It had been a few days since Yuuto came to the Kurusu residence to act as temporary host for the liminals staying there. In that short time though, he found himself running ragged as he attended to the needs of the girls and the house in general. Most of the day he found himself doing housework, from cooking, cleaning, doing the laundry, and other equally menial tasks that needed seeing to. His only real reprieves from the monotony were when either Papi, Suu, and Vee would ask him to play video games with them, or when he could find the time, spend some quality time with his precious girlfriend.

Ever since the MON operative came to stay, Lala wanted nothing more than to spend every waking moment with him, and when she could get away with it, cuddle up to him at night in order to spend more time with him. The dullahan soon realised that with everything that had to be done around the house she couldn't realistically be with him all the time, and she had to accept the fact that they needed time to themselves too. Though despite that, the pair were happy with how things were for the time being.

Over the last few days Yuuto had taken the girls to visit Kimihito at the hospital and it was Papi's and Suu's turn to go visit their host, though just after breakfast as Yuuto sent the harpy and blue slime off to get ready for their outing, Mero had made a request of him as they were leaving the dining room.

"Sir Yuuto, would it be a bother to make a request of you?" The pink-haired mermaid asked in an overly polite tone.

"Not at all, though I wish you'd stop calling me 'Sir' already." The human replied, trying to hide his annoyance over the unnecessary title.

The princess' cheeks went red at his answer. "Oh, I do apologise, but would it be alright if we speak in private in my chambers for a moment? I assure you it won't take long." She said with an apologetic smile.

"Um, sure thing." Yuuto answered as he went behind her and grabbed the handles of her wheelchair before pushing her towards her room.

"Thank you kindly Sir Yuuto." She replied with a joyous smile as she clasped her webbed hands together.

The MON operative just sighed to himself as he continued to push her towards their destination. It didn't look like Mero would drop the title she gave him any time soon. As Yuuto opened the door to her room and wheeled the princess inside, he was greeted by the sight of a well-sized waterproof room with a large pool taking up two-thirds of the space, with a small ramp going into the pool that granted the mermaid easy wheelchair access to get in and out. There was also a wardrobe near where the ramp was so Mero could get changed before entering the pool. As he shut the door behind him, the mermaid started to wheel herself towards where the ramp and the wardrobe were.

"Thank you for your assistance, but I can manage myself from here. Please, take a seat by the pool." Mero said to the human as she reached the wardrobe and started to take her dress off.

Yuuto's cheeks went bright red as he noticed her starting to get undressed. "Mero, maybe I should wait outside while you're getting changed."

"Oh, it's quite alright." She replied as she hung up her gothic dress, revealing a black and white frilly two-piece swimsuit underneath to cover her modesty. "I have no intention on striping completely, though if my Beloved was here…" She trailed off as her own cheeks went bright red.

"Yeah, I think I get the idea…" He interjected as he sat himself down cross-legged by the edge of the pool. "Somehow I get the feeling that you want some sort of advice from me."

"Oh, indeed I do." Mero rolled her wheelchair as far down the ramp as it could until it was halfway submerged into the water. She then pushed herself out of the chair and started lazily swimming towards the human. "I'd thought that seeing you've known Beloved for some time that you'd have some idea on how I could possibly capture his affections."

"Well, I'm not sure about that." The blonde replied as he rubbed the back of his neck. "Up until my first time meeting you girls, I hadn't seen or spoken to him for about five years. So, to be honest, your guess is as good as mine."

"Oh, I see…" The princess replied with a hint of disappointment as she tentatively placed her hands on the edge of the pool next to him. "Well, would you think he'd be interested in having a mistress at least?" She asked him as her cheeks went red.

Yuuto quirked an eyebrow at her question. "Dare I ask why?"

Mero propped herself out of the pool and took a seat next to him. "Well, it would be like what happens in The Little Mermaid!" She exclaimed as she pressed her hands to her cheeks. "To fall in love with someone, only to have them love another! To spend your days longing for an unrequited love that will never be returned! It would be so tragic!" She continued with a dreamy look on her face.

To say that the MON agent was slightly weirded out by the girl's tragedy fetish would've been an understatement, he just hoped that not all merfolk were like this. "Mero, I hate to break it to you, but that's not how a mistress works." He explained while trying to keep a straight face. "What you're looking for is someone else to be his mistress, and honestly I think Kimihito is more of a 'One girl' kind of guy."

