Chapter 2: A New Purpose

Sirzechs

[Lord Sirzechs…I'm afraid I have bad news.]

I wince as I hear my Wife's words and take a steadying breath. I don't even tease her about calling me 'Lord Sirzechs'.

[Go ahead].

[I arrived at Tiffania and Fareth's home…they're both dead, and there's no sign of either of the Valefor children.]

I slowly close my eyes and take a moment to compose myself. I vaguely notice Daimon and Ajuka looking at me with concern but ignore them and focus on what Grayfia's relaying to me.

[You said there's no sign of them? Does that mean that they took the bodies with them? Or is there some other explanation?]

[That's honestly hard to say. Have there been any signs of the attackers keeping the bodies?]

[Not that we've been able to determine.]

[Then I'd wager a guess that one of the Valefor scions managed to escape from here. Although I haven't been able to determine how. It's strange, there's a significant amount of heat damage in the room containing the Magic Circle, in fact it's quite similar to the Phenex family's power…]

I frown at that. Is it possible the Phenex family has a traitor in it's midst? Or maybe…

"Daimon, did Ravel end up giving Caine the Phoenix Heart like she was supposed to?"

He looks at me confusedly before replying, "She did, why?"

A relieved grin comes over my face and I resume my conversation with Grayfia.

[Grayfia, Caine had a Phoenix Heart with him, that would explain the fire damage and perhaps his escape!]

Grayfia's voice comes back slightly more relieved as she replies, [That seems to be what happened. While Lord Beelzebub would be able to tell precisely, I believe the Transport Circle was activated incorrectly, as if in a great amount of hurry. I hypothesize that Lord Caine was ambushed by assailants inside the home and had to use the Phoenix Heart to hold them off momentarily. He then must have had to use the Circle as a last ditch effort to escape.]

While not the best of leads, it's a start. Magic Circle's that are activated incorrectly tend to send people to areas that are a fair distance away from other sources of Magic, hence why many of the recovered Devils have reported that they were dropped into forests, lakes, deserts…any out of the way place where nature tends to grow heavily.

And I'm not too worried about the boy having died from impact either. Nobody has ever been transported more that 30 meters above ground, and I know Caine can use his wings to at least slow his descent.

Unless he immediately fell into a tree branch or something along those lines…I can take as many guesses as I want, but until concrete evidence shows itself that's all I'll have.

[Good work Grayfia. It might not be the result we wanted, but it gives us something to work off of. Look over anything else of worth and then report back to me at your discretion.]

[Of course…Sirzechs.]

The connection ends and I give a sad smile. Grayfia only calls me Sirzechs when she's on duty if she's distracted or worried over something.

"Well, what did she say Sirzechs?"

I turn to Daimon and reply, "Well, I suppose it could be worse…Tiffania and Fareth are both dead, they seemed to have been ambushed inside their home. Grayfia is confident that Caine escaped, although he had to use the Magic Circle under duress and there's no real way of telling where he might have ended up."

Daimon appears saddened at the news of Tiffania and Fareths passing, but his relief at hearing that Caine might have survived is far more apparent.

Ajuka looks thoughtful for a moment before asking, "How did the Valefor child escape though? I find it odd that any group capable of ambushing 2 full grown Devils who have been alive for centuries would have trouble taking down a child, no matter how talented."

I turn to Daimon and give an honest smile, probably my first of the day.

"He used the Phoenix Heart to surprise his attackers and in the confusion almost certainly activated the Transport Circle. I wouldn't consider it any stretch to say that Miss Ravel's gift saved his life in that situation."

The slightest bit of tension leaves his face and he quietly intones, "Maybe that'll help ease her worries ever so slightly when she hears of this."

I nod in sad agreement before we are interrupted by the same Devil from earlier as he flies over, yet again short of breath.

"L-Lord Lucifer…we discovered…another Magic Circle like the one you previously told us to watch out for. It was at the opposite end of the mansion and largely buried by rubble, but we managed to recover it mostly intact. My men are bringing it over right now."

The 3 of us share a perplexed look, none more so than Daimon. He knew about the one in the library but apparently this Circle is news to him. Once a pair of burly Devils drag over a chunk of stone about the size of modest coffee table we stare at it in interest, wondering if this might help us paint an even clearer picture of what happened.

