Edited 27/6/17: Correcting spelling and grammar errors. Also, Linimal should be Liminal, only just realised this after 11 chapters, oops.
''C'mon, pick up.''
Yuuto was standing in the hallway, with his phone next to his ear. He was trying to get in touch with Ms Smith about his new acquaintance, Kasumi. Everyone else was seated in the living room, drinking tea and chatting, though Blare was less than enthusiastic about their empusa guest. After a moment, Smith finally answered the call.
'Hello, Bishie-kun.' Kuroko answered in an upbeat mood, probably happy to have a distraction from the mountain of paperwork she had to deal with. 'What can I help you with?'
'Hey boss.' Yuuto replied, sounding quite annoyed. ''Just wondering. You wouldn't happen to know anything about an empusa ninja at all, would you?''
''Oh, I guess that you've met Hayashi-san then? I've been meaning to tell you, she'll be joining your squad, starting today.'' She replied matter-of-factly. 'I take it that the Scorpia situation is under control?'
'Well, we got her to calm down eventually, but- '
''Good to hear, I can trust you and Zombina to handle it from here. I'll speak to you again soon. This paperwork won't do itself. Best of luck.''
'Hey, wait!' Yuuto shouted down the phone before the line cut dead.
'God dammit…' He trailed off as he hung his head in frustration and leaned against the wall.
As he pocketed his phone and calmed himself down, Zombina came into the hallway to see how Yuuto was doing.
'Everything alright, Beesh?' She asked out of concern.
He raised his head to face her as he gave the zombie a reassuring smile. ''Yeah, it's just Smith being Smith. Turns out Kasumi is joining my squad, just wish she wouldn't drop important shit like this on me last minute.'' He said in a melancholy tone.
''Trust me, you're not the only one she's done this too. I dealt with the same shit when Doppel joined the squad, though that was more Doppel's antics than Kuroko herself in that situation.'' Zombina replied as she leant against the wall next to him, giving him a massive grin.
'Why am I not surprised?' He replied as he shook his head.
'Besides,' The red head continued. ''I wouldn't complain about having an empusa join your squad, and a ninja too! I'm fucking jealous!'' She said as she nudged an elbow into his side.
'What?!'
The pair heard Blare shout from the living room before she rushed into the hallway herself.
'Are you kidding me?! She practically tried to kill me earlier! What the hell, Stud!' Blare shouted with her flame lashes burnt brightly with anger.
'Not my call, Blare.' He replied sternly to his squad mate. 'We should see what Kasumi has to say about the situation before we start a witch hunt.' He continued in a serious tone.
*STARE*
The group then noticed that Kasumi had poked her head around the doorway, with her sickled arms latched to the door frame, staring straight at Yuuto with a blank expression.
''Don't even try to act innocent!'' Blare exclaimed as she pointed an accusatory finger at her.
'Leave her be, Blare.' Yuuto said as he moved next to her and put a hand on her shoulder in an attempt to calm her down. Thankfully, it was enough of a distraction to focus the hellhound's attention on him.
'But,' Blare tried to reply before the human gave her a comforting squeeze.
''It's okay, I'll handle it.'' He continued as he gave her a reassuring smile.
Blare sighed in defeat to the man's caring nature. ''Alright. I'm sorry, Stud.'' The said dejectedly as she hung her head, disappointed in herself for losing her composure like she did, and taking it out on her squad captain.
''Don't worry, we'll talk in private later.'' He replied as he let her go and focused his attention on Kasumi, who was still grasping on the doorway. ''It's alright, Kasumi. I just want to know why you showed up like you did earlier.''
The empusa moved from the doorway, standing before the small group with her upper arms folded to her sides and her lower arms hung low in front of her. ''I am truly sorry about what happened earlier. I was asked by Agent Smith to locate Miss Scorpia, and to make sure no harm came to her. Though her request was rather vague, and she did not mention that other agents would be on the scene. It still doesn't excuse my reckless behaviour though, and I almost brought harm to a fellow agent. For that, I cannot forgive myself.'' She said apologetically, before she turned to Blare and bowed before her. 'Miss Blare, I pray for your forgiveness, even if I am undeserving of it.'