The mermaid was brought back from her tragic fantasy at his words as a look of uncertainty crossed her face. She removed her hands from her reddened cheeks and locked eyes with the human. "Well, if that's the case, then how should I proceed?"

Yuuto gave her a warm smile in return as he placed a hand on her shoulder, surprised for a moment by the layer of mucus that covered her skin. "I'll tell you the same thing I told Miia the other day when she asked me for advice. Just keep being yourself and give him time to think this whole situation over. Kimihito is under a lot of pressure with Ms Smith's proposal of marrying one of you girls, so try and go easy on the guy, and maybe tone down your tragedy fetish a bit while you're at it, okay?"

They weren't the words that she wanted to here, but Mero knew he had a point. It was her Beloved's decision at the end of the day who he was going to marry, and there wasn't much she could do about it except be honest with her feelings for him and give him time to process it. Eventually, the mermaid smiled back at the blonde and clasped his hand in between her own.

"Thank you Sir Yuuto, your consul has been most helpful. Surely there must be some way I can repay you for your help." She said as she returned to her cheery demeanour.

"Well, I'd appreciate it if you stopped calling me 'Sir'." He replied as he furrowed his eyebrows at the princess. "It feels too weird and formal being called that, plus, I've already got a collection of weird nicknames as it is…"

"Oh, I couldn't possibly do that Sir Yuuto." She replied with a joyous smile, her webbed hands still clutching at his. "How else am I supposed to acknowledge your chivalrous and hardworking nature?"

"I swear she's just doing this on purpose now…" Yuuto thought to himself with an annoyed look on his face.

Just then, the door to the room opened and Vee, who was currently in her child-like form, poked her head around the corner with a look of worry on her gelatinous face. "Yuuto! We've got a situation!" She exclaimed in a panicked tone.

The pair looked back at the orange slime with bewildered looks on their faces. "Don't tell me, Papi knocked over something again, didn't she?" The human asked as he pulled his hand free from the mermaid's grasp.

"No, worse! Papi flew off with Suu to find Kimihito! They're out there by themselves!" She yelled with worry, concerned about the safety of her friends.

"…Crap…"

Not too far away flying over the suburbs, Papi was flying around aimlessly carrying the child-like Suu in her talons. They hadn't seen their host in days and the harpy was desperate to apologise to him in person. The only problem was that she and Suu didn't know where the hospital was, so the pair flew up as high as they could to see if they could find it that way.

Papi looked around in a panic, unsure of where they were. "C'mon, the hostel has to be here somewhere."

"Hospital." Suu corrected her friend.

"Right, that! But where is it?! Papi wants to see Boss really bad!" The harpy shouted as she started to get flustered.

"Maybe we should go back and get Yuuto to take us there." The slime girl suggested as she pointed towards where their home was.

Papi's eyes had shot wide open at the realised they weren't with a host. "Oh no! Yuugo's gonna get mad at us for leaving without him! Papi doesn't want to get distorted!"

"Deported. Yuuto might get mad, but I don't think he'll get us deported. He's nice like Master is." Suu explained, trying her best to calm her friend down. "Let's just head back for now."

"Alright, but where is home?"

"That way." She answered as she pointed one of her tendrils behind her.

"Thanks, Suu!" Papi shouted excitedly as she started flying her way back to their host's home. "Let's get back before-!"

The blue haired harpy cut herself off as she noticed a shadow pass over them briefly. She jerked her head up to see if anyone was there, but all she could see was the sun hanging in the clear blue sky. She heard a rush of wind behind her and Papi spun herself around to see nothing but clear blue sky.

"Hello?! Is anyone there?!" The harpy exclaimed, starting to get panicky again.

Suu looked behind them, and a look of shock crossed her face as she started to panic too. "Papi! Behind us!" She shouted in warning, but it came too little too late.

Before Papi could turn around, a slender figure dived towards them and snatched the pair out of the sky, causing them to yelp in surprise. Both Papi and Suu had large yellow talons grasping at the back of their shirt and raincoat respectively, preventing their escape. They looked up to see a larger harpy with short white hair and large white wings with black primary feathers looking down at them with a smirk on her face.

"Busted." Kestria said to them in a triumphant tone.

"Kress!" Papi exclaimed excitedly with a wide joyous smile on her face.

"It's Kes, Papi." Suu corrected her.

