Bell and Ryuu jumped from rooftop to rooftop, this way they could move fast through the city and avoid being spotted. After she had told Bell what that criminal organisation did, he was fire and flame to help her.
The part that made Bell angry the most, was that they were targetting young women, his dream to be a hero and help those in need was strong as always.
"Ryuu?"
"Yes?"
"I know it is a bad timing...but the room and the bed are finished tomorrow."
"Oh!...G-Good too know!"
"Y-Yeah."
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That meant, that tomorrow Ryuu would have the chance to move into the Heart Mansion. Until now she only stayed over some nights, Bell´s room was quite big, but not big enough for the two of them to live together. So Hestia had commissioned a remodel of one of the bigger rooms to the Goibniu Familia, who had also remodelled the house in the first place. They had torn the wall between a big and a smaller room down, bricked up on of the doors, so that Ryuu and Bell had a room together, that was three times the size of Bell´s old room and nearly six times the size of Ryuu´s old room.
Ryuu had seen the room once, while the work was still ongoing, Hestia was at her side.
"Lady Hestia...I am very grateful to you...but isn´t that room too big? I mean...it is just Bell and me."
"For now."
"Hm?" Ryuu looked at Hestia a bit confused.
The small goddess smiled motherly. "Ryuu...I´m sure somewhere in the future you two will need room for someone else."
"Oh, you mean..."
"I know this is something between you and my little Bell...I just thought it would be a possibility."
"Thank you...I mean it."
"Not for that."
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Ryuu and Bell had talked for a while about their living situation. Bell didn´t want to leave his Familia and Ryuu didn´t want to leave her friends. The solution in the end was quite simple.
After Ryuu had talked with her friends and Mama Mia about her problem, every single one had looked at her confused.
"Ryuu...you are married...of course you should live with your husband!" Runoa was the first that reacted.
"Are you stupid, nya? Go run to your husband!"
"Ryuu, you will still work here won´t you, Meow? So go!" Ahnya had made a gesture as if she wanted to wave her away.
"Geez...sometimes I wonder if you got smarter in all those years...you don´t have to live in the dorm you know?" Mia shook her head.
"B-But..."
"Ryuu what is the problem? My room also isn´t here, you know?" Syr tilted her head in confusion.
"Your room will still be free if you want to sleep here from time to time, when you girls play your card games all night again...but I agree with them, go and live with your husband Ryuu...but don´t you dare be late for work!"
"Thank you, everyone!"
"Haaa...my little Ryuu moves in with a man...and that where they have been married for just three months!" Syr hugged Ryuu overprotective. "You grew up so much!"
"S-Syr..."
All of them, except Mia, promised Ryuu to help her carry all of her stuff to the Heart Mansion once she could move in...but since all of her things fit in four large bags...that wasn´t necessary.
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Syr had helped her to pack her things. "Ryuu?"
"Yes?"
"Nervous?"
"Yes..."
"Hehe...you´re so cute. You always get monosyllabic when you are nervous."
"I-Is that so?"
"Of course!" Syr grinned.
"Oh and don´t worry, I will deliver your new clothes to the Mansion."
"New clothes?"
"Mhm!" Syr had that...special look in her eyes.
What is she planning?
"What are y-"
"Oh you will see when the time comes!"
She has way too much fun making new clothes for me...
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Ryuu and Bell looked forward to her moving in, but they were also nervous. Spending much time together...seeing the other as the first thing in the morning, that was nothing new for them...also sharing a bed. But...sharing "their" bed...it was...something else. They were a married couple, but there were still some times where they were shy around each other. Especially that one night, where Ryuu had discovered that for some reason, her sleeping wear was gone from her bag and instead the special white shirt that she got from Syr was inside.
She had no other choice than to sleep with that shirt, it was very comfortable and felt good on her skin but...Bell´s eyes fell almost out of his head as he saw Ryuu in that shirt, it reached down to her thighs and covered her panties. Being a gentleman or not, Ryuu could feel Bell´s eyes on her...and she shuddered from the good feeling. Ryuu would never say it, but she enjoyed it, that Bell was all over her and...that he was so fascinated of her body. Secretly, she enjoyed the expression on his face, in the first moment he saw her naked body..or the feeling when they kissed. Sometimes...but only sometimes...Ryuu thought that she or rather her body reacted way too strongly to Bell...but only sometimes...