Blare stared at the still bowing ninja with a mix of anger and confusion, unsure of how to reply to her display. After a moment, she took a deep breath to calm herself. ''It's okay.'' She replied as her mood lightened, at which the empusa looked up at her in surprise. ''I guess it was an honest mistake. To be honest, you fought like a badass back there, though I would've preferred if you didn't throw sharp knives at me.''
'Kunai.' Kasumi corrected the hellhound.
''Right, those. Anyway, I'm sorry I over-reacted the way I did. I instinctively treated like a hostile without thinking. Can you forgive me?'' Blare said with a grin as she reached out a clawed hand towards the ninja.
Kasumi was perplexed by Blare's apology. As far as the empusa was concerned, she treated the situation accordingly despite the lack of information. After a moment, she smiled at Blare as she stood up straight and took her hand with her own. 'Very well. You fought admirably yourself. I would be proud to call you comrade.'
'Welcome to the squad, Kasumi. Glad to have you on board.' Yuuto stated with a smile as the pair let go of one another.
Kasumi turned to face him with her cheeks flushing red. 'It is an honour, Senpai.'
'Alright, alight. Enough with the lovey dovey crap.' Zombina interjected as she started making her way back to the living room. 'We still got Hideki and Scorpia to deal with.'
'Alright.' Yuuto replied while Blare and Kasumi nodded, the group following her back into the living room.
As the four agents entered the living room, they found Hideki sitting on the end of the couch, and Scorpia crouched on the floor next to him, the pair's faces both bright red and looking away from each other. Tio was seated at the other end of the couch, happily munching away on biscuits. Zombina, Blare, and Kasumi sat on the damaged couch facing them while Yuuto stayed standing and walked up to the two teenagers.
'Okay, you two. We have a situation here that needs resolving, pronto.' Yuuto stated with his arms crossed, sounding very stern. ''This whole mess started because you guys haven't been honest with each other, so I suggest the two of you clear the air before you cause a diplomatic incident. Understood?''
'Yes, Kazama-san.' Scorpia replied dejectedly.
'Yes, S-s-sir.' Hideki answered nervously.
The pair turned to face each other as all the MON agents looked on in anticipation, even Tio stopped snacking to do so. After a moment, Hideki spoke up first.
'Scorpia, I- '
''Hideki-kun! I'm sorry I've treated you the way I have recently!'' Scorpia blurted out interrupting the young man, with tears flowing from her compound eyes. ''It's just that, I've been thinking about you a lot lately, romantically that is, but I didn't want to admit it in case I ruined our friendship over it, or even get you arrested because of my feelings! So, I thought,' She continued, feeling very embarrassed, until Hideki grabbed one of her pincers, interrupting her.
''Scorpia, I'm sorry I didn't realise sooner that you liked me. This isn't your fault that this happened. If I realised sooner, maybe we could've avoided this whole mess. Honestly, I don't know why you'd like someone like me…'' He trailed off as he lost confidence in himself. Scorpia then placed her free pincer against his cheek as they stared into one another's eyes.
''You're the kindest guy I've ever met.'' She said sincerely, tears still flowing from her eyes and a smile forming on her face. ''Ever since I moved in, you've always supported me. You've helped me fit in at school, you've helped me study, and you've helped me understand human culture, and despite my appearances, you've treated me like a normal girl. You're kind and sweet, and you can be pretty funny too. How can a girl not fall for someone like you?''
Hideki's face went a brighter shade of red as Scorpia praised him. 'Scorpia…' That was all he could say before the girtablilu's lips locked with his.
Everyone in the room was surprised by the sudden display of affection between the teenagers. Zombina had a massive grin on her face while Blare and Kasumi started at the pair, their faces now bright red. Yuuto just merely smiled, while Tio was clapping with a joyous smile at the sight before her.
'Aww, you two make an adorable couple.' Tio squeed in elation of the new couple.
After a moment, their lips parted, before Scorpia pulled Hideki into a hug. 'Hideki, I love you so much.' She declared as tears rolled down her cheeks.
Hideki merely wrapped his arms around Scorpia as a smile formed on his lips.