"That's what Papi said, wasn't it?" The baseline harpy asked with a look of confusion on her face.

Kestria just merely let out an exasperated sigh before continuing to speak. "Your terrible memory aside, what are you two doing out here by yourselves? Shouldn't you girls be with Hotshot right now?" She questioned the troublesome duo with an annoyed look on her face.

"Hotpot? But Boss said we shouldn't stand too close to hotpots though, especially when they're boiling." Papi answered, unable to understand what the raptor harpy was on about.

"I think she's talking about Yuuto." The blue slime explained.

"Huh? That's a weird name to call someone."

Kestria was half tempted to drop the blue harpy there and then, though she realised that Yuuto would get upset with her if she did. "Yeah, let's finish this conversation on the ground before I do something I might regret." She said before she took a deep breath and started descending towards the ground with the two girls in her grasp. "Now, where did I leave Isao?" She asked herself as she scanned the nearby area for the man in question.

"Hey! Kes! Over here!"

The trio heard a man shouting as they got closer to the ground, looking towards one of the footpaths near the main road to find a young man with black buzz-cut hair waving frantically at them with both hands. Kestria smiled to herself as her cheeks went red, happy to see him. She started to fly towards him as the man began to calm down.

Isao quirked an eyebrow at the group as he noticed to two liminal girls Kestria was carrying. "Who are they?"

Just as they were a few feet off the ground, the raptor harpy promptly dropped them without a care before landing herself just a few feet away from the human. "Acquaintances." She said with a smirk on her face. "The harpy, in particular, is a known runaway."

"Ow." Papi said as she sat herself up and rubbed the back of her head while Suu was reforming herself from the splat she had become. She then looked up at the human standing next to Kestria, her eyes now gleaming with curiosity as she jumped to her talons excitedly and made her way to him. "Hi, Mister! I'm Papi, Papi the harpy!" She exclaimed as she waved a wing at him. "Who're you?"

Isao looked down at her and gave her a warm smile. "Hey Papi, I'm Isao. It's nice to meet you." He said as he extended a hand to her.

"Hi, Isao!" She replied excitedly as she grasped his hand with both wings and shook it vigorously. "So, how do you know Kress?" She asked after letting go of him.

"Oh, I'm a friend of hers that works at the nearby Oka-mart." He answered while rubbing the back of his head.

Kestria smirked to herself before she stood right next to him and pressed herself against his chest. "I don't know, I think we've gone past just being friends, don't you think?" She said to him teasingly as she gave him a seductive wink.

The store clerk's face went bright red as he turned his gaze away from hers. "W-Well, I guess we've gotten a bit closer recently." He stuttered in an embarrassed tone.

"C'mon Isao, I'm practically your girlfriend at this point." She replied in a teasing tone before pecking him on the cheek, which sent the man reeling.

"K-K-Kes, should we really be doing this in public? I-I don't want you to get deported because of me…" Isao asked with worry in his voice.

The raptor harpy gave him a warm smile before wrapping her wings comfortingly around him to help put him at ease. "Don't worry, I won't let that happen. I don't plan on letting you go that easily." She replied as she nuzzled her cheek against his.

He couldn't help but smile back at Kestria and wrapped his arms around her in a loving hug.

While the couple was doing this, Suu got up on her feet and moved next to her avian friend. "Papi, we should go find Yuuto before we get into more trouble."

Papi's eyes shot wide open, realising the predicament they were in. "Oh no! Yuugo's gonna be super mad with us if we don't head back! C'mon, let's go!"

Before the pair could run off, Kestria forcibly placed her wings on top of their heads and stopped them in place. "Hold it." She said in a stern tone. "You two aren't going anywhere until you tell me why you're out here by yourselves, to begin with."

"But Kress!" Papi exclaimed as she looked back at her with teary eyes. "We really need to see Boss, but we need Yuugo to take us to the hostel!"

"Hospital." Suu corrected her.

"Yeah, that." She replied as tears started rolling down her cheeks. "Boss got hurt really bad because of me, and Papi really needs to go see him and say how sorry she is that it happened…" She trailed off as she started to sob to herself.

"Papi…" The blue slime said with worry.

