It was the day after Yuuto had gone with Hikari to see their father. The hybrid had a lot to take in after the ordeal but just thinking about it was starting to drive him nuts. Thankfully Ms Smith had planned for all the MON agents to head out to Sports Club Kobold for the day to keep them in shape, seeing as it had been quiet since the Takahashi/Fukuda incident in Koto ward. Lala had been asked to come too to see how she compared physically to her potential future co-workers, so that would help brighten his spirits somewhat. It was also a good excuse for him to finally test out what his devil mode was capable of and how long he'd be able to sustain it for and to see if he could improve on it. For better or for worse it was going to be a tiring day for him.
The group arrived at Sports Club Kobold, and Kuroko had told everyone that they could go off and do their own thing, as long as they weren't slacking off. Everyone agreed and proceeded to get changed into their training gear before going to the different areas of the gym to get started. As this was going on, Polt, the owner of the gym was showing a troll woman around as her personal trainer for the day. The troll woman in question was extremely tall and muscular, standing at least nine feet tall, making her taller than even Tionishia, and she had pale green skin, dark green eyes and had dark green shoulder-length hair with a pair of pale green stubby horns poking in between her fringe. She was wearing a deep blue sports shirt to contain her massive breasts, as well as deep blue tight-fitting shorts, white trainers, and a pair of deep blue wristbands.
"So, Astrid. What are you most concerned about?" The cheerful kobold asked in a friendly tone. "We have everything you could possibly need here to deal with all your health needs."
Astrid looked away nervously for a moment as a blush appeared on her cheeks. "I'm worried that my arms and chest are starting to get a bit flabby. There isn't a lot of room to move around in Tokyo for us trolls right now…" She replied dejectedly in what sounded like a Swedish accent.
"Hmmm, arms and chest, arms and chest…" Polt muttered to herself with her hand held to her chin, deep in thought. She remained like this for a moment until she came upon an idea as her face brightened up, her cheerful mood returning to her. "Oh, I know! We had some new punching bags come in the other day, and one of them should be big enough for you to use!" She exclaimed excitedly.
"Really?" The troll asked, her curiosity now peaked. "Well, it'll be a big help, I didn't realise they made punching bags that big." She added as her lips curled into a smile.
"Oh, it's just a prototype, but hopefully they'll go into mass production sooner rather than later. Anyway, I'll take you to our weights room right now, so you can try it out." Polt replied as she took the lead with Astrid following in tow.
The pair were making good progress, but as they neared the weights room they heard loud grunts coming from nearby. Polt's ears perked up as she heard the grunting, but she found it strange as it sounded like it was reverberating. Thankfully for them it was coming from the area they were already heading for, so they could kill two birds with one stone.
"Anyway, this super-huge punching bag I ordered is about twelve feet tall, so it should be perfect for you!" The kobold explained excitedly as her tail wagged frantically, looking forward to the troll's reaction. "I've been told that they made the outer casing super think and durable too, so you won't need to worry… about…" She trailed off as the turned the corner into the room. She was not prepared for what she saw as her jaw hung open in surprise, nor was Astrid if the look of awe on her face was any indication.
Someone had already beaten them to the extremely large punching bag, and the gym owner instantly recognised it was Yuuto by the blonde spiky hair, though what had surprised her was the fact that his body was emitting currents of crimson electricity, and that his eyes were also crimson too. What was even more surprising was that he was laying into the behemoth of a punching bag like it was a normal sized one, sending it swinging from side to side as he punched and kicked at it, letting out grunts with every hit as the sweat poured down his body. Standing by some of the normal sized punching bags were Blare and Zombina, standing idly as they admired the hybrid's handiwork.
"Damn, Stud. You really are laying into that thing." The hellhound commented with an excited look on her face.
"Hell yeah! Beat the shit outta it, Beesh!" The zombie shouted with a massive grin on her face.
Polt was left speechless for a moment at the sight as the blonde continued to pummel the punching bag, but she soon shook herself out of her stupor and rushed towards the three MON agents. "Hold it!" She yelled, grabbing their attention as the kobold hurried to where they were. Yuuto had stopped what he was doing as the now confused gym owner moved to his side. "Yuuto! What…how…why…?!" Polt was in a state of confusion, not sure how to react to his transformation as the hybrid looked back at her quizzically.
Blare giggled to herself for a moment before she moved to her friend's side and placed a padded hand on her shoulder. "Take it easy, Polt." She said in a calming tone. "Turns out that Stud's part elder devil."
The kobold looked back at her friend for a moment with a look of realisation on her face. "Wait, he's a hybrid?"
"Yeah, I am," The hybrid in question spoke up, gaining the attention of both lycanthropes. "but I only found out I can do this about a week back." He added as he clenched a fist, causing an excess amount of chaotic energy to course around it momentarily. "I'm still trying to figure out how much I can do with this transformation."
"Well, you've come to the right place!" Polt replied excitedly as she returned to her chipper mood. "Most of the equipment here is built with liminals in mind, so feel free to go all out!"
"Um, Miss Polt?" The troll woman that had accompanied the gym owner finally spoke up. "Is that the punching bag you were talking about earlier?" She asked as she pointed at the colossal object the blonde was standing next to.
