Chapter 1: I'll Get Even

Sirzechs

Anger is an emotion I'm familiar with. During the Great War it was against our enemies that slaughtered my comrades by the hundreds. During the Civil War between our Anti-Satan Faction and the Old Satan Faction it was directed towards those I had once considered comrades and friends who had then betrayed us.

Now I'm angry at myself, mostly because there's no readily available person for me to justifiably take my frustration out on.

Dammit…I should have known something like this was going to happen! Not more than 24 hours ago I stood in this very house and had a relaxing chat with a family I consider…considered, very close to my own.

Now, much like the family, the mansion is all but destroyed. Massive chunks of the foundation are blown apart with horrendous gouges torn out of the landscape, all obvious signs of a hard fought battle between very powerful opponents. Less readily apparent, but far more informative, is the residuel Magic energy that is still rolling off of the area in huge, suffocating waves. Someone with strength comparable, if not beyond, an Ultimate class Devil was in the area and using considerable amounts of power.

"…How could we have missed this?"

I briefly glance at Daimon Phenex and immediately feel a small surge of guilt. The normally stoic man is displaying incredible amounts of emotion right now if you know what to look for. A clenched jaw, hands balled so tightly they're turning white…Daimon isn't angry, he's enraged.

"Dammit Sirzechs how did we let something this horrific happen right under our very noses?! How am I supposed to explain to Ravel that…that…"

Unable to properly articulate how he's feeling he brings his fist down on a chunk of nearby rubble, pulverizing it in a shower of dust and chipped rock.

Knowing exactly how he feels I gently place my hand on his shoulder and give a comforting squeeze.

"We'll have our answers very soon Daimon. Ajuka is on his way as we speak and he'll help us in our search for any sort of lead."

Daimon raises an eyebrow.

"Lord Beelzebub himself is coming? I wouldn't have thought he cared enough to bring himself away from his research."

"He wasn't very well acquainted with Valefor's, so he likely wouldn't have."

I let some of my own fury leak into my voice.

"Which is why I didn't ask him to come."

Daimon holds my gaze before merely nodding and turning back towards our search of the ruins. While we're not really expecting to find anything of use here, there's always a slim chance of fortune actually favoring us right now…

"Lord Lucifer!"

I glance towards one of the Devils assigned to the cleanup crew who's rushing over, a nervous look on his face.

"What is it?"

"We've finished recovering the bodies Sir, and finished ID'ing them."

I feel my stomach sink slightly but feel I at least owe the Valefors the decency of looking at the price of my failure.

"Very well, can you lead me to them?"

He shifts uneasily on his feet and hesitantly says, "Are you…uh, are you sure you want to sir? I'm not accusing you of being squeamish, but, well…most of the bodies only have slight pieces left, given the massive magical residue and large craters around the pieces we did find, it's likely the rest of the remains were destroyed during the battle."

If my stomach wasn't already at rock bottom, it certainly is now. Daimon snaps me out of my self-loathing and quietly intones, "I know you feel like you owe it to them Sirzechs, but none of them would have wanted you to see something like this. Don't force yourself."

I heave a sigh for what feels like the hundredth time today and tiredly nod. I turn to the worker and ask, "Can you hold onto the remains for now? I'll…view them later."

"Understood Lord Sirzechs. We'll leave them undisturbed until you say otherwise."

Daimon gives me a sympathetic look and says, "Let's move on to Clarissa's study. There might be something left over there."

A good a direction as any.

The study was one of the few rooms that didn't take a direct hit during the running battle that must have been waged across the grounds. While the room below had been destroyed, subsequently causing the study to collapse, aside from some of the furniture most of the room is intact, if somewhat spread out.

Although I don't have the slightest clue how we're meant to glean anything useful from this mess. On site detective work was never my strong point.

Daimon seems to have some sort of plan though, as he's carefully observing and going through all of the things in the study. Just as I begin to hope that he might find something he sighs and brushes his hands off.

