
Grigori almost snorted at the deals being offered. It seemed like all that you had to do was get attention from the women here was be on the of being kicked about.
"It appears that the risks of having such a familiar is that they can be too clever for your own good, Lady Animusphere. Although I'm not quite sure how you will compromise with your demands. You've all gone a bit too far to just back out now." She waved her hand a bit, floating back to the ground as she called forth a rod of rock from the ground.
Runes hissed as they were carved onto the perfectly smooth surface of the instrument. Perhaps something defensive? She would consider it. "But I suppose it is necessary. We must simply work out the terms of exchange to make sure that there is equivalency. Lady Animusphere, how much is the knowledge that I am offering worth to you?"
IRON=SAKURA
Sakura patted Breeze on the head. "Stop thinking of lewd things and get your mind on clothes!" She exclaimed, grabbing Breeze by the hand and dragging her into the store.
"Hmmmmmm, what should we look at first..." Sakura wondered aloud.
"Let's go look at swimsuits! That's why we originally came here, right?" She said excitedly. Wearing a nice girly swimsuit should be super nice.
Auspicious Breeze
"E-Eh?!" Breeze's face turned kinda red at being caught out on it, but she still smiled at Sakura. "Those two aren't necessarily separate, ehehe." The former gladiator would have winked but she was being pulled around now so the girl wouldn't see it. Oh well!
There were so many clothes here. At least she had Sakura pointing out where they should start. "Hmm... oh, we definitely need to try them on when we find some good ones!" That was always a fun thing. "Let's look for one for you first." She tried to pull Sakura toward ones that she thought would be cute on her. Two-piece ones in pink and red.
Lucy
"Oh yeah, absolutely. You underestimate how much he values you, even after such a short time." She gave a firm nod and an assuring grin. "I'd bet on you!"
Then she ordered the pudding. A variety of relatively small cups filled with different flavors of the stuff was put out. Lucy started eating immediately.
Oren
She blinked. Almost as if the question was confusing to her. "What made you think that?" Then her cheek was rubbing up against the blonde's.
"Mord is pretty cute too! Especially now that she has a tail and adorable scales!"
Paladin
Getting yanked out of the wall was rather disorienting, but Paladin acclimated quickly. Shield at the ready and his sword held firmly. "Oka, you are a skilled leader! Give me commands, and I will execute them to the best of my ability."
Lucy
The tall girl gave a small smile at the tear's streaming down Noire's cheeks. She didn't mention them. Instead she tasted some of the pudding and give the dark haired girl a firm nod. "After all, you're a goddess, aren't you? And not just a goddess but the best of the bunch."
"I wouldn't be too surprised at someone having some faith in you, Noire."
IRON=SAKURA
"Hmmmmm, this one looks nice." Sakura said, holding a pink frilled one up to her chest. It looked ridiculously cutesy and girlish on her.
"Whaddya think?"
Molly
She quickly found herself pressed against a wall as Liam took the initiative back and forced a kiss on her. Liking where this was going, she responded in kind and kissed him back quite eagerly.
The hunter hadn't expected him to take her right here agaisnt a wall in the open, but damn was it hot. It really got her going, someone might see them. Her pussy clenched at the thought and she reached out for his pants, wanting to pull them off but her current position offered no leverage.
IRON=SAKURA
"Yeah, of course I'm gonna try it on!" Sakura said as she bolted into a changing room, and changed at mach speeds. She quickly came out, wearing nothing but the swimsuit and did a pose. "How do I look?" She asked Breeze.
Jasey
Yeah, no. Jasey had lines too, few as they may be. There were some things you just didn't do. Trying to share murders was bad enough, but the rest of that was pretty bad too. It was like getting in a relationship with a zealot!
So without another wasted thought Jasey did the right thing. Also known as run like hell as far as possible from people you want nothing to do with.
Oren
The dark haired girl giggled a bit at Mordred's boldness, playfully returning the kiss. Then she reached under the blonde's shirt. Her fingers traced the other girl's figure for a moment before moving up to tease the Changeling's pert breasts. "You're pretty assertive, huh?"