"Yep, that's the one!" The kobold exclaimed as her tail started wagging frantically once more. "This baby was built to withstand the full strength of a minotaur charge!" She boasted before an idea popped into her head. She then wheeled herself back around to face the hybrid. "Yuuto! How about you demonstrate just how durable it is by using your strongest attack on it!"
Yuuto just stared at her for a moment, thinking it wasn't a great idea, but it would give him the chance to find out how strong he really was in this form. He then smirked back at her as he pounded a fist against the palm of his other hand, causing sparks of chaotic energy to course around them with increased intensity. "Fine by me, let's just hope this thing is as tough as you say it is."
"Sorry, Polt, but one-thousand yen says that Beesh rips the damn thing in half!" Zombina exclaimed to the gym owner as she walked up to Blare's side to get a better look at what was about to happen.
A smug looked appeared on the kobold's face as she crossed her arms under her chest. "Don't be so sure. The guys that made it told me that it's made up of at least a dozen layers of leather and shock-absorption material. There's no way that Yuuto can break it."
The redhead started laughing to herself at the woman's comment. "Famous last words, Polt!"
With that, the blonde walk away from the punching bag until he was roughly twenty feet away, much to Polt's confusion. Blare and Zombina merely smirked at each other, clearly aware of what the hybrid had in mind. Astrid looked on with curiosity, eager to see what was going to happen. Yuuto stopped and turned to face the punching bag once more before he got into position, looking like he was about to sprint towards it. After a moment, chaotic energy started to intensify around his legs as a smirk appeared on his lips. In an instant he leapt towards the punching bag, leaving cracks in the floor where he leapt from. As he neared it he spun around mid-air and swung a roundhouse kick with his right leg as he let out a short battle cry. The leg made contact with the punching bag, the impact causing the object to contort where the attack landed. For a moment it looked as though the punching bag would hold out against the attack, but the chaotic energy concentrated in his leg coursed its way through it, causing a rip to form on the other side. In an instant, the side of it was shredded to pieces and it burst open. The immediate area was caked with what was the remains of sponge and other fillings that were inside the bag, and the women were unfortunate enough to be caught by the blast of debris. Yuuto landed without much trouble as he looked back at his handiwork with a shocked look on his face. He wanted to put a dent in it, but he hadn't intended to use so much chaotic energy as to shred it to pieces.
The girls looked on in silence, trying to comprehend what just happened, but soon a massive grin formed on the zombie's face. "Nice going, Beesh! I knew you wouldn't let me down!" She shouted victoriously.
"Should've known he'd overdo it." Blare added as a smirk crossed her lips.
Though the two MON agents were impressed with his showing, Polt was gobsmacked. That punching bag was designed to endure against strikes from ogres, minotaurs and other large and physically strong liminal species, yet the blonde MON agent had almost managed to rip it in half with a single kick. Astrid, on the other hand, had a look of awe on her face, amazed that a human was able to get this strong, even if he was a hybrid like the other girls said.
The hybrid looked back at the gym owner with worry as he began to wave his hands apologetically at her. "Crap, I'm so sorry, Polt! I didn't mean too…" He trailed off, his worry now replaced with confusion as he noticed that she wasn't upset or angry with him for breaking the punching bag, but rather excited.
"Omigod, Yuuto! That was incredible!" Polt exclaimed enthusiastically with her tail wagging frantically and she rushed towards him, now in his face as she gave him a massive smile. "You've really come a long way since you started coming here with the girls! I'm so proud of you!"
"Um, thanks, I guess…" He replied in an embarrassed tone as he rubbed the back of his head.
After a moment the kobold stepped back from him before she pulled a pen and notepad seemingly out of nowhere and started jotting down something in it. "Okay, got to ask the guys if they can add rubber insulation to the next batch," She started before glancing back at the blonde. "which reminds me. Try to hold back on your electricity thingy next time you're on the punching bag, or any of the equipment now that I think about it, okay?" She asked him in a friendly tone with a smile still on her face.
"Oh, sure, I can do that." Yuuto answered before he looked back at the remains of the punching bag still scattered everywhere. "Do you need a hand cleaning up this mess?"
"Nah, I'll be fine. I can get the staff to help me out." Polt replied as she put the pen and notepad away. "You just focus on getting your workout finished." She turned to face the troll as an apologetic look crossed her face. "I'm really sorry, Astrid, but I need to sort out this mess before we can work on your training session. Just wait in here for the time being until I get back."
"Oh, it's alright. Don't worry about it too much." Astrid replied happily.
"Alright." The kobold said before she started running out of the room. "I'll be back as soon as I can!"
With the gym owner gone, Yuuto finally let out a sigh of relief, glad that he wasn't in trouble with her. "Not that I'm complaining, but I just don't get that woman sometimes."
Blare giggled to herself as she moved to his side and bumped shoulders with him. "I wouldn't worry about it too much, just be glad she isn't mad at you, Stud." She replied with a cheeky wink.
"Yeah, plus I made an easy thousand-yen outta it thanks to you, so it's a win-win!" Zombina added with a toothy grin.
"…You really are unbelievable sometimes, Zee…" Just then the blonde noticed the troll woman move in front of him and crouch down so that she was closer to eye level with him. "Oh, I'm sorry about delaying your session with Polt… err… Astrid was it?" He asked her in an embarrassed tone.
She smiled back at him as she gently placed a hand on top of his head and began to rustle his hair. "Oh, it's alright. I was kind of impressed by what you just pulled off, so I can forgive you for that. But, maybe you should switch to something else before you pop another punching bag, okay?" She said to him in a sweet tone.