"Well, so much for a giant sign that reads, 'answers this way'."

Daimon's unexpected humor catches me so off guard that I inadvertently chuckle, despite my mood.

"And here I thought you knew what you were doing."

"A carefully crafted image I've learned to maintain."

Now at a loss of what to do we both wander aimlessly and I take a closer look at the bookshelf in the corner of the room. Well, less of a bookshelf than it is a solid wall of novels. Clarissa was a borderline kleptomaniac when it came to books and had amassed quite the collection, always eager to show us the mountain of words and explain every little facet of them. To my surprise the wooden frame somehow managed to stay intact during the fall and only came away with a few cracks on it. Even more amazing is the fact that none of the books came loose during the crash, they're all still in their assigned order.

I gently run my hand across the volumes and smile fondly in remembrance. Clarissa had always been incredibly anal about keeping them categorized by subject and alphabetical order, the one time I had just randomly put a book back she had smacked me across the back of the head and forced me to put it back where it belonged.

…I'll miss you, old friend.

I'm about to walk off when I notice something strange about the shelf. Clarissa had every nook and cranny on that thing crammed with books, so much so that it took a pretty hefty effort to pry one off the thing.

There's a few loose spots on the racks that have nothing to do with the violent landing they went through.

"Daimon, I think I found something."

In a flash he's by my side, eyes rapidly scanning the massive collection before his eyes widen imperceptibly.

"Some volumes are missing…"

Without any further conversation we immediately start trying to catalog which books went missing, working off of guess work and memory.

A few minutes later we have a tentative list of what might have been in the empty spots before.

From the section dedicated to things related to the Valefor family: Clarissa's personal record of all the Valefor's contacts in the underground and they're various operations in addition to their family's study of Shades and all their uses.

From the Magic branch: what is most likely a comprehensive guide to different types of beginners elemental Magic.

From Hayden's small collection of literature: a guide to different training regimens and various body strengthening techniques.

Perhaps the most interesting section, there's 2 books missing from the psychology section. Neither Daimon or I can guess what one of the books might have been, but one of them, called The Guide to A Fucking Great Sex Life, I immediately notice went missing. Mostly because Clarissa was herself the author of that particular work...

Daimon turns to me with a glimmer of hope in his eyes and hesitantly asks, "While I can see why the books on the Valefor's inner working would be taken by the attackers…why would the other ones be gone?"

I nod thoughtfully before I have a sudden brainstorm. Rushing over to where Clarissa's desk is lying in splinters I tear through the wreckage and grin at what I find.

Or more specifically, what I don't find.

"What is it Sirzechs, did you find anything?"

"I didn't. And that's very good news. Clarissa asked me a few years ago to get them 2 strongboxes locked to only Jonah and Caine's Magic signatures, it wouldn't make sense for any of the attackers to take them since they'd never be able to open them in the first place without destroying what's inside."

He nods but doubtfully replies, "But even assuming they got those boxes with the books inside to the kids, where would they have had to run…That's it!"

He quickly walks off and I immediately follow, rapidly feeling excitement grow in my heart. Could they maybe have?…

I see Daimon stop directly in front of where the library used to be before grinning at something he finds on the ground.

"What is it Daimon?"

"…we may have hope after all Sirzechs. This is the Valefor's hidden Magic Transport Circle that lead directly to Calrissas parent's home. If it was activated the boys might have managed to escape before the massacre commenced."

"I believe that's where I step in."

We both turn around only to find Ajuka idly strolling towards us, dressed in a casual business suit as he makes his way through the rubble. My excitement overrides my immediate desire to pout at the fact that the Valefors never bothered to tell me about their secret getaway room.

Daimon gives a hurried bow and I give my oldest friend a brief nod.

"Lord Beelzebub, while I hate to cut the introductions short, could you examine this circle and see if it's been used recently?"

He shrugs at Daimon's words and says, "No problem, I hate long winded speeches anyway. And you'll have to give me a minute to tell definitively since it looks damaged."

