I honestly think I'm going to insert a cliffhanger every chapter. Oh, wait, perhaps just introduce the next female character every time. Just, '...and stood there was Shiori.' But honestly, that would be boring. Should be something like ...' stood there was Shiori, holding a _ while _ Keima. THAT'S it! Blanks! I'm such a genius.
Update- No I'm not.
'Konichiwa, Keima-kun!' The shock of that morning was dwarfed by the event triggered by the mail. Kanon blushed as Keima lead her up to the rooftop, leaving the dumbfounded group at the stairs. And within that group stooda familiar figure...
Unsurprisingly, Kanon wasn't the best cook, but Keima understood her busy schedule enough to not question it. However, what he would like to question was the apparent friendliness given off by Kanon, who forgot of her conquests several months back. She should be only mildly attached to him.
Their eating was a rather quiet affair, interrupted only by Kanon offering some more, and Keima wordlessly taking said food. All the while, Kanon occasionally sneaked a glance at Keima, likely judging his reaction, while Keima looked out at the track field. As expected, he had other things on his mind, but managed to give off enough presence to satisfy Kanon.
Finally, both were done eating. Hesitant, Kanon finally broke the ice.
'Did Keima-kun not like me to invite you? Because if you didn't want to, you didn't have to do so, beca-'
She was cut short by Keima touching her cheek briefly, causing her to steam from her head.
'Just some rice.'
Rather than eating the grain, Keima wiped it off, but Kanon was unable to see that while she hid her face in embarrassment, with a mix of elation. 'Nakagawa.' She looked at him with a bit of disappointment. 'Keima-kun, it's okay to call me Kanon. It's not fair for you.'
Unfortunately, Keima would have to decline. This was an unknown case for a former capture to return to him.
And if Keima finished a capture, but a obvious attack on him was made afterwards, something was certainly wrong. Lingering feelings were to be expected, but not to an extent of pursuing him directly.
Thus, he instead ignored her request and instead avoided by asking her a question. 'Nagakawa,' A flash of hurt showed on her face. 'is there a reason for your bento?' And yet, another blush. One would wonder if she didn't develop chronic blushing because of him. 'I thought Keima-kun might enjoy my company for just a little bit.' Suspicious. She looked at him with warm auburn eyes.
'I know Keima-kun has been busy lately.' He narrowed his eyes. She shouldn't know about his recent captures. And he hasn't been given any work from school that required him to actually participate. He felt his PFP in his pocket. Nor had any notable games been released yet to cause him a lack of proper sleep. That is, yet. He decided to question her motives for a bit.
Kanon blinked. As Keima slowly reached for his glasses, every inch he neared his glasses her face glowed more and more red. And when he finally took them off to clean. An angelical image of Keima had suddenly been revealed.
(Just saying, if you already hate this story, and by the way, keep your opinions to a minimum, then you have the oppurnituty of skipping the hell that awaits you by going to Chapter 27 to skip the first, horrendous arc, and Chapter 28 to skip the gut-wrenching second arc. You have been warned. Apologies and all that for my jumbled story, but. . . .)
His eyes had looked down as if in deep thought, while, a slight breeze pushed his hair to a side, revealing smooth skin and a slight redness to his cheeks due to the cold. He was perfect in that moment, and if anyone had ever thought of Keima as a Otamegane, those beliefs would have been instantly changed by his total brilliance and beauty. It was as if though his glasses were his outward public mask, to protect and cherish that precious charm. As he delicately polished his glasses, his every movement seemed purposeful, comparable to a professional in any subject, gracefully and carefully, but still with love and care, fondle his treasured spectacles.~~~
Whilst Kanon had been in utter bliss, Keima carefully judged her reaction in turn. No signs of guilt were seen. It was still possible that she had agreed with someone for her to be arranged to meet with him. Or the unknown party had revealed her previously forgotten capture.
Either way, it was at least shown that Kanon had indeed not changed goals. She still was what he remembered, and had no malicious intent to him. He glanced at her eyes. It seemed that even if he left she wouldn't have noticed. Thus, he grabbed hold of her shoulders and softly breathed into her ear.