Lucy
She hummed a bit as she licked her spoon clean of pudding. "So there's no one there that you could trust with keeping the world in order? No siblings or close friends who would have learned from your example?"
Lucy
"Well, you might as well believe that for now. Believe me, there's a lot that hinges on me coming back home in time too! Well, not for the whole world. I'm pretty sure if it came to that they would just... replace me." She sounded a bit sour over that. Sour and bitter.
It was maybe the closest thing that Lucy had been to real this whole time. Maybe. "But we can't worry about things we can't change. Going home should be a concern, but it's not like there's no way to get out of these kinds of things. We just gotta be patient."
Lucy
"Sure! Any idea where? Otherwise I'll just have to take you to some random place." Still they both got up. Instead of paying Lucy just gave the waitress a fist bump and she seemed completely fine with that as compensation. The work of the Messengers.
"Don't worry, this place owes me a few. I can grab a free meals or three every once and a while."
Lucy
"Hmm, I don't think he has any. And if he does then he's definitely not sharing them with me. So sure, let's go buy some? What kinda console do you plan on getting?" She asked as they stepped their way out of the restaurant and made their way to the nearest mall.
Lucy
The blue eyed girl moved over to her new friend and tilted her head at Noire's antics. She just had the Messengers take a quick peek to figure out what was going on. "Huh, I don't suppose that these PS4 things look a lot like those LS4s you were talking about?"
Lucy
Well then, Noire's temper was as volatile as ever. "Hmm, there is this..." She pulled the goddess over to a box. A box that contained a box known as the Xbox One. "Oh and over there is another console." She pointed out some sort of variable and portable device that was called the Switch.
"I don't know too much about games or consoles, so I'm gonna have to rely on you a lot, Noire."
Lucy
She strokes her chin for a bit in an almost sagely manner as she considered the question. "Well, I do like parties. And I do like games. So party games should be perfect! But if we're getting that one then should we get this one too?"
It read Mario Kart.
Lucy
She checked out the box a bit before nodding. "Yep! I love timesinks. This sounds like a perfect one. Just give people some basic tools and something different for the aesthetic and they'll basically save you the trouble of making something interesting yourself!"
"So is that good, or should we get more?"
Molly
"Mhmmmm."
The maid couldn't hold in the moan, although not much was heard since they were still in the middle of their aggressive kiss. Blood, she could taste traces of it, her own blood in his mouth. It turned her on even further, heat was spreading through her body and she squirmed. She wanted it now, but she couldn't get it, he knew what she wanted. That's why he held her like this, keeping her from moving properly, he wanted control.
So she did the only thing she could, glare at him with wanton lust in her eyes.
IRON=SAKURA
"Um, why does it feel like you have different motives here than me, Breeze?" Sakura teased her friend weakly. "I feel like this one would look nice too!" She held up a nice plain white swimsuit, with nothing special about it.
Engetsu
The poor demon had no say in this. From being mercilessly dragged away again to having his own kitchens overtaken, the poor demon learned true despair and left himself in a corner, a dark cloud of anguish looming over him as all he could do was watch. No matter what happened, no matter how good the food tasted, things would never be the same.
You caused this.
Neptune
"I know right? But my friends can't see the greatness in hanging out and keeps themselves locked up with their own business. Especially Noire, she really needs to get out more and get some friends." The purple haired goddess happily replied to him. But it would be best to hold the patrol right now, her protagonist senses were tingling, and they were never wrong. Never. Too bad no one ever believed her.
That only left force as an option. Neptune grinned and began pushing the angel down from the roof by the stairs, she would not be stopped by an obstacle as lame as her boyfriend's consent, they were going. "Hurry up Gaddy, the patrol won't do itself."
Grigori
Well, that was rather anticlimactic. Grigori wasn't too surprised at that result all things considered, but the kiss at least assured her that Brutae was a terrible flirt.
But at least they didn't waste time waiting for Olga to wake up. She woke up as they made their way to the warehouse and they cleared it of the garbage inside.