"Um, yeah, sure…"
"Wait, hold on!" Blare interrupted as she locked eyes with the troll. "How come you aren't getting shocked by Stud?!"
Astrid then just noticed the tingling sensation in her hand that's placed on the hybrid's head and saw that the red electricity he was using before was arching around her palm and fingers. She then giggled to herself at the sensation. "That feels really nice, Yuuto." She said as she continued to rustle his hair.
"Please stop…" He replied as his face was going red.
Seeing as Astrid wasn't getting hurt touching the blonde, the hellhound tried her luck and placed a hand on his back, only to be rewarded with a nasty shock as she jumped back in pain. "Ow! Dammit!" She shouted out loud.
The zombie of the group let out a gut-wrenching laugh at her co-worker's reaction. "Should've told you that trolls have extremely thick skin, so shit like that doesn't bother them!" She exclaimed as she held her arms around her waist while she was still laughing, much to Blare's annoyance.
After some time, the mess was cleared up and Polt, along with Astrid went off to continue their personal training session. With Blare and Zombina going at their punching bags again, Yuuto decided it would be a good time to go off and lift some weights. He found a free bench to do some reps, but before he could get started he ran into both Tio and Kasumi, who offered to spot for him. Things were well underway as the hybrid started bench pressing a barbell with three hundred pounds of weight attached to it, which was impressive by human standards. Tio was standing right behind him to take the weight for him if he began to struggle while Kasumi was standing to his side, giving him words of encouragement.
"You're doing really well, Senpai. Just don't overexert yourself." The empusa said to him, not taking her eyes off him for even a second.
Tio looked on in awe, clearly impressed that he was handling so much weight by himself. "Wow, Sweetie. You've gotten really strong in that form."
The chaotic energy in his arms intensified as he was lifting the weights, helping to support his muscles against the strain. "Yeah, seems like this form augments the strength in my muscles without increasing my muscle mass, which I got to say is pretty handy." He replied as sweat began to drip down his face.
The two women noticed that as he continued, his movements became slower and more strained and that his breathing was becoming more laboured. Yuuto didn't want to say it, but he was beginning to struggle.
"Senpai, maybe you should take a break. I don't want you to hurt yourself." Kasumi told him in a worried tone.
The blonde smirked back at her. "Don't worry, I need to go as far as I can, so I can figure out what my limits are right now." He replied in a confident tone.
Just as he fully extended his arms with his current rep, the chaotic energy coursing around him started to die down in intensity. It started to fade as his natural muscle strength was struggling to keep the barbell up. In the blink of an eye, the energy faded, and he opened his eyes, which had returned to their natural blue. Shock hit the hybrid as he realised he'd reverted to his natural form, his eyes widened in panic as his arms gave in and the barbell was starting to fall towards him.
In an instant, Tio rushed to grab the weights, easily holding it up with both hands. "Hold on, Sweetie! I got it!" She shouted to him to help try to calm him down.
Kasumi rushed to the foot of the bench and quickly pulled on his ankles to make sure he was as far from the barbell as possible. Satisfied that he was safe, the ogress lifted the weights with ease and placed it safely onto the rack. Yuuto was breathing heavily after the close call and sat himself up straight as Kasumi moved to his side and placed a sickle on his shoulder.
"Senpai, are you alright?" The empusa asked with a look of worry on her face.
"Yeah… I think so…" He replied in between ragged breaths as he tried to calm himself down. "Thanks for the save by the way," He added before looking back at the ogress. "both of you."
Tio moved next to them and crouched down to check on him. "I'm just glad you're okay, but what happened there? Why did you change back all of a sudden?"
"Hmmm…" The hybrid hummed to himself as he raised his hand and clenched his fist, giving it a once over. "I guess it's harder for me to maintain my devil mode if I overexert myself too much, or maybe I can only maintain it for a certain period of time before I revert back to my base form. Either way, it's something I can improve on in time, hopefully."
Kasumi stood up straight and extended a chitinous hand towards him. "For now, I think it's best for you to take a break and recuperate for the time being." She said to him flatly.
Yuuto looked up at her and gave her a smile as he reached out and grabbed her hand. "Sounds great, I'm starting to get parched here." He replied as she helped pull him to his feet.
The empusa merely smiled back at him, happy with his decision.
While they weren't looking Tio shot up to her feet and wrapped the pair into a crushing hug, both now trapped in her fleshy prison. "That's a great idea, Sumi-chan!" She exclaimed joyfully as she lifted them up and started carrying them out of the weights room. "Ooh, I want to try that new banana and mango smoothie they're selling at the canteen!"
"S… Senpai…" Kasumi said quietly as she struggled for breath.
The hybrid managed to pull his head free from the ogress' cleavage and turned to face his squad mate. "It'll be easier if you don't struggle. We'll be out of here in no time."
"…If you think that is best," She replied to him, sounding slightly disappointed. "though I am not entirely displeased with our current predicament…" She added as her cheeks were bright red from being pressed against her squad captain and a particularly large breast.
Yuuto furrowed his eyebrows at her as he let out an exasperated sigh. "Should've known you'd say that…"
Thankfully for them, Tio was too distracted by wanting to try out the banana and mango smoothie to pay attention to their conversation.