Daimon and I step aside while I immediately contact Grayfia via telepathy.

[Lord Sirzechs? Is everything alright?]

[That remains to be seen. Grayfia, I want you to gather our best agents-no, strike that. I want you to drop whatever it is you're doing and immediately go to Tiffania and Fareth's home. The Valefor boys might have been sent there before the attack commenced for safekeeping. Ordinarily I wouldn't be worried, but this attack was obviously well planned, and rumors are abound that other Valefor outposts were attacked as well. Make sure they're safe, please.]

Obviously catching on to my desperation she immediately replies, [I will, I'll contact you as soon as I know more.], before cutting off the spell.

I sigh and focus on Ajuka, who's occasionally tilting his head or quietly murmuring under his breath as he examines the circle. He suddenly stands up and frowns.

"Well the Circle was indeed activated, but beyond that I can't tell you anything more."

I breathe a sigh of partial relief. At least now we have hope. I clasp Ajuka's hand and quietly say, "Thank you for responding so fast Ajuka."

He merely shrugs off my thanks with a slightly uncomfortable look on his face before he looks around and sourly remarks, "So who do you think did this? I wasn't as close to the Valefors as you 2 were, but I know Clarissa was strong enough to put up a fight against almost anyone, especially if most of her peerage was backing her up. I can count on one hand the number of suspects and none of them are good news."

I wince and darkly reply, "Trust me, I know. And we'll discuss this further as soon as Grayfia reports back to me. Until then let's see if there's anything else to find."

We turn back to the destroyed mansion and continue our search.

Maybe, just maybe, I'll be able to face Clarissa and the rest with my head held somewhat high in the next life if I can help her children make it through this disaster.

Caine

…This is the second time I've awoken from unconsciousness. The first time was when I was learning to use my wings and ended up slamming my skull against a boulder that was nearby.

I remember waking up with the world being a fuzzy mess, my head aching like crazy and nothing making much sense at all.

This time isn't much different, except it's my entire body that hurts this time, and not just my head. Ugh…I wonder what happened last night, last thing I remember is talking with Dad and then…

Through my blurry vision I see 2 figures suddenly get up beside me and walk a short distance away before they…start to get dressed? Am I dreaming still?

A fresh wave of pain causes me to wince and my vision to slightly clear. The shorter of the 2 figures leaves the room while the taller walks back in my direction. I try as hard as I can to focus and figure out what's going on but my brain feels like someone dumped it into a bowl of cotton.

A sudden clapping noise breaks me out of my reverie and I find myself unwillingly paying more attention to my surroundings. The first thing I notice is the difference in smells. Most prevalent is a sort of earthy smell, like being in the middle of a forest during rainfall. The other bits aren't so pleasant, since it seems to be a mix of urine, sweat and other crud that I wouldn't recommend for scented candles.

"Hey, Kid, you awake yet nya?"

I startle at the voice and shoot my eyes over to where it originated. To my surprise it came from a girl with long, jet black hair who's maybe a bit younger than Jonah. She's wearing some beat up clothes consisting of black tank top and sweatpants while her attractive face is marred a bit by dirt and a ragged scar across her left cheek. I don't know why she has on such a small shirt though, her chest is pretty big and I can't imagine that's comfortable…

What draws my attention the most though is the cat ears that stick out from the top of her head. A Yokai of some kind? Nekomata maybe?

I briefly glance around, ignoring her question for now, and find myself in very unfamiliar territory. The room I'm in now is pretty bare, mostly made from crumbling concrete and the one chair in the room seems to be held together by tape and meanness. The 'bed' I'm laying on feels fairly lumpy, with only a few raggedy blankets and lack-luster pillows to provide any semblance of comfort. It's only saving grace is that it's fairly large, King sized at least.

It's this unknown place that I find myself waking up in that triggers the sudden rush of memory and I feel myself start to hyperventilate as everything that happened last night replays itself in terrifying stop-motion images.