'Kanon, I think lunch is almost over."
If there was a shade of pink that could express an extreme mixture of bashfulness, absolute elation, and a small amount of longing, Kanon was certainly glowing in that color. Kanon now truly felt that her constant search for her heartache's origin had been worth it. As she began hugging onto Keima slightly, causing him to struggle a little, she relaxed her hold, but still maintained a strong grip on him. With her eyes closed, she adjusted her body several times, causing Keima much concern over the large amount of body contact.
Finally they released as the bell rang.
'See you later Keima-kun!'
Keima felt relaxed as the door going downstairs closed. Now to consider the entire process of maintaining those high love points. Keima realized that the total encounter had likely caused Kanon to think of him and thus rely in him much more. A scowl. Not the best result. But he would have to push through. Now that he was armed with the knowledge that Kanon simply thought Keima was the object of her affections, he could proceed with more confidence. Kanon's cards have been revealed, and the Capturing God could resume a game of hard to get, and attempt to balance out Kanon's love.
God knows what would happen if Kanon went yandere. He shuddered. Memories of injurious (but not fatal, apparently) electrical blitzes and texts with a horrifying foreshadowing feeling of extreme attachment, and last of all round-the-clock events that were all important gave the Capturing God a chilling sight of the ending if he allowed Kanon too much. Suddenly the fact that Keima could see then finale of a route gave him little pleasure, and much more fear. His PFP buzzed as it received a message. Speak of the devil. And speaking of devils...
She watched him nonchalantly, without a single shred of emotion. But she really wished that Elsi would had followed her. Too bad she had to attend classes, and thus left before the good part. That being said, she probably would have to attend as well, but her doll should work better than Elsi's terrible ones that might as well be cardboard cutouts. Her hagoromo had recorded everything. This would then of course go through much analyzing in the New Hell. Before she left, she gave a final glance, and received a shock.
Keima examined Haqua with a smile. Of course she would have followed him. He noticed her in that small following who were curious towards his lunch date. Looks like her curiosity had gotten the better of her. He cleared his throat.
'Would you have any idea why Kanon seems to be more aggressive than before?'
A valid question. However Haqua looked confused over why he called her by her first name rather than sticking to his cold demeanor. Perhaps he did have some attachment. She nervously turned around and shuffled as if caught doing something she wasn't supposed to. Which was exactly what she was doing. 'I...I thought you might have needed some help.'
This would have been quite a nice gesture, if she didn't have a slight grin that hinted she wasn't exactly planning on bowing down to him. Keima scowled. Although her tsundere characteristic were appreciated in some comedic scenes, serious questions received the same approach and answer. He looked at her with eyes that asks her to try again. Disappointed at her flimsy excuse, he generously gave her another chance to explain. Wait... was she going to-
'It's not like I wants to help you, baka!'
A dark blush now covered her face. She was clutching her hagoromo tightly. This caused Keima to internally raise eyebrows. It would be best to take some guesses and gain some more cards.
'I suppose recording me in my natural habitat is nice,' he sarcastically drawled, while Haqua cringed in embarrassment and fury, 'but I would much appreciate that this only be used for personal need.' This was accompanied by a sly smile. Which was quickly wiped off by a scythe flying into his face. While Keima delicately got up, wincing in pain, he still retained a triumphant smile. Seems that he was right after all. Perhaps what he needed now was to truly understand the reason why he was now being recorded.
While Haqua's temper flared along with her face, Keima picked himself up and dusted off his clothes. He looked down, and sighed. Tsundere attacks came as no surprise, but the pain would always be the bane of his capturing history. As he was about to continue questioning Haqua, his PFP received a message. Perplexed, as Kanon had already sent him a message, he ignored Haqua for a second to see who exactly had sent him a message. What's more, it was on his personal address. The message simply stated:
"Congratulation on being 1 of 7 billion people selected around the world to be part of the Tsunoro Company's 10th anniversary special! Your prize will arrive shortly after this message self-terminates. Please do not use our products for unlawful purposes and/or not credit our company. Thank you!"