Kestria felt a pang of guilt at her words. She felt the same way after what happened with her youngest sister, Avia. She wanted to apologise to her for putting her in danger, but her tribe denied her that chance and exiled her for her reckless actions. Now she was stopping Papi from going to see her host to apologise to him, and she felt empathetic towards the small harpy's plight. The raptor harpy soon lifted her wings from their heads and knelt down next to the blue haired girl, before wrapping her wings around her in a comforting hug and rested her chin on her shoulder. Papi stopped her sobbing momentarily as a look of confusion crossed her face.

"Don't worry Papi, no one's trying to stop you from seeing him." She started as she gently rubbed her back. "It was just silly of you to fly off by yourself when you didn't know where you were going. We'll go find Hotshot and take you to the hospital after, okay?"

Papi started to tear up again as she pressed her face into the crook of Kestria's neck and wrapped her wings around the larger harpy tightly. "Thank you, Kress." She replied as she started sobbing out loud once more.

A warm smile crept onto the raptor harpy's face as she tightened her grip on Papi. "It's Kes, you dummy." She said as tears started to trickle down her own cheeks.

The pair stayed like this for some time while Suu and Isao watched on quietly, giving them time to get their emotions in order. Once the two harpies calmed themselves down enough, Kestria broke the hug and stood up straight, giving the girl a confident smile as she did so. "Now, let's see if we can find where Hotshot is hiding."

Papi wiped the tears from her cheeks with one of her wings before looking back at the larger harpy with a smile on her face. "Okay, but where would he be?"

"PAPI! SUU! WHERE ARE YOU?!"

The group heard the unmistakable voice of Yuuto from behind Kestria and Isao, and they looked behind them to see the blonde agent running around the corner of the street carrying Vee on his back, both of whom were frantically looking for the whereabouts of the harpy and blue slime.

The orange slime was able to spot the group and pointed the human in the right direction. "Yuuto, they're over there!" She said to him in a relieved tone.

Yuuto looked over to where the slime girl was pointing, and the worried expression on his face was soon replaced with one of relief. He started to run towards the group as fast as his legs could take him, happy to see that Papi and Suu were alright.

"Speak of the devil, we were just talking about you." Kestria said to him teasingly as she gave her squad captain a cheeky wink.

"Hey Kes, hey Ishida." The blonde replied as he came to a halt in front of them, at which point Vee got off his back and made her way to Papi and Suu. "Thanks for finding them, I would've been out here all day otherwise." He added as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"Well, Kes did all the work. I was just along for the ride." Isao responded as he looked over to his harpy companion with a smile on his face.

"You're such a flatterer," Kestria said to the store clerk in a sultry tone as she gave him a wink, causing him to blush profusely before she turned her attention back to Yuuto. "and don't worry Hotshot, you can pay me back later." She said teasingly with a massive grin on her face.

While they were talking, Vee ran up to the blue-feathered harpy and blue slime and wrapped them into a loving hug. "Papi, Suu! You're okay! I was so worried about you!" She exclaimed in relief as she tightened her grip around them.

Papi giggled to herself as she wrapped her wings around the orange slime. "Hey Vee, it's no pro."

"No pro." Suu added with a smile on her face as she wrapped her arms and tendrils around both Papi and Vee.

The trio stayed like this until Papi and Suu noticed Yuuto standing right behind Vee with an annoyed look on his face. The harpy and blue slime broke from the hug and were preparing themselves for the lecture they were about to receive, both gulping in worry.

"Uh oh…" Papi muttered to herself.

"Yeah, uh oh," Yuuto replied as he quirked an eyebrow at her. "why did you two run off like that?"

The harpy averted her gaze from his as she was overwhelmed with guilt. "Sorry Yuugo, but Papi really wanted to see Boss and apologise to him."

The blonde smirked back at her before crouching down to be at eye level with the girl. "Did you even know where you were going?"

She looked back at him as her cheeks went red with embarrassment. "No, Papi didn't really think it through…"

Yuuto suppressed a chuckle as he began to pat her head. "You're lucky that you're so endearing." He then got back up and motioned her to follow him. "C'mon, we don't want to keep Kimihito waiting." He added as he gave her a warm smile.

The harpy looked back up at him in surprise. "Really? You're not angry at me?" She asked with a hint of confusion.

"Really, just stick with me this time so you don't get lost. Okay?"

Papi couldn't help but give him her biggest and brightest smile before she ran over to him and wrapped herself around his waist in a big hug. "Thanks, Yuugo! Papi promises to behave from now on!" She exclaimed as she nuzzled her cheek against him.