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"Ahm Ryuu..." Bell blushed and averted his eyes.
"Yes?"
"A..A-Are you...cold?"
"Huh?" Ryuu looked down at her...then she saw what Bell meant.
With a flustered face, Ryuu crossed her arms in front of her chest. "P-Please don´t stare too much..."
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In the morning as she woke up, Ryuu had forgotten that she wore that shirt and as she stretched her arms while sitting up, she gave Bell an unwanted deep insight.
Bell had opened his eyes and wanted to wish her a good morning but...
"Ah..."
"Good morning, Bell...Hm?" Ryuu followed Bell´s gaze and looked down at herself, noticing that the shirt was only closed with the lowest button.
"Eeeeep!"
Bell looked at the embarassed Ryuu, who hastily covered herself. "Cute..."
They had seen each other naked a few times, but showing Bell her bare upper body in bright morning light...that was too much...
Bell was smart enough not to mention how nice it was for him to wake up to such a sight...but he burned it into his mind...after all, he was a growing man and Ryuu the woman in his heart...and...
That was one of his favorite body parts of Ryuu...
Until this day, Ryuu never discovered how she could mix up her clothes like that. Well...it wasn´t her in the first place.
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It was a hobby of Syr, to bring Ryuu and Bell into all kinds of situations. And what these two didn´t know...and what they should never know...Syr couldn´t only watch with that special mirror...she could also record what she saw. It was a function that the mirror of every god had, well those who had such a mirror, but most of them didn´t used that special function. That way, Syr had her own special collection of her favorite situations between these two.
And not even Helen knew what situations her goddess had recorded, that was her small treasure collection. If Ryuu would ever find out what some of these records were...probably even Ottar couldn´t stop her from shattering that mirror.
But she will never know...Teehee.
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So both looked forward to their first night together in their own bed that was build for two people, but they were also nervous.
Living together...it is like the start of our own small family...That let Ryuu smile.
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When they came closer to the Entertainment District, they stopped for a moment on a wall where no one would see them and discussed their strategy. Ryuu had spotted the warehouse that the criminals used as their headquarter.
As they moved closer to the warehouse, they noticed some familiar faces down on the street.
"Is that Miss Mikoto?"
"What is she doing here? I got the impression of her, that she isn´t a girl that would come here out of free will."
"I wonder myself...look what she does."
Mikoto had a steaming cup in her hands and walked to a young woman, that was obviously an "escort lady", giving her the cup and earned a grateful smile.
"There, I see Miss Chigusa and god Takemikazuchi from your Familia." Ryuu called the alliance of the three gods just a Familia, it was shorter that way.
"Hmmm..oh and there is Miss Asuka."
Chigusa and Takemikazuchi were working on a small field kitchen and showed some of the girls around them what they did.
"It looks like...they are teaching them how to cook?"
"Hmm."
"Bell, over there." Ryuu whispered, even though they were far above the street.
"That´s Lord Miach and Daphne...oh over there are Cassandra and Naza."
"They are also working and talking with the girls...let´s move a bit closer."
"Okay."
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Silently they jumped to a nearby roof and Bell waited until Ryuu used her excellent ears to eavesdrop. After a while she gave Bell a signal and they moved to a different rooftop.
"They are teaching these girls how to make street snacks and some kinds of drinks, so they can make money without working here as...ahm...y-you know..."
Ryuu had problems with speaking that word.
"Yes...that is very nice of them."
Bell heard Ryuu´s smile in her voice more than that he saw it. "They are fighting against a new pleasure quarter in their own way, impressive."
The empty helmet front turned to her again. "The pen is mightier than the sword?"
"Something like that, yes." Ryuu´s figure shuddered lightly as she chuckled. "You have some really nice people in your Familia."
"And I bet they'll love to get to know you when you move in."
"That would be nice."