'Alright, love birds, break it up.' Yuuto said in order to grab the couple's attention. As the pair separated, he continued. ''Now that we got that out of the way, I have some ground rules. I honestly don't mind if you two start dating, but try not to get lovey dovey out in public, okay?''
Hideki and Scorpia nodded silently before the agent continued.
''And for the love of Buddha, don't have sex. I'd rather not see either of you get arrested or deported after this whole fiasco, got it?
The pair blushed in embarrassment and nodded in agreement to his terms.
'Good. Hopefully that should solve the situation for now. We just need to sort out this mess now.' He stated as he looked over the damaged living room.
''Don't worry, Beesh. I made the call to get repairs sorted while you were talking to Kuroko.'' Zombina replied as she stood from her seat and held her hand behind her head.
'Awesome, thanks Zee.' Yuuto said before turning back to face Hideki and Scorpia. ''Well, I think that's everything dealt with. You guys have any plans for summer break?''
''Well, we are planning to head to the beach one of the days. Scorpia hasn't been to one before, so I thought it would be fun for her.'' Hideki replied as he rose from his seat, with Scorpia skittering next to him.
''Yeah, we're going with our friends from class.'' Scorpia replied with a smile as she draped an arm around the back of Hideki's neck. ''I can't wait to go.''
'Nice one. Well, we better get going. You two have fun.' Yuuto replied as the other MON agents got up from their seats and started filing out from the living room and through the front entrance of the house. Before he left, he turned around to face Hideki again. 'One more thing, Kid. Try not to drown this time.' He said with a massive grin.
''What do you mean by 'this time' Kazama-san?'' The teenager asked with a quizzical look on his face.
''What, don't you remember the guy who saved you seven years back?'' Yuuto replied teasingly.
Hideki's eyes widened with realisation as he remembered the time when he almost drowned in the waterway, only to be saved by a blonde high-schooler. ''Oh my god, I didn't realise- ''
''It's okay.'' Yuuto interrupted the shocked teenager. ''I'll let you off the hook this time. Just be careful, don't want to get Scorpia upset now, do you?''
'Of course, thank you for everything, Kazama-san.' Hideki replied with a smile on his face.
'Yeah, thanks for everything!' Scorpia exclaimed with joy as Yuuto left the pair to their own devices.
'See you two soon.' Yuuto said as he waved at them and left the house.
As the blonde agent made his way to the SUV, he saw the girls waiting for him by the car.
''Great work today, everyone. Though that could've gone a lot smoother.'' Yuuto stated as he made his way to the group.
''You're telling me. Suzu's going to lecture me to death about these broken ribs.'' Zombina complained to herself as she pouted.
''But aren't you already dead?'' Kasumi asked as she tilted her head to the side in confusion.
''It's just a turn of phrase, Kasumi.'' She replied sounding somewhat annoyed at the empusa's lack of common sense.
''Bina-chan didn't mean it literally, Sumi-chan.'' Tio said cheerily with a smile on her face.
'Sumi-chan?' Kasumi question with a quizzical expression.
'She means you, Four Arms.' Blare answered the empusa, giggling to herself.
'Very well.' She replied before turning her attention to Yuuto. 'Senpai, is it common for work colleagues to assign one another nicknames?'
''Fairly, though I don't do it much myself.'' Yuuto replied, before Zombina made an audible cough. 'Well, there is one exception.' He continued as Zombina gave him a wink.
''Anyway, let's get going.'' The zombie said as she stretched her arms up. 'Smith will want a report on this as soon as.' She continued sounding dejected, not looking forward to the paperwork awaiting them. 'Seeya later, Beesh.'
'Later, Zee.' Yuuto replied as Zombina and Tio made their way to their own car. ''Kasumi, you're with me and Blare.''
'As you wish, Senpai.' The empusa answered as the three agents entered the SUV.
'Well, I've been called weirder things, at least.'' Yuuto muttered to himself as he buckled himself in and started the car, not sounding too pleased about his new nickname.
'Man, Smith is going to be pissed with me ripping my skirt on the first day.' Blare said dejectedly to herself as she buckled up her seat belt.
''Don't worry, she'll be too distracted with paperwork to notice straight away.'' Yuuto replied to the downtrodden hellhound. 'But geez, this has been one hell of a first day for the squad.' He continued as he drove off.