The trio spent some time relaxing in the gym's canteen, each indulging in their chosen fruity smoothie and healthy snack. Before long Yuuto had recovered enough to retrigger his devil mode and decided to head down to the swimming pool. He thought it would be a good idea to work all his muscles simultaneously and find out how fast he could move in the water, and also to see if he could try and control his chaotic energy as to avoid shocking any of the other swimmers. He soon found himself racing against one of the other swimmers there, though he soon discovered he was at an extreme disadvantage. The added strength in his muscles from the energies that coursed through him had sped him up quite a bit, though it was only enough to keep up with a human Olympic swimmer. His adversary was far more adapted to the water than any human and easily completed two lengths of the pull just after he completed one. The pink-haired mermaid leapt out of the water and sat at the edge of it, looking back at her competitor with a smile on her face and her hands clasped together.
"You're almost there, Sir Yuuto! You are doing oh so very well!" Mero shouted in encouragement.
The nickname the mermaid gave him still ticked him off to no end, but he decided to ignore it and pressed on with all his might. Within a few seconds, he reached the end of the pool and slammed his hand against it before pulling his head out of the water.
"Time!" He shouted as loud as he could.
Raia, who had previously been sunbathing in the recreational pool area hit the stop button on the stopwatch she had been given. She stood there in a black bikini with a smile curling onto her lips as she looked at the time. "26.09 seconds. That's pretty impressive by human standards." She said to him in an upbeat tone.
The blonde pulled himself out of the water with a look of frustration on his face before sitting himself on the edge of the pool next to the mermaid. "Maybe, but I thought I'd be at least a bit faster than that."
"Oh, don't be so down, Sir Yuuto. You have done exceedingly well for a land dweller." The pinkette commented with a bright smile on her face.
The hybrid looked back at her with a look of annoyance as he furrowed his eyebrows at her. "Well, at least I didn't need to cheat like you, Doppel."
The mermaid smirked back at him before her form unravelled into long strands of white hair, revealing the cocky doppelganger underneath. "You were the one who said you wanted a challenge, Romeo." She replied, giving him a cheeky wink.
Yuuto sighed to himself as he stood to his feet. "Well, at least we've figured out that catching mermaids isn't my forte." He said as he reverted back to his base form. "Guess I'll have to leave that to you two."
He then felt a towel land on the back of his head before he felt a pair of hands rub against his scalp through the fabric. "Don't feel so down, Medjay. The whole point is to find out what you're good at in devil mode, right?" His mummy squad mate asked as she started to dry his hair with the towel.
"…True…" He replied after a moment's hesitation before he stepped away from her and started drying the rest of himself down with the towel. "I guess I was just expecting more."
Doppel smirked at the pair as she also stood to her feet. "Anyway, we've done our part. I'm going to go back to the sunbeds and relax now."
"Yeah, thanks for the help, Doppel."
"No problem, Romeo." She replied as she walked off, waving a few locks of hair at him as she did so. "Stay out of trouble now."
As the blonde finished drying himself off, Raia moved in close and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him into a hug. "Just try not to hurt yourself, okay?" She asked him in a worried tone.
Yuuto couldn't help but smile to himself as he returned the hug. "Don't worry, I'll be careful."
The mummy pulled back from him and gave him a smile, satisfied with his answer. "Alright, I'll catch you later, Medjay." She said as she walked off after the doppelganger, waving a hand at him. "Take care."
"Will do." He answered as he waved back at her.
With the pair gone, the hybrid activated his devil mode once more and started making his way back to the changing room to ready himself for his next challenge. "At least changing forms is starting to feel more natural now." He thought to himself as a smirk appeared on his face.
After he got changed back into his gym gear he headed towards the back of the gym, where there was a massive interior rock-climbing wall that was almost as tall as the building itself. He wanted to find out how fast he could scale the wall free-hand, and thankfully for him Kestria and Manako were already there, the latter scaling the wall herself, while the former flew nearby to keep an eye on her and give her words of encouragement. After they were done, he was able to enlist their help with his task and made ready to climb it after the monoeye took the elevator to the top of the structure to record his time. With that, the hybrid started scaling the wall with incredible speed, with his harpy squad mate flying nearby to make sure he was alright. He intensified the energy in his arms and legs to help propel him up the wall and to help strengthen his grip to reduce the likelihood of falling. The people around him who were also scaling the structure looked on in awe as he flew past them, launching himself from one foothold to another without pausing for breath.
Kestria, who was flapping her way up to keep up with him was amazed by what her squad captain was achieving right now. "Hot damn, Hotshot! You're killing it!" She shouted as she continued to follow him up.
Yuuto kept his focus on where he would launch himself to next. "Yeah, seems like this form is well-suited for something like this! It'll definitely come in handy!" He exclaimed in reply with a smirk on his face.
"No doubt, but try to be careful, will you?!" She asked him, now noticing that they were more than halfway up the nearly eight-story structure. "It's a long drop from here if you lose your footing!"
"It's alright, I've got this!" He shouted back confidently.
As he leapt up and grabbed hold of the next handhold, he put a little too much force into his grip and accidentally ripped it off the structure. His eyes went wide with panic as he felt himself start falling back from the wall.
Kestria also panicked seeing this and flew towards him as fast as she could. "Hotshot!" She shouted with worry.