We barely inspect it for more than a minute before Ajuka quietly mutters, "Well that's interesting…"

Anything Ajuka finds interesting is enough to catch my own and I expectantly shoot him a glance.

He doesn't notice my gaze until I sigh and ask, "Ajuka, what's so interesting about this Circle compared to the others?"

He breaks out of his shell of intense focus and quickly replies, "Well most Devil Transport Circles are keyed using Devil Magic, it makes for simple travel since it's one type of Magic to another. This one isn't. There's actually more than a few differences to it, and most of them are quite clever. While I'd have to take it back to my lab to be 100% certain, these formulas are quite reminiscent of ones other pantheons use. Perhaps Norse?"

Daimon leans back with a look of contemplation on his face and says aloud, "Hayden had relatives in Asgard the last time I asked him about it, if I had to venture a guess Philip made this Circle so that it could transport a Devil directly to Asgard. That's actually quite brilliant…who would the attackers have available to ambush someone in Asgard of all places?"

I slowly nod and carefully reply, "So Caine almost certainly went to Tiffania and Fareth's since the Phoenix Heart was used there while we can assume Jonah was sent to Asgard. I'll admit I find it strange that it wasn't Caine sent to Asgard, since he was Hayden's genetic son."

Daimon shrugs and simply replies, "It might have simply been a matter of location. I'm fairly certain Jonah's room was closer to this particular Circle than Caine's was. And I doubt the Asgardans will turn Jonah away, his Mother was Hayden's wife after all."

I give a thoughtful nod and make my decision.

"Daimon, Ajuka, we're going to have the entire Valefor family listed as deceased for the time being."

Daimon looks at me incredulously for a second before he seems to understand my reasoning while Ajuka gives a slow nod.

"While it's unfortunate that any survivors will likely think all their other contacts and allies are dead, this should help significantly cut down on the potential pursuers. You can't exactly publicly announce that you're searching for a corpse."

Daimon has a newfound purpose in his eyes as he quietly adds, "And in the meantime we can perform our own search for any still surviving Valefors…unless there's anything else you need me for Sirzechs, I'd prefer to be on my way…I have a soon-to-be heartbroken daughter to console."

The bitterness in his tone is plain to see and I give a quick nod.

"You're free to go Daimon. I'll contact you if anything further is discovered."

We briefly clasp hands before he gives Ajuka a brief bow and quickly walks off.

Ajuka gives a soft grunt underneath his breath before looking at me with a scowl on his face.

"While terrible in it's own right, I think there's more meaning to this massacre that doesn't bode well for us."

"Agreed. While there are a number of families that aren't necessarily on the best of terms with the Valefors, this doesn't strike me as a sort of attack driven by jealousy or competition. It was far too thorough, brutal and complete to have been done by a single Family."

Ajuka is silent for a moment before he asks, "Do you think the Valefors discovered or heard something that they shouldn't have? They certainly had many ears in interesting places."

That brings a frown to my face as I realize it's entirely possible. The Valefor's are fairly unique among the remaining 72 Pillars in that a great deal of their fortune came from entirely illegal sources. While most of the Pillars have a dirty little secret or 2, only the Valefors could claim to be a legitimate criminal empire.

Which would have been a problem for the rest of us if they weren't anything less than honorable and conscientious people. Which sounds like a bizarre description for a family that thrived on crime, but it's the truth. While they admittedly made a great deal of profit off of information, drug and Human trafficking, they were also the perfect watchdogs, and why myself, the Phenexs and a few others were so friendly with them.

Because they had such comprehensive knowledge and experience with the shadier side of the Underworld, they could offer our society all sorts of information that we would never have been able to otherwise acquire.

Movements of notable Fallen Angels or Stray Devils, mass Human enslavement, trading of dangerous weapons such as Holy imbued Relics…it was quite the extensive list of critical things that made us more than willing to let them get away with some of the more 'benign' things as long as we had the ability to keep track of the truly lethal developments.

Which is why I'm quite inclined to believe that Ajuka is right on the mark. They must have stumbled onto something big that someone with alot of pull didn't want them to know of, so much so that they were willing to wipe out the entire family in an operation that couldn't have been cheap or easy.

Only one person comes to mind after seeing the destruction caused during the battle and Ajuka's musings.

Rizevim Lucifer.

I feel my fist clench so hard that my knuckles pop before I get my emotions back under control. I turn to Ajuka and clinically say, "I know this is asking alot since you have other duties and weren't well acquainted with the Valefors, but I'd like your help in searching for their 2 wayward sons. It would mean alot to me Ajuka."