"Good to hear." He replied while patting her head. "Now come on, let's go." He continued as he started escorting her to their destination. "Vee, Suu, that goes for you too."

"Okay!" The slime girls exclaimed joyously in unison as they started to follow him.

"Hey Hotshot," Kestria spoke up to get the blonde's attention. "Mind if we tag along for a bit?"

"Sure, I'll need all the help I can get." He replied as he smirked at her.

"Oh, now you ask for help." She said in a teasing tone before bumping shoulders with him.

"Don't worry, you can count on us." Isao added as he followed them from behind.

With that, the group was finally making their way to visit Kimihito. Hopefully, they'd be able to make it there before visiting hours were over for the day.

Once they arrived, they went straight to Kimihito's room, and both Papi and Suu wasted no time in latching themselves to their host without hurting him too much. The harpy couldn't stop herself from sobbing as she clung to him tightly, apologising as best she could in her current state of mind. Kimihito did what he usually did and comforted the girls as best he could, albeit with only one free arm. He told both Papi and Suu that he'd be fine, and he'd be back home as soon as he could. Yuuto, Vee, Kestria and Isao just stood to the side and watch the trio in silence as they had their moment together. After talking for a while, the group finally had to say their goodbyes and started making their way home, with both the baseline harpy and blue slime happy to see their host on the mend. As they were making their way back, the group found themselves walking by a small playground, and the little ones couldn't help but want and go play on it for a bit.

"Hey, Yuugo! Can we play here before we go home?!" Papi asked excitedly.

"Yeah, can we Yuuto?!" Vee joined in with equal enthusiasm.

"Pretty please?" Suu pleaded.

And there it was, the puppy dog eyes he couldn't find the will to say no to. It just wasn't fair all three of them were giving him that look.

*Sigh* "Sure, we've got time before I need to get lunch ready." Yuuto replied with a warm smile.

"Yay!" The trio exclaimed before rushing towards the playset they'd have for themselves for the time being.

"Geez Hotshot, you're way too easy to persuade sometimes." Kestria teased with a smirk on her face.

The blonde smirked back at her. "You try saying no to that."

"Whatever, I need to take a quick break anyway. Harpies weren't made for walking long distances anyway." She replied as she started making her way towards one of the nearby benches.

"You've heard of land harpies, right?" He retorted with a cheesy grin.

"Well, I'm with Kes on this one. I need a quick break myself." Isao said as he made his way to the bench Kestria just sat on.

The raptor couldn't help but smirk at her boyfriend. "You just want an excuse to cuddle, don't you?" She teased in a sultry tone.

The store clerk's face went bright red at the insinuation. "W-Well, can you blame a guy?" He stuttered, just as he reached the bench.

"So, what are you waiting for?" She asked as she gave him a wink.

Isao hesitated for a moment, but he soon sat next to the harpy, and Kestria wasted no time in wrapping her wings around him so they could snuggle up together. The human gladly reciprocated the hug as he wrapped his arms around her waist, soon easing himself into the cuddling session they were about to have.

"Yeah, you two just make out or whatever. I'll just keep an eye on the kids on my own." Yuuto said out loud in a sarcastic tone.

"You're just jealous cause Grim isn't here." The raptor harpy retorted in a teasing tone.

The blonde's face went red at her statement, unable to retort to her comment. "Maybe…"

Kestria merely smirked back at him before going back to cuddling with her boyfriend. Yuuto couldn't help but smile at the sight of the pair on the bench. He was glad that she found someone. He looked back towards the playset to see how the girls were doing. Papi was happily flying around the equipment, while Suu clambered around the structure before sliding down the slide. Vee was busy bouncing around the playset in her blob form, still clinging on to her raincoat and boots. The human couldn't help but think about how much has changed in the last three or four years. Back then, the idea of other humanoid creatures existing was thought to be only the stuff of fiction. Now, they were intermingling into human society and it felt like they were always a part of it. Sure, there had been people who were against the idea of these 'monsters' becoming a part of their civilization, but despite that, not a lot had really changed because of it. Things right now were going smoothly for the most part, but he knew there was still a lot to achieve before full integration would be successful. Yuuto would soon be pulled back to reality as he heard the yell of a familiar young girl.

"Big Brother!"