Shyan fighting off those weird guys in the cloaks, Mom cutting off all their heads, her pushing me into the Magic Circle, finding Grandma and Grandpa dead, getting stabbed in the side…

"Kid, if you start panicking now I'm not gonna bother sticking around nya."

I cast a frantic look at the girl who seems completely unsympathetic to my plight and take a shaky breath. Panicking won't get me anything. I have to stay focused, stay smart…

Home is gone, and maybe my entire family with it…I might be the only Valefor left alive right now. Mom told me to never stop growing and to make them all proud…I can't do that if I fall apart before I even begin.

I try once more to successfully breathe in and this time manage it, albeit with some difficulty and trembling limbs.

"Where…"

I have to stop and hack a few times, my throat is almost painfully dry.

"Where am I? What happened?"

The girl looks like she's debating whether to even bother answering before she shrugs and says, "You're in Kalichi. And we found you in a clearing somewhere outside the city."

I feel me eyes widen when she mentions Kalichi. I read about it in one of the many books scattered around the family library and it had stuck with me even after all these years. About 2000 years ago it was a trade outpost built near Fallen Angel territory and had a large gemstone mine around 6 kilometers away.

Much like any boomtown though, once the mine ran dry it's productivity rapidly fell. What set it apart from those other towns, however, was that it's population didn't leave with it. If anything it grew even larger. Leftover Human slaves, Stray Devils, Fallen Angels, Human Exorcists that were excommunicated, wandering Yokai and all sorts of other strange beings found their way into the city during it's heydays. Unlike the Devil overseers though, these myriad peoples didn't have anywhere else to go once the mining stopped being profitable.

Instead the city became a sort of sprawling ghetto/industrial town, with illegal trading between factions and assorted robbery being the main sources of work left available to the populace aside from menial and arduous labor that keeps the cities infrastructure barely working. A dismal place, sure, but there was one statistic that stood out to me in particular.

Of the 4 million people living in Kalichi, all of them packed into 2400 square kilometers of raggedy living space, approximately 514 die every day. Essentially, every year roughly 4% of the cities population is killed off through a combination of violence, disease and the occasional suicide.

And I ended up here of all places…

Yet again I fight down my apprehension and ever growing fear and instead reply, "Well, it could have been worse. I could have ended up in Heaven. How long was I out?"

She gives a brief snort of amusement and replies, "Hang on to that sense of humor kid, you're gonna need it nya. And you were unconscious for 7 hours."

I attempt to sit up and only succeed in trembling and causing a pained grunt to escape from my chest. I guess I'm still in rough shape.

"Take it easy will ya? We spent alot of time and effort to drag your half dead ass back here, don't put our hard work to waste nya."

I ease myself back and curiously ask, "We? I guess I owe you and whoever else was involved my life…and sorry for taking up space on your bed, I felt you and someone else get off once I woke up."

For some reason her face turns red and she pokes me in the side where I was stabbed, eliciting a pained hiss from me.

"If you're smart you'll forget that that ever happened!"

I shoot her a confused glance but then remember that she and this other mystery person were…well, in a state of undress. I swallow and simply nod my head in agreement.

"Good…and forget owing us your life, life is cheap in this city. The things you were carrying with you are far more valuable nya…"

My eyes widen and I immediately search for my Phoenix Heart and lockbox. Those are all I have left of my past life, if they're already gone…

I heave a sigh of relief as I see that they're still around, resting in a small pile in one of the rooms corners. My relief instantly fades as the Cat Lady happily says, "We couldn't get the box open so that things value is still up in the air, but that necklace of yours is mighty pretty nya…should fetch a pretty penny at a pawn shop or something like that."

"You can't!"

She doesn't even flinch at my outburst and calmly replies, "Why not, nya?"

I flounder for a second before stammering out, "B-because that's all I have left of my family! Without those, I…"

For the briefest of moments I think I see sympathy in her gaze before it's gone and replaced by a nonchalant stare.