In an instant a look of determination crossed his face as he thrust a hand forwards and smashed a fist into the wall, making an improvised handhold to grab hold of. He also swung a foot at the wall and did the same there. The blonde was barely hanging on as the raptor harpy made it to his side.
"Hotshot! Are you okay?!" Kestria exclaimed with worry as she hovered as close to him as possible.
Yuuto looked back at her and gave her his widest grin in an attempt to calm her down. "Yeah, totally fine." He then looked back at his hand still holding onto the handhold he accidentally ripped off the wall. "Though I might've overdone it a bit."
His squadmate let out an exasperated sigh. "Geez, don't scare me like that. I thought I was going to have a heart attack." She replied as she gave him an annoyed look.
"Yeah, sorry about that." He answered as he chucked the broken-off handhold towards her, which she grabbed with ease with one of her talons. "Remind me to apologize to Polt about this later." He then readjusted himself, so he was grabbing hold of proper handholds again as he looked up to the top of the structure with a smirk on his face. "Now, if you excuse me, I've got a rock wall to finish climbing." The demonic energy intensified around his arms and legs again as he started launching himself up the structure once more.
Kestria was left hovering there as she looked up at him in disbelief, though after a moment she smirked to herself before she started following him up once more. "…You idiot…" She muttered to herself under her breath.
Back at the top of the structure, Manako sat there patiently with a stopwatch in one hand while checking her cell phone with the other. She was sure she'd be waiting a while for the pair to reach the top, so she took the time to check her emails while she waited. She was distracted as she heard several grunts coming from over the edge of the structure. As she glanced over she saw a hand coursing with chaotic energy grab onto the lip of the wall, soon followed by it launching its owner up and over the edge towards her.
"TIME!" Yuuto shouted as he flung himself over.
The monoeye panicked over his sudden arrival and immediately went to hit the stop button on the stopwatch. The hybrid landed into a crouch in front of the startled woman before he reverted back to his base form. Manako looked up at him as he gave her a warm smile, which soon put her at ease as she smiled back at him.
"So, how did I do?" The blonde asked as he sat himself down next to her.
Manako found herself staring at him longer than she had intended and got herself flustered as she looked away from him and looked back at the stopwatch, her cheeks now red with embarrassment. "Oh, right. I'm sorry, Yuuto." Her eye went wide in astonishment as she read the time on the stopwatch. "…No way, three minutes twenty-nine seconds. That's incredible…"
Yuuto looked a little disappointed as she read it out. "Three twenty-nine? Damn, I must've lost at least fifteen seconds from that slip up earlier." He said out loud as he rubbed the back of his neck.
She looked back at him with a shocked look on her face. "Wait, you could've done it faster?!" She exclaimed in surprise at his statement.
Just then Kestria flew over the edge of the structure and landed gracefully near them with a smirk on her face. "Yeah, Hotshot really hauled ass up there." She answered as she walked over to the pair and crouched down next to her squad captain. "Got to say, I'm pretty surprised myself."
Manako then glanced down at the harpy's talons and noticed that one of them was grasping onto something. "Kestria? What is that you're holding onto?" She asked as she stared at the object curiously.
The raptor harpy glanced down herself before she used one of her wings to awkwardly pick up the handhold her squad captain had accidentally ripped off the rock wall earlier. "Oh, Hotshot broke it off the wall on the way up." She answered as she held it out for the monoeye to see.
Manako furrowed her eyebrows as she looked towards the hybrid of the group. "Yuuto…" She said in a disappointed tone.
The blonde held up his hands defensively at her as his face pulled into an apologetic look. "Hey, it was an accident. I'll apologise to Polt later."
"That's all well and good, but Zombina already told me about the punching bag incident, and the ICEP will have to pay for the damages. Ms Smith isn't going to be happy." She then lowered her head and let out an exasperated sigh. "What are we going to do with you, Yuuto?"
"Hey, don't worry." He replied as he smiled back at her. "I'll make it up to her somehow."
"Yeah, like doing all her paperwork for a week." Kestria interjected with a wry smirk on her face, earning an unenthusiastic groan from her squad captain.
"I'd rather just take the hit to my paycheck…" He complained to himself before he stood up and started making his way to the elevator. "Anyway, I'm off to the track and field area to test something out. I think Lala is taking her fitness test there as well, so I'll check in with her too. I'll catch you later."
"Later, Hotshot." Kestria replied as she waved a wing at him.
"Just be careful, Yuuto." Manako added with a look of worry on her face.
"Will do." Yuuto answered as he made his way to the elevator and made his way down, leaving the two liminal women by themselves.
With the hybrid out of sight, Kestria nudged an elbow against her co-worker, gaining the monoeye's attention. "Hey, Manako. I didn't realise you had a thing for Hotshot, though I can't exactly blame you." The harpy teased as she gave her a suggestive smirk.
Manako's cheeks went bright red at the comment, and she immediately panicked and started waving her hands defensively at her. "N-N-N-No! I-It's not like that! I-I-I assure you that it's completely plutonic admiration of a fellow co-worker's abilities!" She exclaimed in an embarrassed tone.
Kestria giggled to herself as she patted her wing against her co-worker's back. "It's okay, I was only teasing. Though you have to admit he's quite the looker."
The monoeye sighed to herself. "Please stop already…" She begged though she knew that the raptor harpy wouldn't let her off so easy.