"Miss Mikoto is also a big fan of bathing, the bath in our home was her idea...as far as I heard, she is in talks with my goddess about an outdoor spring-like bath in the backyard, where no one from the outside can look."
Bell could swear he saw a light flash in Ryuu´s eye by these words.
"I see that...Miss Mikoto was her name?...that she is armed..but...what are these clothes?"
"Apparently it is a far eastern battle garment."
Mikoto was dressed in a ninja like way, at first Bell had thought it was a hobby of her, but after he saw how she was able to fight...now Bell knew that she had far more weapons on her body, than they could see. It was a dark blue cloth outfit with a very long red scarf. It was cut in at the sides and showed much of the side of her thighs, under that she had some kind of...net...that "covered" her skin. On the back of her hip, were the scabbards of her twin long daggers. Her hands were covered in bandage technique that Ryuu knew from Kaguya and the had two red bracers. Her feet were also bound in bandage and were in sandals. Hidden under the red scarf was a black mask, so that she could cover the lower part of her face. The dark blue cloth seemed to be loose instead of cling to her body, that way she could move freely.
It wasn´t something that Ryuu would dare to wear, but it was one of Mikoto´s favorite outfits. Some of her other ninja outfits were skin tight and completely black, she could become one with the darkness.
Just a tiny part of her wore it because Takemikazuchi had said how beautiful she looked in that.
"That looks interesting." I have never seen Kaguya wearing something like that.
Bell couldn´t resist, he just had to imagine Ryuu wearing those clothes...quite nice.
"Maybe you can talk to her about that in the future."
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They continued to watch for a few minutes, then they moved on to the warehouse, that was their target.
After they arrived at the warehouse, they observed the surroundings until they were sure that they had seen all of them outside.
"Bell I will go first, you wait in case that they get reinforcements or I call for you okay?"
"Okay but.."
"Yes?"
The empty helmet turned to Ryuu. "Please watch out..." She felt his empty hand touching hers for a moment.
"Of course I will." Ryuu smiled and touched his hand in return.
She checked her garments and her cloak for a last time, everything was covered, no one could even see that she was an elf. Justice Lumina was covered with a special magical bandage that she used as a replacement for a scabbard.
The bandage was long enough to cover the whole blade, the pure white color would stand out too much and it was strong enough that she could slash someone without actually cutting them. She had to use it since her new sword was sharper than the old one. Her Futaba´s were at home, this way she could move more freely.
"Time to go."
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"Hey Boss, I have the money."
"Ah good good, everyone has paid?"
"Yes and I found two new "customers"."
Inside the big warehouse were at least thirty men of various races. Boxes piled up against the wall, one or two container and the boss had set up a kind of office on the side ... and they were armed. Apparently their business was going well.
Weapon stands, couches, armchairs and all kinds of luxury articles were inside here. Locked chests filled with Vals coins stood under the Boss´ desk. The man that they called Boss was a sturdy Werewolf between thirty and fourty years old. He looked pretty strong with his massiv arms, but he was probably only Level two, maybe three, so he shouldn´t be a problem for Ryuu.
"But one of the girls cried and begged me to leave her alone."
"What did you say?"
"Ahem. "This is a dangerous city my love, you need protection"."
The boss grinned widely. "We´re making good money...It has it´s benefits to work under the protection of a god and that this district is without guards."
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"This ends tonight!"
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Ryuu had fought criminals over the years many times, so she had tried different strategies to encounter them. Sneaking inside and attacking out of nowhere was efficient. But this time she didn´t only want to attack them, she wanted to make them afraid and draw as much attention on the warehouse as possible for a certain reason. Attacking someone head on and making them aware that they were attacked, had a special effect when they were beaten, they would know they had no chance and that they were hunted. For a normal criminal organisation that was good enough, but Ryuu and the criminals themself didn´t knew that they were only tools for someone else.
The criminals looked shocked and confused when they heard that shout and saw a dark figure jumping down from the ceiling rafters and landing right between them, holding a long...staff...in the hand.
"Who are you?!"
Fast, every man inside the warehouse draw their weapons and got into battle stance.
Ryuu lifted her head and pointed Justice Lumina at the boss. "Justice." She had trained herself to make her voice sound as deep as possible.