''Well, at least it's been fun!'' Blare exclaimed as her mood brightened. 'Looking forward to more of this, Stud!'
'It has been quite the experience.' Kasumi said with a sincere smile on her face.
'That it has, girls. That it has.'
Later that evening, Yuuto was in his room on his laptop, playing Diablo 3. He was in the middle of grinding set pieces for his Hardcore Monk, though the drops so far haven't been great. As he was in the middle of a mob fight, someone knocked on the door.
'Yeah, just a sec!' He shouted as he finished clearing the group of enemies.
Once he teleported to safety and logged off, he made his way to door. He was wearing a plain red t-shirt, with blue denim jeans, black socks, and his trusty fingerless gloves. He opened the door to find Blare, wearing a black Evanescence t-shirt and blue denim shorts. Her cheeks flushed red upon seeing her captain.
'Hey Stud.' She said as a smile formed on her face. 'Mind if I come in? I believe you owe me a talk.' She continued as she gave him a wink.
'Sure thing, Blare. Please, come in.' He replied with his own smile.
''Don't mind if I do.'' She replied as she entered his apartment.
As Yuuto shut the door, Blare made her way into the main living area.
'Not a bad little place you got here.' Blare said as she looked the apartment over.
''It's home, I guess'' He replied as he made his way to Blare. ''So, what's on your mind?''
Blare took a seat on the couch before she continued. ''It's this whole 'Kasumi' situation. Call me crazy, but I think she's hiding something, and I don't like it.''
'Like what exactly?' Yuuto asked as he took a seat next to her.
''I don't know, but there's something about her that rubs me the wrong way, and I have no idea why-'' Blare stopped suddenly when she started sniffing the air.
'Blare?' The human asked as he raised his eyebrows.
'I can smell her.' Blare got up from her seat and moved about the room, sniffing out the source of the scent.
'Smell who?' Yuuto questioned as he moved to the hellhound's side.
'Kasumi, where are you hiding her?' She continued as she slowly made her way to Yuuto's wardrobe.
''What are you on about? I haven't seen here since our shift ended today.''
Blare closed the distance between them and looked the human in the eyes, her flame lashes flicking from her own eyes, which cast a judging gaze at Yuuto. After a moment, the hellhound smiled at him and backed away.
''Good, you're not lying. Sorry I doubted you, Stud.'' Blare said apologetically before continuing her search for the empusa. ''I bet she must've snuck in while you weren't looking.''
''But how? I was in my apartment since I got back from work. I think I'd noticed if someone snuck in.'' Yuuto puzzled about the sudden intrusion until he felt a draft come from the window. He walked over to it and noticed that it was slightly ajar. ''Wait, I haven't touched the damn thing since yesterday. It should be shut.'' He continued as he shut the window, at which point he noticed that the latch had been damaged from the outside.
'Stud. Over here.' Blare said as she was standing in front of his wardrobe.
Yuuto moved to join her as she sniffed around the wardrobe. ''You're saying she's in there?'' The blonde questioned with a quizzical look.
''My senses have never failed me before. It's definitely the ninja chick.'' She replied in a serious tone.
'Achoo!'
Suddenly the pair heard a cute-sounding sneeze from the wardrobe, which made Yuuto jump back in surprise.
'Blare, remind me never to doubt you again.' Yuuto said as he recomposed himself.
Blare gave him a wily smile. 'Oh, you bet your sweet ass I will.' She replied as she gave him a wink. ''Now, let's see whose behind door number one!'' She exclaimed as she flung the wardrobe doors open.
Inside, the pair found a number of Yuuto's clothes hanging from the railing. They also noticed a pair of pale-skinned legs wearing black trainers standing in the wardrobe. Yuuto then proceeded to push the clothes aside to find Kasumi. She was wearing a white tank top with a blue skirt, and she had a blank expression on her face, despite being discovered. If nothing else, she knew how to keep her cool.
'Kasumi?' Yuuto asked, sounding somewhat annoyed. 'What are you doing, hiding in my wardrobe?'
The empusa merely tilted her head to the side, trying to fain innocence. 'Senpai, your wardrobe is rather dusty. Might I suggest cleaning it once in a while?'