Sometime later in the track and field area of the gym, a lightweight centaur and a land harpy were racing each other down the race track. The centaur stood about 5'10" and had brown eyes and long brown hair tied in a ponytail, as well as long pointed ears covered in brown fur. She had pale skin on her human half, and her horse half was covered in light brown fur. She was wearing a yellow gym top on her chest, yellow gym bottoms that covered her horse half, as well as a yellow headband around her forehead. The land harpy was about 6'5" and had tanned skin, brown eyes and spiky shoulder-length silver hair. Unlike most harpies, her wings were short and stubby, which were covered in beige feathers. Her legs were long and muscular, the top half of her legs from the upper thigh down to her knees were covered in beige feathers, and the lower half which was large dinosaur-like feet with black claws covered in yellow scales. She was wearing white running shorts and a white and red checkered tank top as well as a headband and two armbands which also had a white and red checkered design. The pair was easily keeping pace with each other as they raced down the track, neither one willing to let the other overtake them.
"Hey, Gabriela. Don't think you'll beat me this time." The centaur commented as she kept her focus on the track.
The harpy smirked to herself as she quickly glanced back at her adversary. "Big talk from such a small horse, Emily. You'll have to do better than that to put this Chika off her A-game." Gabriela replied in a sassy tone in a Hispanic accent. "Besides, I'm only just warming up."
"Well, that makes two of us." Emily responded in a confident tone as she glanced back at the harpy.
As the two continued to race each other, they suddenly heard powerful footfalls from behind them, accompanied by what sounded like something crackling. They glanced behind them and their eyes widened in surprise at what they saw. Yuuto had come up sprinting behind the two runners as his muscles coursed with chaotic energy, pushing him to gain ground on them. The liminal women slowed down without realising as he pulled up to the land harpy's side.
"Woah, what the!" Emily exclaimed with surprise.
"Santo Cristo…" Gabriela muttered to herself in amazement.
The hybrid glanced back at the pair with a smirk on his face. "Guess you girls haven't seen an elder devil hybrid before. Kind of surprised that I can keep with you two myself if I have to be honest."
The centaur and the harpy glanced at each other for a moment before smirks appeared on their faces. "Guess I'll have to get serious." Gabriela said out loud in a smug tone.
"Likewise, I can't let myself be beaten by a human in a race, even if he is a hybrid." Emily added, her voice full of determination.
With that, the pair of liminals rushed ahead of the MON agent in a burst of speed, a pace that not even he could match in his devil mode. Yuuto's smirk disappeared as it was replaced with a look of surprise. He pushed himself to go faster, but his muscles wouldn't allow him to move faster than he already was. He was left in the dust. Back at the finish line, Ms Smith, who was wearing her own gym outfit waited there with her phone in hand, eagerly awaiting the results of this race. The two liminal women came racing towards the line and crossed it almost simultaneously. The government agent hit the button of her stopwatch app in succession to record both their times, at which point both Emily and Gabriela slowed to a stop and allowed themselves a moment to relax their aching muscles. After about a few seconds, Yuuto eventually crossed the line in an exhausted state. He slowed to a halt next to them and bent over to catch his breath as he rested his hands against his legs for support. He soon reverted back to his base form, too exhausted to maintain his devil mode.
As he was taking deep breaths, Kuroko walked up to him with a smug look on her face as she looked at his time on the stopwatch app. "Not bad, Bishie-kun. Four-hundred meters in 31.87 seconds, pretty phenomenal by human standards, though not enough to keep up with some of the faster liminals out there." She teased as she stood in front of him.
Yuuto was panting heavily as he struggled to regain his breath. "…Yeah… might've… overestimated… my devil mode…" He said in between ragged breaths.
While he was still catching his breath, both Emily and Gabriela walked up to either side of the hybrid to check up on him. "Hey, are you okay there?" The centaur asked as she leant down and placed a hand on his back, rubbing it gently.
The blonde looked up at her with a smirk on his face. "…Yeah… I'll be fine… just give me a sec…"
"That was pretty impressive, but you've got to be loco if you think you can keep up with us." Gabriela said in a teasing tone.
After a moment, the MON agent finally stood up straight as Emily removed her hand from his back. "Doesn't matter, I just wanted to find out how fast I could go. The faces you pulled went I initially caught up with you two were priceless though." He replied as he gave the harpy a cheeky grin.
"Well, that went as well as I expected. Thanks for your help, you two." Ms Smith interjected with an appreciative smile as she looked at the two liminal women.
"Oh, not at all, Ms Smith. I had a fun time." Emily answered with a bright smile.
"Yeah, any excuse for a good run." The land harpy added as she held her wings against her hips.
Just then, Kuroko looked down at her phone and checked their times. "And just so you know, Emily won by about a tenth of a second."
Emily was overjoyed as she let out a victorious squeal. "Yes! All that training's paid off!"
Gabriela let out an exasperated sigh, annoyed that she let the centaur beat her. "Maldita sea…" She groaned in Spanish.
"Regardless, your assistance has been very helpful. You're free to go about your usual routine if you wish." The government agent added with a polite smile.
"Will do." Emily answered as she started to trot away, though not before waving goodbye to the hybrid. "See you soon, Kazama. Looking forward to the next race." She said with a sweet smile on her face.
"Yeah, catch you later, Loco." Gabriela added as she followed after the centaur, waving a wing at him as she left.
"Yeah, see you soon." Yuuto replied as he waved back at them.
