Edited 27/6/17: Correcting spelling and grammar errors, and make Lala's speech consistent. Also, Linimal should be Liminal, only just realised this after 11 chapters, oops.
Yuuto was driving through the local suburbs making his way to the Kurusu residence. Smith had assigned him and Blare to check on the homestays that lived there, though they were apprehensive about having to deal with not one, but seven liminals. Blare was checking over the files herself while Yuuto was driving,
''Holy crap, this Kurusu guy must be nuts to host so many liminals. It's a wonder he hasn't died yet.'' She said as she scanned over each of the girls' dossiers, a lamia alone would've been tough to handle.
'From what I remember back in middle school and high school, Kimihito has always been pretty tough.' Yuuto said with a sense of nostalgia. 'I remember this one time back in first year of junior high, when he fell from a tree trying to get a stray cat down. Despite the 20ft drop, he came out with only a few minor bruises, and the cat was perfectly fine. For the rest of middle school, he thought he had some sort of unholy power and went full on Chuunibyou.'
'Sounds like you guys had some good times.' She replied with a grin on her face.
'Yeah, but thankfully, that stopped when we started high school, but I never let him forget about those embarrassing days.' He continued with a sinister grin on his face as he recalled the embarrassment he put Kimihito through during breaks, quoting some of his infamous lines as he watched his poor friend get flustered over the embarrassment.
''The two of you must've been close.'' Blare chimed in as he was lost in thought.
''Maybe, though we lost contact with each other after we graduated. I'm surprised he agreed to become a host for the Interspecies Exchange Program.''
As they were chatting, the sat-nav indicated that they arrived at their destination. They pulled up to see a rather large two-story detached house, which had a small patio area on the right-hand side, and a decent sized balcony area with two sets of railings in the centre, presumably for hanging washing. It was obvious that the house was extensively modified.
''Looks like we're here, and the place is massive!'' Blare exclaimed in surprise as she looked the property over from the SUV.
'Has to be to accommodate larger liminal species.' Yuuto replied as he got the files from her and looked them over again.
''Just so you know Stud, I only found files for six liminals living here. Didn't Smith say there were seven?'' She asked with a quizzical look on her face.
''She told me that there's a slime living here too, but she's not on record, seeing that slimes aren't officially classified as an intelligent species yet. Probably wanted to avoid extra paperwork, knowing her.'' He explained to the hellhound, somewhat annoyed at the fact that the government doesn't seem to recognize slimes as people right now. As he looked through the dossiers again, he stopped when he came across the file of a dullahan. His eyes widened as he checked the photo attached to it.
'No way…' Yuuto muttered to himself. Blare managed to pick up on what he said though.
'What is it, Stud? Someone you know?' She asked out of curiosity.
Yuuto shook himself from his thoughts at his squad mate's prodding. ''Oh, it's nothing. This Lala girl just reminds me of someone I met when I was still in high school.''
'Old girlfriend?' Blare asked teasingly in a sultry voice.
Yuuto sighed as she started giggling to herself. ''C'mon, we'd better get on with this visit.'' And with that, they both exited the SUV and he locked it.
They made their way to the front door of the building, which was large enough to let a large-breed arachne though with no trouble. Once there, Yuuto rang the doorbell and waited a moment.
''I'll get it!''
They heard the voice of a chipper young girl shouting from inside. A few seconds later, the door flung open to reveal a small harpy, with short blue hair that had bangs that went down to her chest, big wide amber eyes and big blue wings. She was wearing a black tube top as well as beige denim short shorts. Her face lit up with a huge smile as she saw the two agents in front of her.
''Hi, I'm Papi! Papi the Harpy!'' She exclaimed in excitement. 'Who are you?'
'Hey Papi.' Yuuto replied. ''I'm Yuuto Kazama, and this is my partner, Blare. We're from the Interspecies Cultural Exchange.''
''Hey Papi, it's nice to meet you.'' Blare said waving at the harpy.
Yuuto continued. 'Is your host in right now?
''You mean Boss? Yeah, I'll go get him.'' She replied before she went bounding off to go find her host. After a few steps though, she stopped and looked back at the pair. 'Um…' She looked at them in bewilderment. 'who are you?' She asked again.
