Bold for demon speech, Painwheel speech, or similar characters talking.

Bold and Italic for attack names.

Italic for thoughts and flashbacks.

Recommended listening.

The Mojo Radio Gang-Parov Steler.

Michael Jackson- Smooth Jazz Criminal.
John Coltrane- My Favorite Things.

X-X-X-X-X

When Cerebella got back to the Medici Tower it was with a comatose Taliesin who after his defeat was more than likely going to have a lot to answer for. The busty bruiser reasoned to herself that the women he had made into immortal 'works of art' would no doubt be coming back to their normal selves. Good for them, not so much for the Cirque des Cartes who might have more questions than they wanted to explain on their hands.

"To think we actually lost him and Muse all in one fight, just what even is that swing loving detective?" Beatrix was talking to herself, the knife master twirling one of her many stilettos around her finger.

She was fidgeting, something that she did when nervous or thoughtful. Beatrix's way to calm herself was nothing less than using knife tricks. Her current weapon, a butterfly knife of a particularly flashy nature, was twirled in all manner of ways. The clicking of the knife blade hitting its metal casing was soothing to her, not so much to Cerebella who shot her a disgusted glare.

Beatrix noticed the green-haired girl's look and flashed her a cold smirk, her eyes glinting like twin embers from the pleasure she exacted from Cerebella's anger, "Did I touch a nerve? Cassandra?"

"What the hell was all of that?! You interfered, Beatrix! Feng and I could've won if you didn't fuck things up with Taliesin! Whiskers was mine, and you made it more complicated than it had to be!" Cerebella fired back, itching to beat Beatrix senseless for ruining her big moment.

Thefight had grown too complicated for her to really follow, even with her near-sighted focus on Naruto.

That was Cerebella's problem with huge fights, to center herself, she placed a myopic focus on one thing and any distractions to said objective threw her off. It worked well when it was one-on-one matches with her opponents or targets, but entirely useless when she had to fight large groups of foes with multiple allies on her side.

"And now Taliesin is all but useless to the Cirque... well, not really but without Muse he's going to have to struggle to maintain his spot." Cassandra mused to herself, grinning widely at the thought of finally being able to watch the man fall from his high horse. She was still sore from that new loss but at least she was happy at this, "Won't that just be great Feng~? We may have lost Muse, but we can also say goodbye to Taliesin!"

Very few women actually liked Taliesin outside of his appearance, and among a cast of colorful killers and performers it was telling that Taliesin was seen as a dangerous rogue. Their professionalism hadn't gelled with his sophisticated yet disturbing serial-killer nature. He went out of his way to turn women of interest to him in the audience into 'art', after all.

"Vitale will agree, but do you want to tell him?" Feng asked, reminding her best friend and Beatrix of the inevitable chewing out they'd get, but there could be worse.

Cerebella didn't know how she'd play this, or how Vitale would react, but she hoped deeply that he'd see this as some kind of benefit. As it stood, he was furious beyond all comparison, but as she had hopefully predicted he was capable of seeing that there was a benefit at the end.

Sadly, Vitale threw a drink as hard as he could at the wall, breathing deeply and taking off his glasses for a moment, "To think we'll have to call in the entire Cirque and more just to bring down one bastard detective! This is utterly unacceptable, and… father?" while the Medici man took his second to collect himself again, Lorenzo kept staring at something in front of him.

A portrait of a blonde girl smiling, surrounded by her family, "Hm..."

"Why are you still looking at that picture?" Vitale asked the aging man, who without the Life Gem was already starting to look more and more decrepit with every passing day. His hair was beginning to fall out from the constant stress and the fear of an encroaching Grim Reaper. Both in the form of the metaphorical embodiment of death and the one who commanded the dead.

Old as he was, the mob boss crushed the atmosphere with a palpable and cold killer intent which shook his son and the four circus performers, making them feel as if they were staring at an ancient yet deadly beast, "It's been a while since I've seen Filia, Vitale... And you said she was safe and sound, only for me to see her working with the very man you've been after for some time... Care to elaborate?"

His cold tone froze his son who fearfully adjusted his glasses, a nervous tick of his, "I-I didn't believe it the first time I saw her, but..."