He was shaken from his thoughts as he glanced to his side to see Yui with her long brown curls flowing behind her as she rushed towards the MON operative with a wide smile on her face. Behind her he saw Sulphira walking at a leisurely pace not far behind, giving the human a warm smile.

"Hey Kazama, it's been a while." The dragonewt said as her cheeks went bright red.

"Yeah, it has." He replied with a warm smile before crouching down to receive a big hug from Yui. "And I hope you've been behaving yourself, little missy." The blonde said playfully to the young girl now clinging to him.

"Yep, I've been really good!" She exclaimed as she pulled back from the hug, giving him her biggest grin. A sudden look of realisation crossed her face as she locked eyes with him once more. "Wait, is Vee here with you?!"

"Why don't you ask her yourself?" He said as he hooked a thumb towards the playset. "You might make some new friends too while you're at it."

The little girl looked towards the playset to see Vee playing with another slime girl as well as a harpy. Yui's face was overcome with awe and excitement before rushing towards the trio to introduce herself. Yuuto stood up straight again as Sulphira stopped in front of him and smirked at him.

"Glad to see you aren't all work and no play." The dragonewt said in a teasing tone.

"Well, technically I am working," Yuuto replied as he rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm covering for those girls' host while he's recovering in hospital, so I've still got my hands full."

"Ah, that explains why you're hanging out at a playground of all places."

"Yeah. Speaking of," He started as he quirked an eyebrow at her. "don't you think Yui's a bit young to be your host?" He teased as a smirk appeared on his own face.

Sulphira merely smirked back at him as she pulled a couple of cards out of her handbag held them out for the human to see. The first was an IAP pass with her name and photo on it. Behind it was another card with her name and photo on it, only this one was headed with 'ICEP STAFF' at the top of the ID card.

Yuuto's eyes widened in realisation. "Wait, you mean-"

"Yeah, I got the job." She interjected, giving him a sincere smile.

The blonde couldn't help but give her a wide smile as she put the cards away. "Wow! Congratulations Sulphira! That's great news!" He exclaimed, genuinely happy for her.

The dragonewt's eye started welling up with joy at his reaction, and she soon wrapped her arms and wings around the human, pulling him into a hug as she rested her chin on his shoulder. "Thanks, but I couldn't have done it without your help." She replied, appreciative of his efforts that allowed her to get this far.

Yuuto smirked to himself as he wrapped his arms around her and rubbed her back comfortingly. "What're you talking about? This was all you, you just needed someone to push you in the right direction is all."

"Maybe, but I wouldn't be here now if not for you, Kazama." She responded as she tightened her grip on him, letting a joyful tear trickle down her cheek.

The pair stayed like this for some time as Sulphira composed herself, not wanting to be an emotional wreck in front of the man that'd helped her get this far. Just being in contact with him helped her put her mind at ease. It helped her forget about the traumatic experience she went through, and it brought her confidence that she felt she couldn't muster herself right now. Eventually, they loosened the hug, but the dragonewt still had her hands grasping at his shoulders as she looked up at him with flushed cheeks and a loving smile on her face.

"So, when do you start?" The MON operative asked.

"The start of next week. Feeling slightly nervous about it if I have to be honest." She answered in an embarrassed tone.

Yuuto gave her a warm smile as he placed a hand on her shoulder and gave it a comforting squeeze. "I'm sure you'll do just fine. We'll be seeing a lot more of each other anyway, so if you have any problems, just come and find me, and I'll help as best as I can."

"Of course, I suppose I'll have to call you Senpai now."

"Please don't." He replied unenthusiastically as he gave her a deadpan expression. "Just Yuuto is fine."

"Okay, Yuuto…" She said as her cheeks went a brighter shade of red. "Anyway, speaking of seeing more of each other…" She trailed as she placed a finger on his chest, drawing circles with it as she subtly wrapped her tail around his leg, though this didn't escape the human's attention. "I was thinking… when you're not too busy that is… maybe when you're next free…" She trailed off as her nerves got the better of her, but she took a deep breath and continued. "…maybe we could go out somewhere. Catch a movie, have dinner somewhere nice, you know… just the two of us…"

Yuuto knew exactly what she was trying to ask, and it pained him to have to turn her down after all she's been through, but he couldn't lead her on, he had to be honest with her. He sighed to himself as he gave her his answer. "I hate to break it to you, but I'm already seeing someone. I'm really sorry."