Surveying their ramshackle building Grigori nodded once. "This is going to take a little bit of work. I don't suppose you have anything in mind for how this reconstruction should go, Lady Animusphere?"
They had already woven enough wards around the site to keep prying eyes at bay. Now they just needed to consider what they wanted out of this.
"Oh, and you didn't win but I think it would be a waste to withhold this from you. Take it." And she held out the now enhanced barrier array to Olga.
Lucy
Well, Lucy didn't actually have a ton of money. But she had hallucinations and that's all that matters in the end. So she just made everyone else ignore this little transaction as she had both the cashier and Noire imagine that she was handing him a bunch of money.
Just needed to keep a Messenger under the floorboards to make sure that would hold. "Alright! Back to the castle, Noire?"
Paladin
With a silent cry Paladin dropped his shield and charged in with his blade, allowing the ice around them to fuse to the blade until it was the size of a zweihander. Then he brought it down on the golem with all of his strength.
IRON=SAKURA
"Um, why does it feel like you have different motives here than me, Breeze?" Sakura teased her friend weakly. "I feel like this one would look nice too!" She held up a nice plain white swimsuit, with nothing special about it.
Auspicious Breeze
"Ehh? What? We're here to try on and show off nice swimsuits!" Breeze's smile was really earnest there. "I just happen to really like seeing you in it too, that's all. You look great."
Then she tilted her head at the white one... what size was it? "Hmm, that one might be nice too. It kinda teases at how awesome your body is without giving it all away."
Grigori
"True, but we must be mindful of attack. I would prefer to either build up or down. My usual agenda involves breaking apart a large area within a runic array and reassembling it." She formed a basic illusion for both ideas.
One was a sleek building built within the warehouse, leaving the former building a basic shell. When needed the building could draw upon internal arrays and fly and had enough illusory magic infused into it that spotting it would be difficult.
The other was a dungeon. It went deep into the earth, a series of halls and rooms that could be collapsed at will. And a central array near them that could rearrange the structure of the base.
"Of course, as you said we should be inconspicuous. Those are longer term projects; what we should do now is begin the reinforcement and resource mining here."
Eventually her eyes caught onto Olga's little looks and she smirked. "Ah, but thinking about it, my gift might have been a little too generous. A kiss should suffice for compensation."
Her cheeks were a little rosy. She ignored them.
Neptune
The purple haired goddess nodded at his explanation, seemingly clinging to every word the angel said. In actuality she was checking the stores they moved past on their patrol. Maybe one of them had retro games. So far she hadn't seen any, but with her luck it was just around the corner. Then something caught her eyes. It was indeed a game store, but more importantly was the pair women walking out of it.
"Howdy there Nowa! Did you get so lonely you snuck all the way here to find some friends, Aha I get it. You bribed her with games so she would hang out with you!" The goddess shouted at them excitedly, not even caring about any of the pedestrians near them.
Grigori
The kiss was, well, it was nice. This whole situation was proving to be rather pleasing. Then she held out her hand and began to carve an array right into the ground.
"This won't be much of an issue. Drawing power from a leyline is only limited by the capacity of the mage and the lengths the limitations of the line. An array can do this far more efficiently." Symbols blazed into existence rapidly and soon the ground was covered in them. The mage did this with practiced ease as the runes quickly began to increase in quantity.
"Now, what you should know is that runic arrays are ultimately limited by surface area. How many runes can you inscribe onto an area is ultimately the major limitation for this art. What I've laid out right now is painfully basic and inefficient." For one such as herself at least.
She held out her hand and an image appeared before them. Not anywhere far but right in front of them. Grigori had magnified a certain area of the circle and with masterful finesse began to rapidly carve more symbols into the ground. So small that they seemed to be tiny grooves in the space between circles. Her hand shifted and a barrier wrapped around the surface of the array.
"To make something worthy of yourself you must go very small, and you must be very careful. A single fracture would result in the mana being trapped before exploding out of the array. I'll teach you the actual runes on another occassion."