"Enough of your lies!" Lorenzo snapped, spitting on his desk as he did while Black Dahlia readied her arm's grenade launcher, "Filia was missing all this time, the one true heir to my throne, and you just happened to not let me know because of what!? Explain yourself without stuttering!"

Vitale inhaled swiftly, keeping his cool by forcing ice to run into his veins.

"I apologize, father. After her parents died, Filia simply disappeared. All we have to go on and have had for a year or so now, is this picture."

He nodded to the side, Black Dahlia had been rescued but was still clearly in disrepair. While Naruto had been distracted, Parasoul's convoy had been attacked by the other Cirque des Cartes members. During the ensuing chaos, the Medici had recovered their men and their cyborg enforcer, but not without Parasoul's fury and focus now fully mustered against them. They were in a bad situation, and Lorenzo's anger didn't help them much. Black Dahlia tossed down a picture of a black furred dog that a blonde girl with a beautiful yet arrogant frame was hugging to her body.

"This dog we believe was host to a parasite. When her parents died, it transferred itself to her body, saving her life at the cost of taking her memories." He explained as smoothly as he could, he was treading with utmost care on this matter. At this grief-inducing news, Lorenzo collapsed in his chair, staring at the picture with a mournful glower.

"My granddaughter doesn't even remember the faces of her family? And you say it's because a parasite took her memories…Eliza!"

A thick curl of smoke was blown from ruby red lips upon their owner being called. Sitting in the darkest corner of the room, atop a portable golden throne, the wicked songstress was smoking from a cigarette holder. Like all of her valuable possessions, it was gold and had a distinct alligator motif with its scaled design and the jaws of the Nile dweller as the grip for the cigar that she smoked.

Eliza drolly emptied out the dregs of her cigar into a bronze ash tray held by Horace. The woman wore a heavy black trench coat currently held in Albus' arms, dark sunglasses and a black business suit. When forced to deal with the Medici, she dressed accordingly. Looking all the world like a mafia gang leader herself, the only ostentatious part of her clothing was the outrageously expensive fur boa she wore around her neck, white silky mink fur inlaid with gaudy yet beautiful jewelry.

"What is it Lorenzo? You think that I was behind the parasite transferal?

Only Eliza could speak so openly and with zero lack of respect, the blackmail that was used to keep her in line annoyed her but all in the room knew how dangerous she truly was. Albus flicked on a silver light that was modeled to resemble a scarab, its wings parting to emit flame which lit up a fresh cigar for her.

"You're the only one here who knows every single parasite in the world! Tell me, what do you even make of this Eliza!?" Lorenzo demanded, the woman narrowed her eyes behind her sunglasses at his arrogant voice, before the fresh memory of Naruto bonding so splendidly with Muse crossed her mind.

She chuckled softly, reveling in the thrill that entered her heart. Muse was a darling Remote Parasite, one of her favorite play things in past centuries. What aroused her in more ways than just sexually, was the pleasant being a romantically inclined parasite that Naruto no doubt would bed inevitably.

She didn't remain silent for long and eventually answered the man's questions, "Well, well, well…where do we begin? Let's see…The dog was host to Samson; he holds a particular grudge against me for…past events~! I would advise simply trying to remove him from Filia, I know a few methods for safe extraction that won't kill her. And as for Muse, well I would advise you to consider letting Little Taliesin gain a replacement. He has enough instruments to make a false Muse, yes?"

The psychopathic bard fumed next to a frowning Cerebella. In front of a crowd of hardened mafia and assassins, Eliza had lied glibly about any form of safe extraction. And not a single one was more the wiser for her smooth-talking lies. Albus and Horace shared a brief look. The bird-like man's glasses flashed in a short glimmer. Albus could only snicker to himself, his voice coming out in a wheezy chuckle.

Once a parasite had fully bonded with its host, only the death of said host or the parasite willingly leaving would allow for extraction. Needless to say, the latter would result in death almost all of the time unless done very carefully and slowly. As Muse was a remote parasite, she was free to break her contract or leave any partner she so chose without killing them. The only cost being the loss of the alterations she had done to their body.

And with that breach, the eventual dissolution of what they had accomplished.