He gazes at me for a moment before giving a disinterested shrug and replying, "Sure. After all, what are friends for? That said what are you going to do about Rizevim?"

I'm not the slightest bit surprised that Ajuka arrived at the same conclusion I did and simply reply, "I'm going to search for proof that he had a hand to play in this. I don't care if it's an ironclad case or just a matter of hearsay. I just need the slimmest of justifications to go after and find him."

I don't bother hiding my fury as I once again tighten my fist.

"Then I'll take care of him personally."

Caine

After the water ran out of the 'shower' Kuroka had taken me back to the 'bed', since despite my little burst of energy I'm still not exactly ready to go on a cross country marathon or anything like that. What surprised me even more is that it's now unquestionably dark outside, time must have gone by faster than I thought.

I heave a tired sigh as Shirone lights a few candles around the room giving off an indistinct sort of lighting before she walks off. I know it's petty of me and definitely something I'm going to have to get used to if I'm gonna be spending any amount of time in this city…but putting my shirt and clothes back on, still with the stab wound and my blood crusting them, causes my nose to wrinkle.

The 2 Yokai didn't even bat an eye at throwing their own beat-up and dirty outfits back on after the brief 'cleaning' so this is just par for the course down here I guess. Speaking of the Cats the 2 of them are now sitting on the edge of the mattress and staring expectantly at me.

"Ok Caine, that Phoenix Heart thingy of yours proved to be pretty valuable, so how about this little strongbox here? Any surprises in there?"

I give a weak shrug and reply, "No idea. I didn't have a chance to check what was in it before…well, you know."

She doesn't display any outward emotion and simply tilts her head before asking, "So why don't you go ahead and open it then ny-I wasn't about to just say nya, I swear!"

Shirone just gives her a blank glare and I feel my mouth twitch in what might have been a grin about a day ago. Instead I shakily force myself to sit up and Kuroka hands me the container.

I never really gave it a good look before this since there's always been some sort of crisis happening, but now that I have the opportunity I go over it with a critical eye.

Not that there's much to see though. It's maybe a foot across and a foot wide with a barely visible seam on it. The surface is just as plain, uniformly being a dark grey color with no distinguishing marks on it. If I didn't know better I'd say it was some mass produced piece of crud that no-one would probably ever end up buying.

Narrowing my eyes I lay my hand on the top of the box and push a bit of my Magic into it, similar to how I interact with the Phoenix Heart. There's a flare of light as the Valefor Magic Crest briefly shines beneath my palm before disappearing, followed shortly after by a quiet click as the lid unlocks itself.

I take a deep breath and slowly lift the cover off, only to have a folded piece of paper fall right into my lap.

Hesitantly reaching out I unfold it and immediately recognize my Mom's slightly messy handwriting covering almost 2 pages worth of writing.

'My Dearest Caine,

…hmm, formal doesn't really suit us that much, does it? Oh well, I don't want to have to erase what I just wrote, so it'll have to do.

As much as I would like the majority of this message to be full of good cheer and awful jokes, the fact that you're having to read this at all speaks to the hardships you have ahead of you, and the aid you'll need to face it and thrive.

…Words cannot describe how sorry me and your Fathers are that you have to make use of this gift Caine. It's a rather common hope, almost mundanely so, but we, as your parents, hadn't wanted anything more for you and Jonah to have a happy and peaceful life, as well as to one day kick me out of that damn office so I could sit back and relax! It appears the World has other plans in store for us though. Inside this container you'll find 8 books. 6 of them you might recognize from the shelf inside my study (Even though I specifically told you not to read any of them, you little thief you) while the other 2 are things your Fathers and I preferred not to keep out in the open. Partly for sentimental reasons and partly for practical ones. There are additional notes and stuff that we put inside each of the volumes.

It's a pitifully minuscule amount of help compared to what we wish we could lend you, but as you'll no doubt learn, the World cares little for what we want. It's up to us to reach for what we want and to achieve it with our own hands, not wait for it to fall into our laps. That is our calling as Devils after all.

With all my heart, and with the blessings of your Fathers, know that we love you Caine. There's not a doubt in my mind that you will make us proud, and that one day you'll find a measure of happiness despite our failure to provide that opportunity for you.