"Didn't you just say you owed us your life? I already said that's worthless, so naturally you should happily hand over anything else of value as a way of thanking your saviors, right nya?"

"But…you…"

She sighs and dryly says, "Ok kid I'll throw you a lifeline here, along with an important lesson in how this city works. Comfort and sentimentality are luxuries in this place. Cold hard cash and rugged functionality are what grease the gears. Prove to me that we'll benefit more from leaving your stuff with you instead of pawning it, and you get to keep it. Deal?"

The smug expression she has on her face tells me that she doesn't expect me to be able to prove that at all…which I probably won't. I can cover myself in flames, sure, but she said that practicality is most important here. I doubt that they're going to be able to use it either, since it runs off of Devil Magic. As Yokai living in the slums of this place I'd be shocked if they know anything about Magic at all.

Dammit how am I supposed to prove that it's worth keeping…

"Is he finally awake Big Sis?"

I'm snapped out of my panicked reverie as a soft voice speaks out loud and I turn towards the source. The voice's owner is another cat Yokai that looks to be around my age wearing worn out leggings and a jacket that looks to be around 2 sizes too big for her. Much like her now known to be Older Sister her face is slightly dirty with a small gouge on her lower lip and a highly noticeable cut that circles her neck that almost looks as if it was caused by an extremely tight collar or something.

What draws my attention the most, however, is her shockingly white hair that stands in obvious contrast to her sisters.

Oh, and the fact that she's carrying a giant bucket of water that's almost as big as she is with seemingly little effort. This girl is deceptively strong alright. Maybe something to do with her being a Yokai?

"Yah he's up. Oh, silly me nya. Kid, meet my adorable Little Sister Shirone. And I'm Kuroka by the way."

I turn to meet Shirone's eyes and briefly feel uncomfortable by the intensity of her gaze. I shake it off though and weakly extend my hand in her direction. I don't miss how Kuroka's eyes narrow menacingly or how Shirone suddenly looks uncomfortable at my gesture and I'm about to withdraw my hand when she, to apparently both mine and Kuroka's surprise if her shocked expression is anything to go by, stiffly grabs my hand with her own.

Her palm is rough and calloused, but there's a softness to her skin despite that. I don't hold on to her hand any longer than necessary and pull away, much to Shirone's obvious relief. Apparently she doesn't like physical contact…then again, considering what city we're in, I can imagine any amount of unpleasant scenarios that would lead to an aversion to being touched.

"Thanks for saving me you 2, as soon as I can I'll start paying you back."

Kuroka rolls her eyes and amusedly replies, "It wasn't me who made the call to save you, that was all my little Shirone's doing nya. Save your thanks for her."

I give a questioning glance towards the shorter Yokai but she merely meets my gaze levelly and doesn't give anything away. Quite the poker face on this one…

"And don't think I haven't forgotten about your little necklace over there kiddo. You thought of a way to convince me yet?"

I mentally curse as I'd gotten distracted by meeting Shirone and go back to frantically trying to think of some way to keep from having to part with Ravel's gift.

"Do you want to shower first Big Sis?"

"How's the water temperature?"

I distantly notice Kuroka stick her hand in the bucket and scowl, grousing, "Oh wonderful, it's cold."

"We have the wood from the stretcher if we want to make a small fire?"

"No good. It's not green wood and will make a bunch of smoke, I'm not ready to announce that we're home yet nya…"

Hmm, they can't use fire magic? And it's hardly good news for me that they apparently have enemies that are actively looking for them. Shoot, I can't afford to be thinking about this right now, I need to brainstorm on how…to…

Smokeless fire? Ok, here goes nothing.

"I might have a solution to your cold water problem."

I'm not ready for the suddenly intense gazes from the 2 of them and inwardly recoil.

"…Well? Spit it out nya!"

I cough and reply, "Grab the necklace and bring it over to me, I'll show you."