Cerebella stepped forward, unwilling to let an unfavorable account take place, "Sir, can I please give my own advice? I know the detective personally and have met your um, granddaughter as well."

Lorenzo took Cerebella in briefly, coughing softly from the exertion of raising his voice, he motioned for Vitale to decide if she could speak or not. As she worked directly under his son, she was his responsibility and subordinate. The acrobat spoke her mind when Vitale acknowledged her with a nod.

"Why should we give Taliesin a second chance?! It'd be easier to recruit Whis- the detective by capturing Filia and using her to force his cooperation! We could see about returning her memories, right?!" She argued her point, using Filia as a means to try and convince Lorenzo.

The old man closed his eyes wistfully, clearly eager to regain his granddaughter by any means necessary. Eliza noticed that Cerebella had, in a manner of speaking, actually challenged her.

"Ho ho! You dare backtalk to me like that? Me? I am Eliza!" Eliza pulled her cigar holder out and blew out a smoke ring, before piercing it with a smoke arrow.

Cerebella clenched her jaw and looked her square in the eyes, "You're a dried-up old mummy, and I can take you out if I have to!"

Eliza's lungs inhaled a mighty gulp of smoke, which she blew out in a thick stream of fine grey cloud. She didn't seem to notice Cerebella's insult, although if one paid close enough attention to her face her eyes tightened from barely restrained fury. Albus and Horace flanked her as Eliza continued to smoke.

Cerebella wasn't intimidated by the silent treatment she was being given, until Eliza's lips twisted into a shit-eating grin, then she froze up. There was so much malice and hate in that toothy leer that she felt like a frightened rabbit in front of a ravenous wolf.

Eliza glared at her as her features briefly bled out, Sekhmet's yellow and black iris replacing her blue before they switched back, both sets of eyes looking at the acrobat with utter contempt, "Get out of my sight. You waste my time. Time with which I can better spend more valuably on things worthy of it."

"You dirty-" whatever Cerebella wanted to say was finished by Eliza blowing a thick cloud into her face, prompting a coughing fit as the acrid smoke brought her eyes to tears, "Gak! Kaaff…! Ackaak!"

Eliza's cigarette holder spun in her hand, a gold flicker of movement as her other hand daftly snatched the cigar out of it with the fluted tip pressed alarmingly close to Cerebella's neck. Waving her cigar around carefully, Eliza spoke condescendingly to the acrobat.

"Don't you dare speak back to me you little brat. I've skinned men and women greater than an insignificant ant like you for far less grievances than boldly insulting me. I once wore robes made from the flayed skin of entire families and marveled at the softness of baby skin gloves. And if you dare to think you're worthy of my time I shall show you how wrong you are."

"I'd like to see you try..." the green-haired bruiser growled with equal hatred.

All were distracted from the confrontation about to brew when Taliesin kicked the door to Lorenzo's office open and stormed out, his expression murder incarnate. Vitale narrowed his eyes at the petulant display, his displeasure shown through how the crow's feet already scratching at his face tightened. Lorenzo steepled his hands, glancing at Cerebella, the acrobat clenched her fist at the show of disrespect shown.

"Well, I see that this one is going to be an utter delight." Eliza bit onto her stogie, moving it through her plump lips before she put it out against Albus' opened palm after one last succulent puff on it. "Lorenzo, do you have anything for me to indulge myself with?"

Her question was only for the sake of seeming politeness. Cerebella rolled her cap around and placed Vice Versa back upon her head in a silent threat and to show the older woman she wouldn't back down. Both had shown their hatred for one another, the crime lord knew it. Thus, he decided to get to the point.

"Simply do as you must to recover my granddaughter Filia. All of you, get her back or I'll make sure death is a fate kinder than what I shall do to all of you!"

In response to the honest plea, the woman smiled like a crocodile with her teeth exposed and glittering like diamonds, "Whatever you ask for, Lorenzo." She got up, Albus and Horace draping her coat over her shoulders as she tossed the cigar into an ash tray, "Just remember, Samson is mine after I'm done separating him from Filia~!"

She turned her back, then she twisted her head about, it was to flash that monstrous grin at Cerebella. As she walked out, Horace stayed back, politely closing the door with a careful glance from side to side to make sure they weren't being rude.