Outside, Bell got goose bumps when he saw Ryuu landing like that and saying that one word.
That was so cool! This is my wife! Get them Ryuu! Bell was still Bell...at least he cheered silently for his love.
The side of one of the container fell down and more criminals came out, fully armed and with thick armor. So they had waited for trouble, more and more men came running in, soon Ryuu was surrounded by at least fifty men.
"Get him!"
Convinced of their number, the men rushed roaring forward, their weapons raised.
Ryuu crouched slightly, as the first men struck her with his sword, she jumped upward, whirled around and send him with one kick against the head flying. She did it with such simple elegance, that Bell just had to smile.
You are so beautiful, Ryuu.
Yet, Bell waited for a signal to attack on his own. From his point on the rooftop he could see that more men came running in from the outside and the agitation made the rounds. It always spread fast when a fight broke out and that was their intention.
Look what happens to you if you do things like that to poor helpless girls.
The criminals were smart, they didn´t attacked Ryuu one after the other, instead they tried to us their numbers to overwhelm her.
Two or three at once attacked her with various weapons, but she was used to something like that. Ryuu twisted and bent her slender body to evade and counter with an amazing speed. Each thrust of her sword or kick, send one of the criminals down.
Still, the first onces she encountered were the weaker ones. And from above, Bell could see that the really strong looking ones gathered around their leader.
A dwarf with a massive two-handed axe charged at Ryuu and swung his weapon, in the last moment, she bent backwards, let the blade rush above her body, then kicking up with her heel. The head of the dwarf snapped backwards and he fell.
A catman threw a dagger after Ryuu, but she whirled her cloak in the way and blocked it. From behind her, another man attacked with a spear and even Ryuu was not fast enough to evade everything. The spear hit her in the back, but it didn´t hurt her due to the adamant woven in her garment. Once again she thanked Syr for that.
"Take aim!"
Not every man had charged her, some prepared bows and crossbows to shoot at her and they were smart enough to scatter the shooters.
"You dumbass! It was a mistake to come alone!"
Who said I am alone?
Right when the first man wanted to shoot, an electrical fireball came down from the ceiling and erupted into an big explosion, that schocked the whole building and the men screamed in surprise, some of the criminals were thrown through the air.
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"What was that?!"
As the smoke cleared...something became visible.
"Wha-?!"
Inside the small crater knelt a person...or rather, it was an armor.
Down on one knee, knelt an empty armor, head bowed, holding a sword in both gauntlets, the tip rammed into the ground. A long red cape waved behind it.
Slowly the armor raised it´s head.
"I heed thee call Mylady, fear not...for I has cometh!"
The voice was very deep and echoed slightly.
Bell! This is embarassing! Despite the serious situation, Ryuu blushed under her cloak.
The armor came up and pointed it´s sword at the shooters.
"Ye will not harm Mylady!"
"Summoning magic! He is a magician! Attack!" The boss waved to his men and together they intensived their attacks on Ryuu.
Bell held his sword with the tip upwards in front of his helmet, a moment later flames rushed over the blade and covered it. More flames rushed over his armor, covering gauntlets and boots.
What?! Even Ryuu hadn´t seen this magic from Bell before.
That looks like...Alise´s...
It was meant as a surprise to Ryuu, but Bell couldn´t know that this sight touched Ryuu..and made her a bit sad at the same time.
Alise...please give us strength!
With a roar, Ryuu renewed her attack and at the same time, Bell started his. He swung his sword and burned the arrows that were shot at them to ash.
"Justice will be served!"
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Bell used only one hand for his sword, punching one criminal with the other gauntlet. He kept his fire under control, so he won´t hurt them too badly.
Unnoticed by them, the tumult outside got louder...and one shadowy figure vanished into the darkness.
In a few minutes, three dozen men lay unconscious on the ground. The knight protected the cloaked figure, that the Boss now guessed was a woman, by the way the armor had talked.
Everytime a man wanted to attack the cloaked one from behind, the armor went in between, taking the hit or blocking it.
"Concentrate on the armor! Break the summoning magic, then she is dead!"