While Kuroka practically sprints over to grab the Phoenix Heart I try once more to sit up and almost manage before collapsing back down on the bed. Hellfire I'm weak…

Struggling up once more I see Shirone reach out as if to help but stops halfway, her arm clenching as if she's trying to work up the courage to go the last step.

"It's ok, you don't have to touch me, I've got this."

She gets a relieved look on her face but it instantly turns to a frown as I fall back onto the bed, beads of sweat rolling down my face and my throat feeling more parched than ever. Kuroka returns carrying my necklace and briefly snorts with amusement.

"While I appreciate you giving my Little Shirone her space, you won't be helping anyone if you pass out Mr. Macho Man, nya."

I try to regain my breath and gasp out, "It's been a rough few hours…also why do you…say 'nya' all the time?"

She gives me a quizzical look and replies, "Why do you care?"

To her evident surprise it's Shirone who answers with, "Because it's tiring to listen to."

Kuroka looks like her Little Sister just told her she doesn't love her anymore and stammers out, "B-but, I always did that to be playful and make you smile…"

"I'll smile if you stop." is her deadpan reply.

I can't help but be lightly amused at Kuroka's devastated expression as she dazedly hands me the Phoenix Heart and I try once more to sit up. I only make it partway before I feel small hand land on the center of my back and help push me up the rest of the way.

I give Shirone a confused glance but she quickly steps away once I'm sitting, maintaining a carefully neutral expression the entire time. Well, I'm not going to complain. Heaving a massive sigh I swing my legs over the side and dip the necklace into the bucket.

In my messed up state I'll only be able to use a small amount of Magic, but I don't need to summon a giant ball of fire or anything like that thankfully.

At first nothing happens for a bit as the 2 Yokai curiously watch the tub of water, but then a few bubbles appear, followed by a few more and within a minute the entire cauldron is steaming like crazy.

I exhaustedly take out the necklace and rasp, "Useful enough?"

Neither of them say anything for a few seconds, staring at the bubbling water like it's the reincarnation of Lucifer himself, until Kuroka let's out a gleeful laugh and gives me a massive hug which of course aggravates my injuries and I let out a pained grunt.

She jumps back quickly and sheepishly says, "Oh, right. Injured. Sorry nya-er, I mean…not nya?"

Shirone just shakes her head and leaves the room while Kuroka turns to me and grins like a kid.

"Well I think you just earned yourself back your little prize there and a place to stay. You're going to be our ticket to a hot shower whenever we want one!"

I feel my eyes drooping as I collapse back on the bed and tiredly reply, "Not that I'm complaining, but isn't that kind of a cheap reason to let me stay?"

"Free hot water whenever we want it? You'd be surprised at how much of a luxury that actually is around these parts."

I don't bother replying before I feel something plastic being put into my hand. I crack open an eye and see Shirone walking away, a small water bottle and bag of chips laying on my outstretched hand.

The older Yokai gives something that seems halfway between a smile and a scowl as she looks at me and acidly says, "If she's already giving you her snacks that means she likes you. She doesn't like very many people. Hurt her feelings and you'll have me to answer to Kid. Get what I'm saying?"

I take a grateful sip of the water and nod.

"I get you."

She studies me carefully for a second before grinning and stating, "Glad you understand then nya-er, dammit, I'm gonna have to work on that nya-no, crap! Ugh, the things I do for my Little Shirone…"

She shakes her head and walks off while lugging the bucket with her, shouting, "Hey Little Sis, let's shower together! Don't want to let this water go to waste now!"

Less than a minute later I hear the sound of water hitting stone and a few laughs from Kuroka. Now that I actually have a moment to myself I try to figure where I stand in all of this.

Right now I have no idea what's actually happening to my family. They could all be dead or they might have managed to fight off whoever was attacking us. I need to find some sort of news outlet that'll give me details.

In the shorter term however, I need to remain friendly with the 2 cat Yokai. They make it sound like they know their way around this city, and if I want to actually live long enough to find anything out I'll need their help.

…But what if my worst fears are true and I'm the only Valefor left? What do I do then? Just live out the rest of my days here?