Several seconds passed, Lorenzo steepled his fingers, Cerebella coughed as she waited with Feng for a few awkward moments. Pulling out his pocket watch, Vitale checked the time.

"They should be outside any second now." He told the two mafia enforcers, Cerebella pulled Vice Versa over her eyes, hiding them from view. Feng rotated her limbs around her body, preparing herself for the chase ahead of her.

"Go." He commanded the second they heard a loud car drive away, the two rushed out the door and through an open window to chase after Eliza on the roof tops of New Meridian.

Cerebella glanced up at the full moon that beamed down on them, its silver countenance only reminded her of a lollipop. Because of that, an image of the tired bewhiskered man came into her head. Her fists clenched as her thoughts instantly turned to the detective that occupied so much of her free time and memories. As they darted across the roofs, more and more the thought of Naruto frustrated Cerebella. She couldn't stop herself tonight, especially after she had her fight interrupted again.

The two watched the lively city below them, Feng bit her lip as she watched Cerebella mutter to herself, "Can't get you out of my mind… What the hell are you to me Whiskers? Bastard, bastard, bastard… How dare you cheat on me?"

"Cassandra," Feng called out to Cerebella, who grinded her heel against the rooftop they were on. Each stomp was made in thought of the detective, imagining him below her feet while she dominated his face and made her lick her boots enflamed her, "Hey, Cassandra?"

"Stupid! Jerkass! One kick, one stomp, and you~" a grin passed her green lips, the thought of punishing him for his treatment of the Medici flowing through her mind. She wanted to keep indulging this twisted desire to dominate him, to punish him, to make him worship her like a dog.

"Cerebella!" Feng was shouting at her, frustrated as Cerebella's heel kept tapping out a steady beat on the roof.

"Ack!" Feng's voice finally broke through Cerebella's imagination, the images of Naruto and his complete submission to her fading so fast she wanted to catch the fragments.

Feng facepalmed herself silently, before she gave her best friend and roommate a nod, "Focus Cerebella! We're on the job! And we have to follow that spooky singer!"

Feng shivered at the thought of Eliza. She was terrifying to the Dragon Empire illegal immigrant. Just the thought of Eliza and her twisted expression filled her with fear. Following her was bad enough.

Cars zoomed past, people wandered below her, music played from club to club, and the sounds of New Meridian helped eliminate Naruto's image from her brain. She thought to herself on acrobatic autopilot, launching herself skywards and onto a water tower, Vice Versa gripped the top of the tower, allowing for her to perform a flawless handstand.

'Best watch your buttocks, Whiskers, I'm coming after you the second I'm done tailing the bloody bitch! Better not cheat on me anymore than you already have, jackass!'

Vice Versa hurtled her body across a great distance once she tilted herself forward, Feng grappling over with her using a thrown chain with an iron claw at the end. One way or another, they'd find that man and beat him senseless.

X-X-X-X-X

Spitting out the lollipop stick in his mouth and landing it squarely into the trash bin of his office, Naruto's mind thought on his next move. Pulling a stack of papers Parasoul had been kind enough to grant him, a cup of fresh coffee in one hand, and the company of his allies, the blond detective thought about his next move. Rough sketches were being made by Filia, his plump assistant wanted to really prove herself with her drawing skills. Once she finished, she placed pictures of the faces not even the Black Egrets could get any dirt on. The bizarre woman who wanted revenge, the face hidden behind Eliza's flesh, and silhouettes of mysterious people he wanted to meet to get clues such as the mysterious daughters of his odd client.

"Ladies, parasites, here comes the boring and annoying part of being a detective," with a heavy sigh, he opened folders and went to the board to pin and link with pictures colored string. "What have we got so far and what are your ideas on it? Filia, be a dear and take notes."

"On it," the girl chirped.

"There's a lot we need to put together..." he groaned, letting his body go limp on his chair.

"Want me to tuck you in?" Nadia asked without malice. She could see he had done a lot even before the ridiculous idea of recruiting her to work for Parasoul, "You've certainly worked hard to earn your pay."

"I'll be fine," he retorted as he took off his coat.