Sulphira's eyes went wide with embarrassment as her whole face went red. She quickly unlatched herself from the human and jumped back a step before she started waving her arms apologetically at him. "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't realise!" She shouted as she became flustered over the situation, embarrassed by what she was doing to him up to this point. "Of course, you're seeing someone already! I'd be crazy to think otherwise! I didn't mean to insinuate that you were-!"

She was silenced as the blonde place a hand on top of her head and started rubbing it gently. "Relax, will you?" He said as he gave her a cheesy grin. "You didn't know that I wasn't single, so don't worry about it."

The dragonewt averted her gaze from his, though she was happy that he was being nice to her, despite what just happened. "Okay, but still…"

"C'mon, we're still friends, right?"

Sulphira looked back at him with widened eyes as she saw the human give her a warm smile. She couldn't help but give one back in return. "Of course, I rely on you way too much."

"Hey, Hotshot!" Kestria called out to her captain. "It's almost like you're trying to hit on every liminal woman you meet!" She teased as she gave the pair a suggestive wink.

Yuuto removed his hand from the dragonewt's head as he smirked back at the harpy. "Have you told Ishida that you're expecting an egg sometime soon?" He teased back as he gave her a cheeky grin.

Her eyes shot wide open as her cheeks went red, embarrassed that her captain divulged such private information in public. Isao's cheeks also went red upon hearing this. "Oh, you are?" The human asked his girlfriend in an embarrassed tone.

Kestria just glanced back at him nervously before she locked eyes with the blonde again and furrowed her eyebrows at him. A smirk appeared on her face as she stood up and spread her wings wide. "Isao, would you be a dear and wait here for a second? I have some business to take care of." She said with a predatory glint in her eyes before she launched herself into the air and started flying straight at her squad captain.

Yuuto's face took on a look of panic before he started sprinting away from the angered raptor harpy currently swooping towards his general direction. "Hey Sulphira, can we continue this conversation later?! I need to take cover quickly!"

"Oh no, you don't!"

"AAAAHHHH!"

Before he could even get close to the playset, Kestria latched her talons onto the back of his shirt and pulled him up into the air with her with great ease. The blonde instinctively grabbed hold of one of her talons and he held onto it for dear life.

"Kes! Let me down already, will you?!" He yelled in a panicked tone.

"I dunno, that doesn't sound like begging to me." The raptor harpy teased in a sadistic tone.

"Like hell, I'm going to beAAAHHHH! HEY! DON'T DROP ME FROM UP HERE! I'LL BREAK SOMETHING!"

While this was happening, Papi, Suu, Vee and Yui looked on with wide smiles on their faces, thinking that the two MON agents were having a whale of a time. "Hey, I want to fly too!" The human girl exclaimed excitedly.

Papi jumped up to her talons and took off into the air before picking up Yui from the ground to fly with her. "Up we go!"

"Yay! This is so much fun!"

Isao walked up to Sulphira's side as they watched the chaos unfold before them, unsurprised by the unfolding events. "Um, should we do something about this? Someone might get hurt." He said with a hint of worry.

"I don't think there's much we could do, to be honest. I'm sure they won't let it get too out of hand anyway." She replied as she kept a close eye on Yui and the blue harpy flying her around.

"That's a good point." The store clerk responded as he rubbed the back of his neck. "Oh, I don't think we've been introduced." He said suddenly as he extended a hand towards the dragonewt. "I'm Isao Ishida."

The onyx-scaled girl looked back at him and gave him a warm smile as she grasped his hand and firmly shook it. "Sulphira Magnious, it's a pleasure."

The pair continued to talk as Yui was enjoying her flight with Papi and the two slime girls continued to play on the playset, as well as Yuuto desperately trying to avoid being dropped from the air by his raptor harpy squadmate. Despite the antics happening before them, situations such as these were quickly becoming a part of everyday life.

A/N: Sorry for the delay again, I've been sorting out getting a car recently, plus I've been struggling to come up with what to write for the 'Playing Host' chapters. They'll be one more of these which will focus mainly on Rachnera, so look forward to that. Afterwards, I'll finally get around to doing the date with Lala, and hopefully, things will get interesting from there.

If you haven't already, feel free to follow/favourite the story if you wish to keep up with it and feel free to drop a review or any suggestions to help me improve. As always, thanks for reading this and I'll catch you next time!