'Oh, right. Birdbrain.' Yuuto muttered to himself, almost forgetting the 'Three-step rule' that most harpies seemed to suffer from.
Blare chuckled to herself before speaking up. 'Papi, is it alright if we come in?' She asked politely.
'Sure!' The harpy replied excitedly before running off back into the living room, presumably to go get Kimihito.
As Yuuto and Blare entered and shut the door behind them, they walked towards where Papi had gone, until suddenly, Blare was flung into the air with a yelp. Yuuto looked back to see his partner had gone missing, until he looked up, and saw her hanging from the ceiling, tied up in spider silk, more specifically, arachne silk tied in a diamond pattern binding across her body. Hanging next to her, was an arachne with short, shoulder length lilac hair and six crimson eyes. Her arms, as well as her spider body parts were covered in black carapace, with a white skull pattern on the top of her abdomen. The busty woman was wearing a white sleeveless blouse with matching sleeves on her arms, as well as a black skirt with a black leather belt she wore over her pedipalps. It seemed that Rachnera Arachnera had the drop on them. She was smirking to herself, impressed by her catch.
'Look what we got here.' The arachne complemented herself. ''It's not every day you get to catch a hellhound, though I'd thought you'd put up more of a challenge.'' She said directly to Blare, who was currently unable to speak due to the silk wrapped around her mouth, struggling to break free of her bonds.
'Excuse me, Miss Rachnera?' Yuuto asked trying to get her attention. Rachnera turned to face the human, then slowly lowered herself down to the ground until she was face to face with him.
'Oh, did you want to play too?' She asked in a sultry voice with a grin on her face.
''No, but I'd really appreciate it if you let my partner down now.'' He replied flatly.
Rachnera stared at him for a moment, trying to find any hint of fear or nervousness, but couldn't find any. Satisfied, she continued. ''What's the magic word?'' She asked teasingly.
'Pretty please with a cherry on top?' Yuuto replied, deciding to humour the woman in front of him. He thought it better to play along, or he might find himself in a similar position to what Blare was in currently. He noticed that said hellhound was still struggling to free herself from her literally sticky situation, trying to shout for help through the silk gag.
''Alright, I'll let your little puppy down, seeing you asked so nicely.'' Rachnera replied, giving him a wink with her three left eyes. She then skittered up the wall to where Blare was, preparing to let the poor girl down.
During this time, Yuuto felt a tug on the back of his shirt. He turned around to find a small blue slime girl, who had big emerald eyes, and green 'slime hair?' which ended with a feeler on the top of her head, and two tendrils flowing down to her waist, each ending in yellow tips. She was wearing a yellow raincoat, as well as a pair of yellow wellington boots. The small slime looked at him, her eyes full of curiosity.
Yuuto knelt till he was at eye level with the slime. ''Hi there, I'm Yuuto.'' He introduced himself with a sincere smile. ''What's your name?''
''I'm Suu. It's nice to meet you.'' She replied with a smile as she extended one of her tendrils towards the human.
Yuuto presumed she wanted him to shake it, and so he did. 'Likewise.' He said as he chuckled to himself due to the odd greeting he received.
It was then that Suu noticed Blare hanging from the ceiling, as Rachnera was slowly releasing her from her bonds. 'Rachnee-san, what are you doing?' The slime girl questioned the arachne, as her feeler on the top of her head formed into a question mark.
'Just entertaining our guests.' She replied as she removed the gag from Blare's mouth. The hellhound gasped for breath as the gag was removed.
'Thanks, Spidey. Can you let me down now please?' Blare asked in a slightly annoyed manner. Yuuto was surprised at how calm she was, despite her current predicament, but he guessed that she was merely trying to be professional.
'Careful what you wish for.' That was Rachnera's only reply as she cut the silk that suspended the MON agent with one of her claws.
With that, Blare began to fall as she let out a scream, but instead of hitting the ground hard, she opened her eyes to find herself immersed in a slimy blue liquid. It seemed that Suu anticipated this and sprang right underneath the hellhound, and changed her form to that of a large blob, but with small stubby arms and a feeler on top, as well as two simple emerald eyes. The silk that bound Blare started to break apart inside on the slime, and she took the chance to swim out of Suu. She collapsed to the floor, gasping for air and covered in slime, as the slime girl changed back into the form of a small girl, kneeling right next to her.