''Hey! Don't change the subject, Ninja! What the hell are you doing in Stud's room?!'' Blare shouted, pointing an accusatory finger at her.
With that, Kasumi stepped out of the wardrobe, shaking her head to fling off any dust that collected on her while she was hiding. She then looked up at the pair. 'I was merely keeping an eye on Sempai, in the case that he might be attacked. I only wish to protect him.'
''Kasumi, you do realise that most people would consider that 'stalking', right?'' Yuuto questioned the empusa.
'I apologize, that was not my intention.' Kasumi replied flatly.
''Well, you could've fooled me.'' Blare interjected, sounding very annoyed as her tail stood on end and her flame lashes burnt brighter.
'Anyway, why did you sneak into my room, instead of knocking on the front door like most people?' Yuuto asked, still somewhat confused as to why the empusa was hiding in his room.
''That wouldn't be befitting of a Shinobi now, would it?'' Kasumi replied flatly, thinking that this was acceptable behaviour.
Yuuto then suddenly remembered that she was wearing a skirt, and that the only way she could've snuck in was through the window from the outside. His face flushed red at the realisation.
''This girl really doesn't have any common sense, does she?'' He thought to himself as he broke eye contact.
''Senpai, you're thinking of something perverted, aren't you?'' She asked with no sense of shame.
'Of course not!' The young man exclaimed in protest as he faced the empusa once more, his face still bright red. 'Why do something as dangerous as climbing through the window at this height, just to keep an eye on me?'
Kasumi smiled at him, happy that he was concerned about her safety. 'You truly are a caring man, Senpai. I may have only met you today, but that is what I like about you most of all.' Her face blushed as she continued. 'Earlier, you saved from the dryad, and for that, I owe you a great debt. Senpai, you have my upmost loyalty, this I swear.' She stated before she bowed to him.
Blare may have had her doubts about the empusa, but she could tell that she was being honest, so she decided to stay quiet for the time being.
After a moment, Yuuto place a hand on Kasumi's shoulder. She looked up to see his smiling face looking down at her.
''There's no need to be so formal about it. Squad mates look out for each other, so don't sweat it.'' Yuuto said sincerely to the empusa.
'Senpai…'
'Ahem.'
Blare made an audible cough to get the pair's attention. ''If you two are done flirting, Kasumi and I should get going. We've got an early start tomorrow.'' Blare stated with her eyebrows furrowed.
'Yes, I have said what I wished to say. I will see you tomorrow, Sempai.' Kasumi said as she stood up straight and made her way to the front door with Blare.
'Yeah, seeya in the morning, Stud.'
Before the pair could leave. Yuuto grabbed them by the shoulder, preventing their escape. The two liminals looked back to see the human with a sinister grin on his face.
'Where do you think you two are going? Did you forget about what I talked to Kii about earlier?'
''Stud, you can't be- '' Blare was interrupted when her tightened his grip on their shoulders.
'A promise is a promise, girls.' He continued as he pulled the pair towards his laptop.
'What are you going to do to us, Senpai?' Kasumi asked with visible concern.
'Just sit down on the bed.'
Blare and Kasumi sat on the bed while Yuuto was setting something up on his laptop.
'Now, have either of you ever heard of the 50/50 challenge?'
Both of them shook their heads, unaware of what awaited them.
'Well, here you go.' He stated as he passed them the laptop.
The pair saw a web page with ten links displays, each titled with two different captions, one fairly tame, and one that seemed rather unpleasant.
'What is this, Stud?' Blare questioned, now visibly worried.
''You'll find out, just click the first link.''
As Blare clicked on the first link, she and Kasumi saw something that they couldn't un-see. Their eyes widened in shock at the image displayed before them.
'NOOOOOOOOOOOO!' The pair screamed in unison as Yuuto laughed at their reaction. He thought that this would be a suitable enough punishment for his squad mates.
A/N: Thanks again for reading MON - Squad Bravo. After nine weeks, we've reached over 3,500 views on this story. I can't thank everyone enough for the continued support. Free free to follow and favourite if you enjoy the story, as well as leave a review or any suggestions. Until next chapter everyone.