Kuroko turned to face the blonde as a teasing smirk curled onto her lips. "I have to say, you definitely know how to impress the ladies."
*Sigh* "Don't start, Ma'am. I was only testing the limits of my devil mode. Besides, I'm more concerned with how Lala's doing right now." He replied in an annoyed tone.
"Why don't you see for yourself, Bishie-kun." She responded as she pointed towards the asphalt area at the centre of the track and field.
Lala was in the middle of doing a set of push-ups, her body, which was wearing a black gym outfit with pink linings and her scarf covering her cross-section was, struggling to perform the task while her head lay nearby with an exhausted look on her face. Looming over her to her side was her instructor for the day, whom every one of the MON agents referred to as Serge. Sergeant Cynthia Cunningham, training instructor for MON. She was a long-legged arachne with long flowing blonde hair and six crimson eyes, with one smaller pair placed under her main pair of eyes, and the other smaller pair above them hidden under her long fringe and her black peaked cap. Her hands were covered in a light brown carapace, as were her spider body and her eight extreme long and slender legs. She was wearing a white tight-fitting button-up shirt and a long black skirt which she wore from her torso all the way down to her pedipalps. She also had a yellow armband around her right bicep with M.O.N. Instructor written in bold black font on it.
The imposing woman looked down at the dullahan with a stern look on her face, unimpressed by the new recruit's performance so far. "Pick up the pace, Recruit! My frail grandmother could do twenty push-ups faster than you!" She yelled in a commanding tone.
The young reaper groaned as she continued to struggle with her push-ups. "The flames o' the Underworld would be more bearable than this punishment..." She complained to herself, though this didn't escape the arachne's notice.
Cynthia placed one of her legs onto the recruit's back and applied some pressure to it, making Lala's task all the more challenging. "Seems like it isn't difficult enough for you if you have the energy to complain." She said in a sadistic tone as a wicked smile crossed her lips. "Now, less belly-aching and more push-ups."
"Y-Y-Yes, Ma'am!" Lala exclaimed in a panicked tone as she continued with her task.
Yuuto sighed to himself as he watched his girlfriend struggle. "I think Serge is enjoying this a little too much if you ask me."
"Perhaps, but she's good at what she does." Ms Smith replied as the pair started making their way towards the arachne and dullahan.
As the pair got closer, the sergeant noticed them and lifted her leg off of Lala, now standing at attention at the presence of the government agent. "Ma'am." She said as she saluted her.
"At ease, Sergeant." The human woman replied with a smirk on her face. "Tell me, how's the new recruit faring?"
Cynthia now took on a more relaxed posture. "She'll need a lot of work to get up to scratch, but she has potential."
As they were talking, Lala was straining to perform her last push-up with sweat dripping from her head and body, groaning as she did so. "T-T-Twenty!" She exclaimed before her body collapsed to the ground as she started to pant from exhaustion.
The sergeant glanced down at the recruit before sighing to herself in annoyance. "Yes, definitely a lot of work."
"Well, if anyone can bring her up to snuff, it's you." Kuroko replied with a confident smile. "There are a few things I wish to discuss with you about Miss O'Reilly's training."
"Of course, Ma'am." The arachne answered with a salute.
Ms Smith nodded in response before she turned her attention back to the hybrid of the group. "Kazama, keep an eye on Lala while Cunningham and I have our discussion."
"You don't have to tell me twice, Ma'am."
With that, Kuroko and Cynthia made their leave, leaving the couple to their own devices. With the two women gone, Yuuto went up to his girlfriend's head and picked it up, holding her gently in his hands as he looked down at her with a loving smile.
"You okay there, Babe? Seems like Serge's test did a number on you." He teased in a caring tone.
The dullahan steadied her breathing and looked back up at him as her body struggled to sit up straight. "I will survive, though the torture that woman put me through would put the Underworld's torments tae shame." She complained, still trying to recuperate herself.
The blonde smirked to himself as he moved her head, so he held it under one arm as he moved to where her body was and held a hand out to her. Her body grabbed it in response and he pulled her up to her feet. "She can be a bit harsh, though believe it or not, that was the easy stuff she put you through." He replied as he placed her head back onto her neck.
Lala readjusted her head to make sure it was on right before she looked back at him with a pout on her face. "I would nay dare tae imagine what horrors await me then if that were the fairest o' punishments."
"Oh, trust me, you'd know if she gave you a real punishment." Yuuto said as he rubbed the back of his head nervously. "Still remember my first day of MON training. Serge found out that me, Zee and Doppel were suffering from hangovers from the night before, and she made us do fifty laps while dragging tires behind us. She even started chasing us because she thought we weren't going fast enough, and my God that woman moves fast when she wants to."
The young reaper's face went slightly pale after hearing that little tale. "Tae think ye endured such punishment and tae have come out o' it with yer being intact. Ye truly never cease tae amaze me, me Love."
He gave her a loving smile before he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into a gentle hug raising a hand to the back of her head as he started to stroke her hair. "Don't worry, Lala. You'll soon get used to it. Besides, I'll be here for you if things get tough."
Lala let a warm smile crossed her lips as she wrapped her arms tightly around his chest and nestled her head in the crook of his neck. "I am fortunate tae have ye in me life, Yuuto. I would nay know what tae do without ye sometimes." She replied as her cheeks went bright red at the love and affection she was receiving from her boyfriend.