"Naru-"

"Nadia, you know I won't just sleep in…" he sighed as he looked stared at the mess currently piled up in his office apartment. Rolling up his sleeves, he said to the girls, "Alright, cleanup and management comes first..."

Soon, all the ones present in the office were organizing stacks of paper, trash and souvenirs Naruto had accumulated over the years. As they did, the group also put together a map in a foamboard complete but not limited to pictures and sketches of their new and old acquaintances involved in his intertwined cases, theories, and notes he had taken.

Filia prided herself in helping the most since cleaning after Samson and keeping the parasite in line was no easy task. However, by thy end of the day, the group was back to the same problem they were in from the start: they lacked a clear idea of motives and the scope and number of other players. All while still cleaning up his messy office.

"We got the mafia, the nobles, a crazy mother, that bitch Sekhmet, the nurse, and the Skullgirl herself all wanting something out of the other, us, the private dick, and who knows what else..." Samson summed up with a feather duster in a tendril to clean some cobwebs. "I've heard detective novels have conspiracy theories that are twisted and crooked like Sekhmet's idea of fun, but this takes it to a whole other level."

"If we try to simplify it from my perspective..." Squigly started while moving boxes to a corner. "This all started with a power... Um, what was the term?"

"Vacuum, milady, a power vacuum," Leviathan told her. "Yes, the Medici were struggling with the death of their only rival and plenty of gangs wanting a piece of the pie. They mercilessly ended them, of course."

"Through all their shady deals until Parasoul's family stepped in and... we know the rest," the blond man added with a sigh. "Our new friends come in when a new power player – the Skullgirl – has arrived to do her thing. Of course, this isn't like the typical cliché movie about anti-capitalism where the bad guy is some rich idiot saying it's all just business. Power corrupts, and the people who've had a taste won't let go of it or give it up. Question is, what will they do with that power?"

"We know for a fact the Skullgirl wants to accomplish her wish," Samson said.

"And she's been targeting the Medici according to all files the princess sent us," Filia added while placing folders in order on his desk.

"So, we're about to see either a power vacuum or the fall of either of the two biggest powerhouses in this world: the kingdom or the mafia," Naruto added. "Our other friends want the power for their own gain or some other ulterior motives... Okay, we've summed it all up."

"Unfortunately, it answers nothing," Nadia pointed out while crumpling useless papers into balls to toss into the trash. "Like, what other crazy people are there playing here?"

"Thankfully, Parasoul gave us a good map," Naruto said, never leaving the foamboard as he tied up a red chord around several pins on a map, creating a web with a center. "And now we got a center where every attack on the mafia crosses paths."

"A... cathedral?" Filia asked in surprise.

"It's worth looking into," he told her. "Survey the area for possible attacks. We also have more sightings of the Medici searching for something, and I'm betting dollars to donuts it's the Skullgirl or our friends. A good chance says it's all of them with Eliza on her way."

"We have a place to investigate, then!" Filia cheered.

"No, we got a lot of cleaning up to do," Naruto sheepishly told her. "After that, we can't be idiots."

"Like Hell!" Samson snapped. "We ought to find the bastards involved and-"

"Get ambushed or trigger a trap?" Naruto retorted. "No, something big is about to happen. Triggering it earlier would be a good way to lose all our leads and suspects. I say... Let them all come to us."

"By having them converge in the same place..." Squigly gaped and the detective shrugged.

"Hey, under this handsome exterior there's some neurons," he chortled.

"And lots of modesty, too," Nadia cheered.

With that out of the way, there was one question by Filia, "So... We still have to clean up?"

"At least to pass the time before we check one last place, yes," he said, winking. "It's partly a hunch, but mostly more than just an inkling. Feel free to take your time, we don't need to be there soon."

So, they did, cleaning his office and throwing theories which Naruto either dismissed or put on a maybe list. Nadia had taken a nap, her parts huddled under a collection of his clothes and a few spare blankets. Having been in several fights and doing work all day she had lazily decided it was time to sleep. Unwilling to say no to his long-time best friend and less willing to argue with her, Naruto had folded like a wet deck of cards in the face of her yawning.

"Wake me up when you're done~" Nadia split, literally.

Her body fell apart with her head rolling underneath a large blanket, she hid herself cozily underneath one of his old jackets. His scent brought a deep purr out of her, and she soon fell asleep. Each snore made the jacket flutter slightly while her limbs hid underneath the collection of blankets.