Blare sat up and faced Suu as she caught her breath. 'Thanks kid. I owe you one.' She said as she patted the slime girl on the head.
Suu giggled to herself and smiled at the praise she received. 'No pro.' She replied cheerfully.
Yuuto walked up to Blare and crouched next to her. 'You ok there?' He asked with concern.
''Yeah, I'll be fine.'' She replied weakly, as she examined herself in her current state. ''Holy crap, I'm totally drenched.''
'Better than a few bruises.' Yuuto replied with a chuckle.
Rachnera lowered herself to the ground again with a smirk on her face. ''All's well that ends well, I guess.'' She said confidently as if none of this was her fault in the slightest. ''Well, I'll leave you guys to it.''
Before the arachne could skitter off, she was pounced from behind by Suu and knocked to the ground. As she was face down on the floor, she raised her head to find that the slime girl was groping her all over with the feelers.
'Knock it off Suu!' Rachnera protested as Suu happily continued tormenting the vulnerable arachne. ''You know I don't like this!''
Blare was laughing her ass off at the sight in front of her. 'Hah! Serves you right, Spidey!'
'Guess this is what you call karma.' Yuuto muttered to himself, not wanting to get involved with this little debacle.
Just then, Papi bounded back into the hallway to see what the commotion was about. Behind her was a young man with messy black hair and brown eyes, wearing a plain white t-shirt, dark green trousers, a light green hoodie, and a pair of white trainers. He was the definition of a Generic Harem Protagonist.
'No fair!' Papi exclaimed as she saw Suu 'playing' with Rachnee-san. 'I wanna play too!' She shouted as she ran towards the pair.
''What's going on here?'' The young man asked with a quizzical look on his face as his eyes went blank. As he looked around, he noticed Yuuto standing up and looking his way. His eyes widened as he recognized his old school-friend. 'Yuuto?! Is that you?!' He yelled in shock at the sudden appearance of his friend he hadn't seen since they graduated from high school.
'Long time no see, Kimihito.' Yuuto replied with a grin on his face, sticking his thump up.
Kimihito walked up to him and pulled him into a hug. ''It's good to see you again!'' He exclaimed, happy about their reunion. 'How are you, and what are you doing here?' He questioned as he stepped back to give the blonde agent some space.
''Not too bad thanks, though I've been busy since I joined MON a couple months back.'' Yuuto replied enthusiastically.
''MON?! But you're human, right?!'' Kimihito exclaimed, surprised at the fact that they let him join an anti-liminal special-ops team with the current state of the Interspecies Exchange Bill.
''I'm mainly there for dealing with other humans the team might have to deal with, as well as some hacking where it's needed.'' Yuuto explained to the now flabbergasted Kimihito.
'Oh, that makes sense.' Kimihito replied, pulling a complete 180 from his earlier retort, though this sort of behaviour didn't surprise Yuuto in the very least. Kimihito continued. ''Still doesn't explain why you're here though.''
''Well, Smith would normally be the one to visit, but she's piled under right now. So, she's sent me and my squad mate Blare to come and do a check-up with the homestays here.'' He explained as he gestured towards his slime covered partner who just got up on her paws.
''It's nice to meet you, Kurusu-kun.'' Blare said as she bowed down before him.
''Oh, my gosh! Are you alright, Miss?!'' Kimihito panicked as he rushed towards the hellhound, which caused her to flinch momentarily. ''I'm so sorry about what's happened to you! Please, feel free to clean yourself up while you're here! I'll even clean your suit up!''
Blare grinned and snickered to herself at his overreaction. 'Thanks, I appreciate it. Though I think I'm not the only one who needs it.' She said as she looked in the direction of the slime covered arachne.
Rachnera was able to stand up while Suu was distracted talking to Papi. 'Yeah, Honey. Would you mind getting my clothes washed too?' She asked, trying to shake off some of the excess slime off herself.
'Sure, no problem. You two just leave your clothes in the laundry basket and I'll sort it out in a bit.'
'Thanks a bunch, Kurusu-kun.' Blare said giving him a teasing wink. 'Oh, by the way, where is the bathroom?'
'Follow me, Puppy.' Rachnera replied as she skittered off. ''There's one down here.''