The hybrid chuckled to himself as he slightly tightened his grip on her. "I should be the lucky one here, I wouldn't even be here right now if not for you." He said in a loving tone as his own cheeks went bright red.
The dullahan pulled her head back slightly and gave him a loving smile back before she gently pressed her lips to his. Their lips gently glossed over each other for a moment before they separated, only for her to rest her forehead against his, their eyes locked as they stared lovingly at each other. "Yuuto, I love ye so much." She spoke up as she raised a hand to caress his cheek.
The blonde raised a hand and placed it on top of hers. "I love you too." After a moment the pair pulled away from each other, though still holding the other's hand. "C'mon, we should get going. I think we're done here for the day."
"Aye, I should return tae me domain and recover from this ordeal." Lala replied as she moved in close and wrapped her arms around his arm, giving him a loving smile as she did so.
Yuuto nodded and returned a smile of his own as the couple started making their way out of the track and field area. Whatever happened from here on out, he was just happy to have Lala by his side, and the future looked bright for them.
After a while, everyone got changed back into their casual outfits and had met up just outside the gym. All the MON agent stood in a group together, while Ms Smith stood in front of them with Lala and Sergeant Cunningham stood either side of her.
"Great work today, everyone. You can all have the rest of the day off, but I'll see you back at work tomorrow at the normal time." She told the group before turning to face the young reaper. "Lala, I'll drive you back to Darling-kun's place, so you're with me."
"Aye, I fear that I may lose meself tae the shadows in me current state." The Chuunihan replied as she dramatically placed a hand over her face.
"Oh, quit being overdramatic. I'll need your full attention by the time we get back, so we can start making arrangements for what we've discussed earlier."
Lala's cheeks went red at her comment. "It is fortunate that I am as eager as ye are tae make these arrangements."
The government agent nodded in response before turning to the MON agents once more. "Alright everyone, you're dismissed."
With that Ms Smith, Lala and Cynthia made their leave, along with most of the other MON agents. The only ones left standing there were Yuuto, Blare, Kasumi and Tio. The empusa of the group moved to here captain's side and tugged on his sleeve. "Senpai, I've been meaning to ask. What's in that black case you're carrying?" She asked with a curious look on her face.
The hybrid looked back at the long black rectangular bag he had slung over his shoulder. "Oh, I brought Black Lotus with me." He replied nonchalantly as if it were a normal thing to carry around in public.
"Wait, why are you carrying your katana around with you?!" The hellhound blurted out of surprise as her flame lashes burst to life.
"I told Sweetie to bring it with him." The ogress interjected in a chipper tone.
Both Blare and Kasumi look up at Tio with questioning looks on their faces, having no idea why the ogress would make such a request from their squad captain.
"It's alright, you two." Yuuto said to regain their attention." Tio thought it'd be a good idea to have her boyfriend inspect it."
"Yeah, my Puddin is a really talented blacksmith, and when I told him about Sweetie and his sword, he just had to see it in person. He's so cute when he gets excited over stuff like that~" The ogress interjected with a dreamy look on her face.
"Yeah, which is why I brought it with me." He finished explaining. "From what I've been told, his forge shouldn't be too far from here."
"So, what are we waiting for~?!" Tio exclaimed as she grabbed the hybrid by the had and started running down the road towards where presumably her boyfriend's forge was with Yuuto being dragged across the pavement, unable to do anything to stop her.
"Hey, hold up!" He yelled at her before shouting back at his squad mates. "I'll see you later! Stay out of trouble!"
The hellhound and empusa just stood there in silence as they saw Yuuto being dragged off by their excitable co-worker. It took a moment before Blare spoke up. "You know, he could just go devil mode and shock Tio to stop her." She said out loud.
"Perhaps he doesn't have the heart to hurt her, and besides, he probably doesn't want to get in trouble with her boyfriend if he did that." Kasumi reasoned.
"Hmm, good point." The hellhound replied before looking towards her squadmate. "There's a good ramen place nearby if you want to go. Kes and Raia said they were heading there, so we might as well join them."
She was answered by the growling of the shinobi's stomach, who in turn wrapped her arms around it in embarrassment as her cheeks went bright red. "An excellent suggestion. I'm rather famished after all that working out."
"Tell me about it! I could eat a horse!" Blare shouted jovially as she started making her way there with the empusa in tow.
As they headed towards the ramen shop, they spared a thought for their poor squad captain. They knew that he was tough, though they doubted that even he in his devil mode could endure the excitableness and carelessness of their ogress co-worker. Only time would tell if that were the case.
A/N: Sorry to keep you waiting, tend to get busy this time of year, so updates might be a bit infrequent. I wanted to use this chapter to set up a baseline for Yuuto's Devil Mode, as well as fit in some fun interactions in between.
As for Lala joining MON, I don't think it would be too far of a stretch of the imagination. MON can't easily handle spirits, and she can, plus this lets her and Yuuto spend more time together.
Other than that, there's one more announcement I'd like to make. I plan to write another MonMusu story in the near future, though it'll be the more traditional host/homestay setup we're used to, though I'll try to do my own twist on the idea. Keep an eye out for 'Handing my homestay's libido' in the near future.
As always, follow/favourite if you want to keep up to date, and don't forget to leave a review or any suggestions you may have. Thanks for reading my story and I'll see you next time!