I place my face in my hands and breathe in and out a few times, trying to master my raging emotions.

I said it earlier, didn't I? Mom said to keep practicing, keep training and maybe one day even surpass her.

I grasp at that one solid fact and anchor myself to it.

Get stronger. That'll give me a goal, something to strive for if I end up stuck in this cesspool for as long as I'm worried I will be.

"Hoo that was fun!"

I glance towards the sound of Kuroka's voice and immediately feel my face redden as she and Shirone brazenly walk out of the shower room wearing nothing but some beat-up old towels. Now that I have a clearer view of their bodies I can't help but notice something rather strange. Instead of the single cat tail that I was expecting they each have 2 apiece. Strange…

Shirone gives me a brief glance before looking away and going into another room while Kuroka saunters on over to me.

"Up and at em' Kid, it's your turn now!"

"Huh?"

She rolls her eyes and impatiently replies, "It's your turn in the shower! C'mon we were nice enough to save you a quarter of the water, get a move on before it gets cold again!"

"That's going to be something of a challenge for me. I could barely sit up with your sister's help, actually standing and walking over to the shower is probably out of the question."

The Yokai gives me an exasperated look before huffing a sigh and saying, "Then you just need a helping hand, right?"

Before I can reply she scoops me off the mattress in a bridal carry and starts moving towards the shower room. I try to ignore the embarrassing fact that I'm being carried around like some little kid, as well as the not insignificant matter of Kuroka only wearing a towel at the moment.

Putting my mortification aside for the moment I stammer out, "Y-you don't get it, if I can't even stand up how am I supposed to wash myself or anything like that? I'll just be sitting there practically!"

She snorts and replies, "Well obviously I'm going to be helping you out, nya-dammit! Breaking this habit is gonna be harder than I thought…"

My mind came to a screeching halt at the 'helping you out' bit.

"W-what do you mean help me out?!"

"Oh relax would you? It's not like we haven't seen each other naked at this point. Sheesh, for a guy you certainly are a prude, most other males would jump at the chance to have a shower with me!"

I'm about to ask when the heck we ever saw each other naked when I remember those two blurry figures that were laying by me when I woke up.

Ah…that's probably what she's talking about. I furrow my brow as a thought suddenly occurs.

"Hey Kuroka, if Shirone doesn't like physical contact why was she also laying right by me, especially if you 2 were, uh…in the nude? And on that subject, why were you naked?"

She gives me a guarded stare and just as I wonder if I said something that I shouldn't have she gives a small sigh and carefully replies, "She was probably fine with it because you were unconscious. It's people who are awake that she doesn't like to touch. And we were strutting our stuff because that's how Senjutsu healing works more efficiently. Not quite as good as Bouchujutsu, but it's close."

I feel my eyes widen at her mention of Senjutsu. Less than 24 hours ago I was trying to answer a question related to Senjutsu with everyone else…

If feels like a lifetime ago.

"We're here ny-…caught myself this time."

I take a look around the room and find myself reflecting that I really shouldn't have expected anything different. It's hewn from the same rough concrete that the rest of the building is except for a small hole at the top of the ceiling that looks like someone just smashed a hammer through it as well as a drain in the middle of the floor.

I say drain, but just like the ventilation it looks more like an afterthought than a bit of professional work, being just a hole in the ground and all that.

The only other additions to the room are 2 beat up stools, one of them missing a leg and using a brick as a substitute, and the pail of water that has some sort of sliding compartment on the bottom.

"Well no need for these now!"

I give a small shout of embarrassment and surprise as Kuroka sets me on one of the stools and promptly strips my pants off, leaving my privates hanging out before I frantically cover them.

"The heck are you doing?! I'm a guy and you're a girl!"

She just laughs at me and amusedly replies, "For the hundredth time, take it easy! First of all you're still a kid, so I'm fine with doing this! And secondly do you really think I've never seen a dick before? Quit complaining and just enjoy this once in a lifetime opportunity!"