Squigly was content to organize his records and clean them while she was at it, surprising them all, "You really have too many albums, I'm just a little jealous, Detective Naruto. Where and how did you find the money to afford all of these? Oh, this was one of my favorites, too!"

Leviathan spun a record in his mouth and handed it to the girl as she polished it. She admired it briefly before she gave it back to Naruto. This particular one was one of his favorites, a glossy black record that possessed a golden label.

"J. Coal. My Favorite Things. A classic." Naruto commented to her approvingly, clearly pleased by her interest in his passion.

Squigly hesitated, for a moment but it was clear what her thoughts were. It was hard not to notice her expectant expression, or the girlish twinkle that lit up like a bursting star in her eye. She wanted something and Naruto had an inkling about what it was. Zombie hips shook excitedly, eagerly, from side to side and the detective was hard-pressed to not stare. The undead woman had a booty that could shatter the earth.

"Can I use your record player?" Squigly asked despite moving closer to his gramophone with the record in hand, eager to listen to the smooth jazz.

His hand went up and gave her a thumbs up. Placing the record on the player, when it started to spin, the lilting sounds of jazz echoed throughout the room. Her tinkling laugh came out next. Clapping her hands in rhythm to the stirring saxophone intro, she moved her hips to the beat, her good eye closed in delight.

"Good to see you in a good mood," he chortled lazily.

"I haven't heard this music in too long. The soul of New Meridian has always been jazz and always will be jazz! How can I ever repay you for letting me remember the music I loved!"

Scratching his chin in mock thought, the detective pretended like he didn't know what to ask for as he said, "Want to sing for us as payment?"

Naruto had a sly grin, his hand holding out Muse. She transformed immediately into her cello mode, and he begun to play a steady background beat. The remote parasite hadn't been a part of a jam session in many years. It had been so long she was already bobbing her own head up and down in anticipation of the music that was already starting to be played.

Leviathan looked at his master and partner, who had a glistening look of joy in her good eye, he didn't have it in a single segment to deny her when she gazed at him with hope pure and bright, "Ahem… If you say you wish to, we can put on a private show. By all means milady."

"It's been too long…but I remember how this one goes… Girls in white dresses with blue satin tresses~!" Her voice emerged out of her sewn together mouth in a melodic chord which struck the air with passion. "These are just a few of my favorite things! Raindrops on roses, and whiskers on kittens!"

"Get into it!" the detective cheered, hearing his partner Filia clap behind him.

"Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens! Brown paper packages wrapped in strings~!" Squigly's hips bounced from side to side and shook itself as the melody filled his apartment jubilantly.

For that ever so precious moment in time, she felt like she was human once more, and her companions knew her as she was then. Sienna Contiello sang for the first time in a decade, the sound of which was enough to bring Naruto to tears. Muse helpfully reached up one arm up and pulled his hat over his eyes, hiding them from view as he continued to play her. Her arms going back to their former position.

"These are a few of my favorite things~!" She paused only to take a breath unaware she no longer needed to, and then continued her song. "Cream-colored ponies and crisp apple strudel, doorbells and sleigh bells and schnitzel with noodles~! Wild geese that fly with the moon on their wings~!"

Filia couldn't help the warm smile she felt. The joy Squigly felt was infectious. Before long everyone in his office was doing something to accompany his record player. Filia played strands of her hair like a harp. Samson tapped a table with a pair of tendrils to simulate drums. If they listened closely, they could hear Nadia's purr somewhere in the middle of the pile of blankets and clothes. Squigly kept singing, her hands clasping together tightly and her one good eye squeezed shut.

"Snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes~! Snow white winters that melt into springs~!"

Naruto strummed against Muse's cords, his head bobbing a bit to the beautiful song. Seeing Squigly smile was worth this slight distraction. And he knew that Filia felt the same.

"When the dog bites! When the bee stings! When I'm feeling sad… I simply remember my favorite things and then I don't feel….so bad~!" Squigly concluded the song just as the record ended.

He took it off his phonograph and stashed it away into its sleeve, "Alright, that was a good break, people, but we still got to get this presentable…"

"Thanks for the cheering up session, though," Squigly chirped.