'Ok. Thanks Spidey.' Blare responded as caught up with the arachne. 'See you in a bit, Stud!' She yelled at Yuuto waving at him. 'And no peeking!'
'Like I would!' The blonde agent retorted, his face flushed red with embarrassment.
After Blare and Rachnera disappeared, Yuuto turned to Kimihito and hung his head as he let out a sigh.
''I guess you've got it rough too.'' Kimihito said as he rubbed the back of his head.
''I'm guessing it's not as bad as you have it.'' Yuuto replied as he recomposed himself.
''Anyway, do you want a drink while you're here?'' Kimihito asked as he gestured towards the living room.
''Sure. Might as well while I'm waiting for Blare to clean up.'' Yuuto replied as he followed Kimihito in, with Papi and Suu in tow.
As they entered the living room, Yuuto saw a lamia sitting on the end of the couch, and a mermaid in a wheelchair next to her. The lamia had long red hair with yellow D-shaped hair clips on each side of her head, amber eyes with slit pupils, as well as long red scaly ears and red scales on her cheeks, and a long red serpentine tail with a pink underbelly. She was wearing a red, knitted sleeveless sweater and a blue, short denim skirt. The mermaid had long pink hair with long curled bangs and a lengthy fringe, light blue eyes that sparkled like the ocean, as well as pink fin-like ears, webbed hands, and a pink fish-like tail. She was wearing some sort of Gothic Lolita maid outfit, which Yuuto found odd, seeing he knew the girl was a princess of the merfolk kingdom. The lamia got up from her seat slithered towards the group as the mermaid turned her wheelchair around to face them.
'Miia. Mero.' Kimihito spoke as he was about to introduce his friend. ''This is Yuuto Kazama from the Interspecies Cultural Exchange. He's also an old friend from school.''
Miia was the first to speak up. ''Hi, I'm Miia! It's so nice to meet a friend of Darling's!'' She exclaimed with a grin on her face as she extended a hand in greeting. 'I hope we get along!'
'Good to meet you, Miia.' Yuuto replied as he shook excitable lamia's outstretched hand.
As they released each other, Mero introduced herself next. 'Greetings, Sir. I am Meroune Lorelei Du Neptune.' She said as she did a curtsey as best she could from her wheelchair. 'But please, call me Mero.' She continued with a smile on her face.
'Try saying that five times fast.' Yuuto replied jokingly, which caused poor Mero to give him a look of confusion. Upon seeing her reaction, he continued as he crouched to meet her at eye level. ''Just joking, it's good to meet you, Mero.'' He said as he extended his hand for a handshake.
'Oh, but the pleasure is mine, Sir.' Mero said as she shook his hand.
'Yuuto, do you have tea or coffee?' Kimihito asked as Yuuto stood back up.
'Coffee, milk and two sugars, please.' He replied.
'Sure. Papi, can you and Suu go find Lala please?' Kimihito asked the harpy as he made his way to the kitchen. 'Tell her we have guests.'
'Sure thing, Boss!' Papi replied as she made her way upstairs with the slime girl in tow. With that, Miia and Mero returned to their respective seats.
Once in the kitchen, Kimihito spoke up again. ''Cerea, you can go meet our guest, I'll finish prepping your salad for you.''
'As you wish, Milord.' The voice of a young woman replied.
After a moment, a centaur woman trotted out of the kitchen, into the living room. She had long, golden blonde hair tied back into a ponytail, and blue eyes, as well as long ears covered in light brown fur, four hoofed legs with the same coloured fur, and a long horse's tail that was golden blonde like her hair. She was wearing a white button up sleeveless blouse with a red bow around her collar, as well a large black skirt that covered the entirety of her hind quarters.
'Welcome, I am Centorea Shianus, scion of the proud centaur race, and protector of the Kurusu household.' The girl introduced herself. 'Pray, forgive me for not introducing myself sooner.'
Yuuto noticed immediately that Centorea acted very prim and proper, and spoke in a very archaic manner. With that in mind he introduced himself. ''No need to worry, Centorea. I'm Yuuto Kazama. It's an honour to meet you.' He said as he extended his hand once more.
Centorea took his hand and shook it. 'Thou art too kind, Kazama-san. Verily, I am still but a fledgling knight who has pledged her loyalty to my master.'