I try to mumble something along the lines of, "But I can do it myself…" until she suddenly moves aside the latch on the bottom of the pail and hot water starts dripping out through some sort of mesh plate. There's no pressure behind it and I wasn't joking when I said the water was merely dripping through…but it is pretty warm and goes a long way towards making me feel slightly more alive than I was before.

Absently humming a tune that sounds kinda similar to the lullabys Mom used to sing to me Kuroka suddenly starts scrubbing my hair with her nails none too gently causing me to wince, but I'm still too weirded out by this situation to say anything.

"So Kid, you got a name?"

"Caine, just…just Caine."

She dryly remarks, "No last name?"

I briefly hesitate on how to respond to that. I'm still in the dark on whether I'm being searched for, whether it be by people who want to help or hurt me. While I appreciate what Kuroka and Shrine have done for me so far, and hope I can tell them the truth at some point, for now it's best to tell them as little as possible.

"It's…complicated. It'll probably be easier for you and your Sister to just know me as Caine for now. Sorry…"

I can practically hear the scowl in her voice as she darkly mutters, "Friggin great Shirone, the first person in years you show any interest in just happens to be a major risk to our safety…wonderful."

I have no idea how to respond to that and just decide to stay quiet. A few more seconds of awkward scrubbing go by before Kuroka sighs and wryly asks, "I don't suppose you could at least tell me why you ended up bleeding to death in the middle of nowhere?"

I think about my response carefully before deciding that the truth is an acceptable answer in this case.

"My family's home came under attack by these guys wearing masks and cloaks. My Mom sent me away through a Magic Circle but the place I arrived at was…already taken over by them. They'd killed my Grandparents. They were about to finish me off after they stabbed me but I distracted them and used the Circle to get out of there. I'm pretty sure that's when you found me."

Kuroka is quiet for a bit and when she does speak up her voice is softer than normal.

"That's rough to hear Caine. Do you know if anybody is left?"

I shake my head dismally.

"No clue. I'll have to find out as soon as I can. If any of them are still alive though, I promise I'll do everything I can to make sure you and your Sister are compensated for saving me."

"…You don't sound too confident about that."

I feel a sudden wave of despair crest through my chest but fight it down.

"There was a lot of those guys, and some of them were…really strong. Not to mention they already had somebody waiting for me at a place that was supposed to be safe."

The conversation dies down yet again, along with the warm water as it trickles to a stop, before Kuroka gently sets her hands on my shoulders and says, "You seem to be taking this rather well. Were you not close to your family or-"

I ignore the weakness and pain that flares throughout my body as I turn around and let my anger, grief and fright make itself visible on my face.

"I loved them more than anything! My Mom was always helping me become better, always there to make me laugh! My Dad's taught me how to be strong, and how to be friends with people! My Brother and I would always argue, but could always complain together about how our parents were too strict or something stupid like that! I…I…"

I should be crying right now. Every memory I ever had of my family is tearing through my mind, and the terror that they're all gone is almost more than I can take.

But I just can't seem to make that final leap, to actually let out the sadness and fear.

Instead I take a shaky breath and feel a flame of pure rage not unlike the Phoenix Heart flare to life in my chest.

I lock eyes with a silent Kuroka and my voice comes out as a barely audible whisper.

"My parents wanted me to be strong so that I wouldn't have to be afraid and could protect those that I care about. I won't cry…"

My lips peel back from my teeth as I hiss, "I'll get even."

And that's a wrap for the 1st real chapter! No doubt some readers are already figuring out that Kuroka and Shirone's histories diverge quite a bit from canon, but hey, what better tourguides of the Underworld's most dangerous city than 2 nekoshou? Thanks to all who dropped a review, follow, favorite or just went ahead and spent their time reading my stuff :D

As usual just go ahead and drop a review or message if anyone wants to pitch in their own few cents on who the last member of the harem will be, I'm curious to see what some people's suggestions are.