Several minutes passed by as they continued cleaning things up.

"Naruto?" Filia grew ever bolder.

She stopped calling him Mr. Detective and finally called him by his first name. He wasn't sure what she was clearly doing. She wasn't bold enough to show off her body or have him touch her, but she wasn't as shy about her interests in him.

"Yeah, Filia-chan?" he asked her back, looking up from the records.

He didn't bother making any questions, he had to get himself ready and presentable. A loud snore brought their attention to the newest occupant of his home, now that she was done with her nap. He didn't know whether to be thankful that Nadia was with him again or not. Filia looked more than a little upset when his attention was stolen by said certain feline's body part. A disembodied hand crawled out of the corner of his eye.

Sighing, he picked it up and locked his fingers with the sharp claws of the dusky skinned paw, "Good morning, Nadia."

Opening one eye, he saw Nadia Fortune's body parts start to crawl out from the clothing and blanket pile she had slept under.

Reaching down with her hand crawling onto his shoulder and perching itself there like something out of an old comedy horror show, he picked up her head as it was the second thing to emerge.

"Good morning! I slept like the dead, well, deader than dead. Hehe~. It's wonderful living with you again!"

"Do you think Squigly will take offense to that joke?" he retorted, turning to said singer.

Looking at them curiously at first, the zombie girl smiled politely, "I do not mind, she is not malicious, just... playful, I'd say."

He tossed the thief's head up, catching it as her ears flapped like wings, helping her fall. Her parts rolled out one by one, a grim procession of severed limbs that possessed the bouncy zest of life despite their appearance. Filia had to suppress a shiver, forgetting the distraction which cost her an intimate moment with her beloved boss.

"Hello, detective Uzumaki?" they hear a voice from outside.

Filia turned her head around to the front door, where all heard the march of multiple footsteps outside a moment before her heart sank, "I guess work comes before pleasure…"

Naruto finished his report with a flourish, grinning widely as his hat covered his eyes slightly, "Just in time for the Princess, everyone! Look sharp!"

Opening the door, the Black Egrets walked in, flanking every wall and filling Naruto's small office/home to the brim. He wanted to complain, but they would force themselves in regardless. At least he was quick, a man had to be in his own house when around guests. Placing his behind on his seat, he watched as every girl in his party took a spot to sit on before the place was flooded by soldiers. Soon Parasoul arrived with one of the men carrying a throne for her, which she ignored.

She frowned at the man, "Edgar, take that blasted thing away. I told you there's no need for frivolous things like a throne just for a conversation with a colleague."

"For political meetings, business meetings and any and all meetings for the sake of the kingdom, you are not allowed to use any seat but the royal chair, Your Majesty," said the man, saluting her dutifully.

"Once I am queen, I shall burn the bloody seat and the rule for that," she groaned before turning to a man she knew had a joke ready. "Not a word…"

"I'll try," he quipped. "So… We don't have any new clues, but we prepared this chart to inform you of all the little details we've found out and a couple theories of ours. Long story short, whoever's behind this is not dropping the cliché of it being just business like every movie tends to do."

"Meaning a bigger goal than monetary gains, territorial conquest and – I assume – any other material or political reason?" she said more than asked to have some confirmation.

Strumming his chair's arm, he tried to make heads and tails as much as Parasoul, "Let's see, we've got a megalomaniac mafia who are running for their lives, there are plenty of revenge plots for a good book, and several people in the shadows. One of which is the diva Eliza who has a bizarre link with a woman of the church…"

"The Church of Trinity, right?" she asked, then produced a folder which she handed him despite Edgar, a true soldier eager to carry out his duties, trying to do so for her. "We've been digging into the old files of the Canopy Royal Libraries. We've found records which show that every Skullgirl in existence was created and then settled around the area that church is in. Even more suspicious, it's been there before the first Skullgirl was born…"

"Yikes, leave it to you to make me look like a rookie," he chortled.

"Not at all," she said and looked at his foamboard, pointing at the drawn profile Filia made of the same nun who somewhat aided them in their battle with Eliza. "This woman is supposed to be dead… And she has been seen near every Skullgirl according to some reports."