As they let go of one another, Yuuto continued. 'I take it you are quite fond of Kurusu then?' He asked.
Her face flushed bright red at his question. 'Balderdash!' She exclaimed in protest. 'I am merely a servant that wishes to do right by him for letting someone like myself stay here!' She continued as her tail swished from side to side nervously.
'The lady doth protest too much, methinks.' Yuuto replied teasingly in a similarly archaic manner.
She broke eye contact at his remark. 'Mayhap, but still…' Centorea trailed of as Kimihito returned from the kitchen with a salad bowl and a cup of coffee.
''Cerea, here's your salad.'' Kimihito said with a smile on his face, which caused Centorea to flinch at his sudden arrival. She turned to him so she could receive the salad bowl.
'Thank you, Milord.' She replied, her cheeks still flushed crimson. She returned to the kitchen and sat next to the table as she began to dig into her leafy snack.
''And here's your coffee.'' He continued as he handed the mug to Yuuto.
'Thanks, Kimihito.' Yuuto replied before taking a sip. 'Still as good as ever.' He said with a sigh of satisfaction.
The pair of humans looked towards the group of liminals near the couch. It seemed that Papi and Suu returned from their quest to find Lala empty handed, and was now playing Mario Kart with Miia and Mero. The girls were really getting into it, especially Miia, who was swishing her tail from side to side in sync with steering her character on screen. It was a surprise she hadn't knocked anything, or anyone, over yet.
'Papi, did you and Suu find Lala?' Kimihito asked the preoccupied harpy.
''Yeah, she said she'd be down in a sec.'' She replied unenthusiastically, focusing on trying to win the race. 'Said something about maintaining eggs, quills, lid, and brooms.'
'Equilibrium.' Suu corrected her harpy friend.
'Yeah, that!' Papi replied excitedly.
'Sounds like a certain someone I remember from middle school.' Yuuto said teasingly as he elbowed Kimihito in the side of his chest.
'Cut it out! It was just a phase!' Kimihito yelled in protest.
Yuuto had a mock puzzled look on his face as if trying to remember something, which he did to wind Kimihito up. 'What was that one line you loved to use again? Oh, yeah. It was something like…' He said before he was cut off by the voice of a girl behind them.
''Ye call upon the Harbinger o' Death?''
The girl announced herself from out of nowhere, which startled Yuuto and Kimihito. They turned to see a blue-skinned girl, who had long white hair with a cow lick that stuck out from her fringe, and her eyes had golden irises with black sclera. She was wearing a black robe with a huge cropped collar, a white dress with a short skirt underneath, a black scarf around her neck, and a pair of black thigh-high stockings. She was also wearing black armour with gold trimmings, which consisted of a pair of gauntlets, boots, and a waist guard. She also wielded a large black scythe with a large circular notch near where the blade was attached to the shaft of the weapon. She currently had a blank expression on her face as she stood there imposingly.
Yuuto calmed himself as he continued. ''Well, I was going to say 'Cower before the Unholy Chosen!' but that was pretty good too.''
'Hey, Lala.' Kimihito replied, seemingly trying to recover from a heart attack. ''I wish you wouldn't sneak up on people like that.''
''A knight o' darkness must remain in the shadows tae carry out our purpose.' The 'Chuunihan' continued, striking a dramatic pose. ''What reason do ye call upon a spectre o' Death?'' Lala looked towards Yuuto, and saw him staring wide-eyed at her. In an instant, her own eyes widened in recollection. With that, she turned to face him with a hand over her face, but allowed one eye to look through between her thump and finger. ''It seems that the threads o' fate have reunited us, Kazama.'' Yuuto noticed that Lala smiled and her cheeks went red while saying this.
'Holy crap, it is you.' Yuuto muttered to himself in disbelief.
'Yuuto?' Kimihito interjected. 'Do you know Lala?' He asked with a look of bewilderment on his face. He wasn't the only one, as the other girls looked towards the group in confusion and curiosity.
'Know her?' He replied. He paused for a moment before continuing. 'Hell, she saved my life.'
A/N: And that's another chapter down, and yet another cliffhanger. I hope everyone still enjoys reading this, and thanks the everyone who's followed and favourited this story, as well as left reviews and suggestions. As a side note, I'm from the UK, so the spelling I use reflects that. Once again, thanks for reading.