-Tsunoro Company Associates & Co.
If this didn't raise eyebrows from the Capturing God, then nothing else would have. The 7 billion portion of the message was obviously a joke on the fact that there was currently about 7 billion people.
And the fact that HE was the one to receive it was even more suspicious. This Tsunoro Company would most certainly be related to the government or Hell. And as Keima always lectured, there was no such thing as a free meal.
He pocketed the PFP. The message was to be destroyed in about three hours, during dinner. Keima grimaced. Not good. Dinner could not be avoided unless he came with the most smooth of excuses. While Keima would not like a scene of whatever was coming his way to cause a scene, he wasn't sure how to make his mother excuse him from dinner, a time that he had been forced to attend ever since he could remember. He looked behind him. Haqua and her scythe were gone as expected. He wondered how exactly could he get him or his mother out of the house. None, at least nothing long enough. Unless...
Café Grandpa
That evening, as Mari Katsuragi was about to prepare dinner, as sudden phone call comes in. She picks up, and a unexplainable face is formed. The best word to describe her face would be a shocked face mixed with sadness. Unexplainable due to her rare emotional outbursts.
Except for when it dealt with her husband. As she placed the phone back, she asks Elsi to take over dinner for that night. As she nods, Mari quickly packs one bag of clothing and states, in rapid succession:
' I'm going to America for your father, apparently he has some trouble. I should be back in two weeks.'
As she drove off in her bike, Keima cast a quiet smirk. Seems that his voice acting skills were still up to par. Not that he enjoyed toying with his mother. He was simply satisfied he had maneuvered her safely (as well as for him).
'Kami-sama, are you hungry?'
Keima looked at Elsi in wonder. How had she come to that conclusion? 'No, in fact I feel as if I will not be eating today. Why do you ask?' She looked down, and looked back in eyes of concern. 'You seem to be making funny faces. I thought maybe you had hunger pangs or something.' They both stared at each other.
Keima seriously wondered if Elsi truly understood his nature, but hunger was taking it too far. Standing up, he walked to her and ruffled her hair.
'Silly bug demon, I was only thinking about something. No need to worry.'
She hesitantly dropped the subject.
'Kami-sama, have you seen Haqua? Apparently she's not with Yukie. Would you have an idea where she went?'
Keima contemplated these words thoughtfully.
'It's most likely that Haqua left for New Hell, as she has some information she needs to report. "Apparently" it's about me. I suppose I should be flattered to be a popular topic in New Hell.'
As of late, more and more of his messages were from New Hell. Perhaps Dokorou hadn't been as lenient guarding his information as she thought, as many were from so called fans of his in New Hell. Their interest was overshadowed by a childish envy of Elsi, who some see as a incompetent partner that shouldn't be in the Spirit Squad in the first place, which caused Keima to be slightly irritated at those superficial devils. However, he calmy replied to the vast majority of those messages with a careful apology and dismissal, especially those devils who seemed suspiciously like Shiori, and admired Elsi as much as Keima and would've loved to join them.
Elsi simply smiled. 'Kami-sama deserves recognition, unlike me, so don't be so shy!' This was critical to her, and Keima did not let that go.
'Elsi, you are more important to me than what you can do. That's simply shallow and one of the reasons why the real is so spiteful. Believe in yourself, Elsi. Because I do.'
A warm smile graced his face, and Elsi enjoyed a gentle pat on her head, happy to know her acceptance.
And as this perfect scene came to play, the message sent from Tsunoro was then deleted, and all hell broke loose.
I personally don't like this chapter. Too much filler and when the plot moves, it gives almost no time for details to finish. But I digress. It's certainly longer than the last chapter, with more plot. But this story is still setting up. And lots of discrepancies, and unexplained plot holes. If you can see them, you are as critical as me.
UPDATE-And the clichés. Don't forget the OOC-ness too.
Statement of the day: You know, perhaps some of you already think of this, but how is the contract to New Hell in that email? All it said really was a challenge, no warning that you are basically signing a death sentence or anything. Either the higher ups are terrible at what they do, or humans don't get the same rights as devils. I don't know.