The boss took his bodyguard and together they attacked Bell, he whirled and danced around, blocking and evading attacks, countering them and punching them to the ground. Strangely for the criminals, he never used the sharp edge of his sword. The armor wasn´t waiting for them, instead it moved into their direction, defending against the attackers and protecting the cloaked figure.
Too late the boss noticed his mistake. The armor wasn´t protecting the cloaked figure.
W-Wait! This is not the bodyguard of a magician! This is a knight clearing the way for his queen!
Now the dance of the armor and the cloaked figure became obvious. The armor took the heavy blows and blocked, opening a path for the other one.
"Now!" The exclamation came from the woman.
Instantly, the armor knelt down on one knee, holding the sword with the tip down. The cloaked figure sprinted forward, jumped, used the armor´s back as a stepping stone and jumped over the heads of the bodyguard.
"Aaaaah!" The fearful scream was the only thing the boss could let out.
The staff shot forward, slamming right into his forehead and sent him flying into his desk. A few moments later, the last criminals were knocked down.
Loud noises and yelling was heard from the outside.
Ryuu rushed over to Bell and put her sword down, she leaned forward and whispered. "Put your sword down and don´t move whatever happens now!"
The armor head nodded and he lowered the sword, the point between his feet.
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Loud hammering came from the front gate, then the gate was kicked in and figures rushed inside.
"Secure the area!" A blue haired woman came at the head of many adventurers into the warehouse. Except for her, every single one had an elephant mask in the face.
The Ganesha Familia! Then this is...
Shakti Varma, captain of the Ganesha Familia, led the reaction force into the warehouse and started to arrest the criminals.
"Let no one escape! We have enough proofs to get them all.
"""Yes Ma´am!"""
Strangely, not one adventurer came to Bell and Ryuu, they just...ignored them.
Shakti stopped a few steps away from them and looked down to the criminals boss, just for a splitsecond, her look flashed to Ryuu and Bell. "Pity...no one is here that I could thank for that. Whoever did this, I am truly thankful to this unknown defender of...justice."
It was obvious who Shakti meant...and that she knew who the cloaked figure was.
Ryuu tapped lightly against Bell´s hand and together they ran out of the backdoor of the warehouse.
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Outside on a nearby rooftop, they waited for a moment and looked down where the Ganesha Familia led the prisoners away. Many young women as well as the gods Miach and Takemikazuchi together with their children waited a short distance away.
The gods would ask the women if they were blackmailed by the criminals and how much money was stolen from them. It was easy as well as effective to return the money that way.
"Come."
They turned around and jumped into the night, down on the street Shakti looked up for a moment and smiled very shortly.
Thank you, Lyon.
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Two hours after they left, Ryuu and Bell returned to the Mansion.
"Phew...that was quite something." Bell took off his helmet and the suit on his head, it looked strange to see Bell´s head hovering above an empty armor.
Ryuu took off her cloak and smiled to him. "Thank you for your help, Bell."
"Do you think it is finished with that?"
"I doubt it."
"I will help you again as often as I have to, Mylady." He smiled lovingly to her.
"Then you deserve a reward, my knight."
Ryuu took a step to Bell and kissed him on the cheek. After a moment Ryuu made a face.
"We should probably take a shower."
Bell sniffed at his arm, they had both sweat alot in their clothes.
"Good idea but.."
"But?" Ryuu turned her head to him.
In that moment Bell made a step forward, grabbed Ryuu´s shoulders gently and kissed her. After a moment in surprise, she kissed him back. The excitement of the fight was still in them.
"S-Sorry..it just came over me."
"A knight demanding his reward." Ryuu giggled.
They took off their armor and went to the bathrooms that were divided by gender. With the most people asleep in the mansion or out of house, they could use one shower but...showering together was still too much for them.
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But still...
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Much of the following catastrophe could have been avoided...if they just had noticed the shadowy figure earlier...
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Authors Note: Thanks again for the Reviews. For those wondering, I like Ais, very much. But I thought it was a logical reaction what happened to her. She will play a major role in the story, just wait for it. Who knows what will happen to her? Well...I do.
So long.