"Why did you never investigate the place, then?" Nadia asked curiously, and Parasoul heaved a sigh.

"Religious grounds, historical importance and the people devoted to it make it impossible to barge there without a warrant. Unfortunately, the problem is that every time a Skullgirl was born-"

"The records had gathered too much dust to be remembered," Naruto explained upon seeing the dates. "Every sighting has a large gap, but this one… It's a lot sooner than all the others. Barely a generation… If I'm not mistaken with my math, they also-"

"Have been using less time to appear," the redhead stated.

Filia was alarmed, "Wait, like, the Skull Heart gets stronger every time it possesses someone?!"

"Seems so," Naruto started, raising a hand to calm her down. "Either that… or someone is forcing it to do its job faster."

"Do you believe someone's behind that thing?" Squigly asked in increasing concern.

"It has a church linked to it thanks to that nun, so I'm going out on a limb and say our grieving mother, a woman who hates the singer Eliza far more than Samson here-"

"Nope, still the champ of hating her guts!" the parasite claimed.

Ignoring him, Naruto continued, "-is using the rotten magic ball of wishes for her vengeance story finale."

"And the two of them are as fond of you as they can be," Samson added, immediately getting yanked by an angry Filia. "Ow! What'd I do?!"

"Unluckily for me, you're halfway wrong in the worst way for me," Naruto grimaced. "Also, our best bet is to find Eliza, use her as bait to lure this nun, and see what happens later while hoping for the best."

"How is that a plan?!" Edgar exclaimed.

Looking at the soldier, Naruto shrugged, "Several times the best plan is to throw everything at the wall in hopes something sticks…"

"Your Majesty, are you sure you can trust this man?" the man asked.

"I do," Parasoul said. "Because so far his logic holds water, and it's the best lead we've had on stopping a Skullgirl besides losing lives in an attempt to kill her."

"We may need reinforcements, though," Naruto told her. "Filia-chan, could you call Dr. Avian for me? Tell him we really need his two best and a lot of luck."

"Yes!" she saluted him and got to dial immediately for the doctor.

"Are you certain?" Parasoul asked. "We're a large group already."

"So are the Medici, and they'll jump at any chance to save themselves," the detective answered. "If I bet on anything, it's that those guys would send fools into Hell barefoot for a single coin. And now they have their necks on the chopping block."

"Fair enough," the princess nodded as she loaded her luger, her sharp-eyed gaze locking onto him as he fit on a new pair of gloves. And put on a fresh hat.

Naruto opened the blinds for his office, looking at the moon hovering in the black starless sky with his gathered allies and friends, "It's going to be a long night ahead of us. Let's get while the goings good."

"We're finally bringing the fight to those pieces of rancid kitty litter. I'm feline fine and spitting to go!" Nadia told him while assembling herself.

That night would be one night to remember. That was for sure.

X-X-X-X-X

I am beyond sorry for the insane length between this and Life is Cosmic updates. Long story short, I got into university, and my time for free writing evaporated. This is by no means something I was unprepared for, but with Covid-19 and the loss of my muse for a while until now, I found myself unable to write.

My trusted beta and dearest brother from another mother, the long suffering The Swordslinger has been busy as well, and it's only recently that the two of us were able, and healthy enough to work together properly.

I hope this chapter finally arriving, this apology, and the promise of a new Life is Cosmic will make up for the exhaustive wait.

On that note, on the advice of several correspondents, and my own developing skills as a writer, I have taken the pain-staking task of rewriting much of Life is Cosmic.

The overflowing amount of OC's was deemed unnecessary, and we decided to cut several of them out. They only existed for the sake of filler space. The ones we liked the most, we decided to keep. As of this update, every chapter from 1 all the way to 11 have been rewritten to fit the story better.

We'll be rewriting 12, 13, and 14 and when that's done, it'll come with the newest chapter of Life is Cosmic!

Less OC, more Life is Cosmic! We both appreciate your patience, and hope you enjoy our work to come.

And now some words from The Swordslinger.

Swordslinger here: in all honesty, I'm just glad we got this done and hope the finale for this story isn't as far away as the wait for this chapter to come out. Thanks in advance for all your patience once we get to the ending as best we can.