Love,

Clarissa, your awesome Mom.

Sheesh…leave it to Mom to write a farewell letter that manages to be both touching, irreverent and informative in one go. I thickly swallow and feel my mouth twitch in that same motion that almost turns into a smile before I feel the now familiar wave of sadness and apprehension overtake my brief amusement.

But I still don't cry.

I honestly have no clue why I haven't been bawling my eyes out at this point. I've cried over less, and this easily trumps any other unpleasant event I've experienced in my life so far.

…Maybe my emotions are stunted right now, which would also explain why I haven't quite managed a full smile since tonight. Just one more thing to think about…

"Well? What did it say?"

I bring myself back to the here and now with Kuroka eagerly looking at me while Shirone just has an impassive look on her face as she calmly picks through a bag of chips, slowly and reverently eating each one.

"It was a message from my family."

Apparently that's good enough for the 2 of them because neither comments as I slowly fold the letter and set it aside for the moment. Continuing on I look at the actual contents of the box and furrow my brow in confusion.

The thing is empty.

A frown joins the furrow and the 2 cats lean in, Kuroka asking, "That face doesn't seem to be painting a pretty picture. What's up?"

I put her question aside for the moment and try to figure out what I'm missing here. Shrugging I decide to repeat what I did for the lock and funnel a bit of Magic into the interior, smirking slightly as another Magic Circle flares to life. I take a close look at the Sigil and quickly figure out how it works. There's 8 different protrusions on the Circle, putting my hand on each one and giving it a little bit of Magic should activate that specific sequence.

Testing out my theory I place my palm on the topmost mark and channel another trickle of Magic into it. There's a brief flare of light and with a soft poof noise a large tome suddenly materializes into the box. I almost smile at the ingenuousness of the method, realizing that Ajuka Beelzebub probably had a hand in the making of this little marvel of engineering.

My near smile is quickly wiped out when I read the title of the book though.

The Guide to a Fucking Great Sex Life.

By Clarissa Valefor.

…I think part of my self-respect just died. Dangit Mom…

"What's up with the silent treatment? Is there some sort of shocking scandal or something in there-"

Kuroka's sentence dies off as she see's the title of the volume and her eyes widen before she starts sputtering in laughter. Shirone's only reaction is a brief widening of her eyes before she looks away and mutters something that sounds suspiciously like, 'pervert'.

…I can't even really deny her accusation either, since the 'pervert' in this case is my Mom.

"Oh man, I guess your folks really wanted to give you a pretty comprehensive education, now didn't they? Haha!"

I sigh at the Yokai's overly amused reaction and dispel the book before moving onto the next one, praying it isn't something just as degrading as the last one.

Thankfully, it's not. In fact the other 7 are all incredibly useful, if not downright crucial for my growth in the future.

First there was, The Beginners Guide to Being Strong as Hell, a compendium on what looks like physical training exercises and proper body building.

Secondly, Weather Domination and You. Make Hell Freeze Over!, an extensive volume on elemental Magic and a few other key spells that most natural born Devils learn fairly early in their lives.

Thirdly, Inside the Mind of a Thief. What Makes us Tick?, what I'm assuming is a psychology book centered on, well…criminals.

The guys that my family gained most of their influence from.

The rest of the books don't actually have any titles, just unmarked covers. One of them appears to be full of names, locations and the occasional contract looking thing. An administrative book that will no doubt hold some very crucial information once I get the chance to look through it. Another is an informal sort of journal written by previous Valefor family heads that goes in depth on different uses for our Shades and ways to practice our skill with them.

The last 2 are likely the ones my Mom said she didn't want hanging around out in the open.

One of them is a tightly bound ledger similar to the one full of names and other stuff, but doesn't yield to my attempts to open it physically or Magically. I'll set this aside for now.

The very last one I bring out is a photo album.

An album of my family, and the 10 years I spent with them…

I swallow the rising lump in my throat and gently set it aside for now. I'll have time to peruse it later when Kuroka and Shirone aren't hovering over my shoulder, trying to sneak peeks at the varied albums.

"Well Caine? What's the verdict? Sell or no sell?"

I sigh and take out the books on Magic and physical training. While I'm loathe to part with any of these works, just flat out telling Kuroka that there's nothing of value likely won't fly.

"Hmm…Shirone, what do you think we can make off of these?"

I turn my gaze towards the smaller Yokai while she sits quietly in thought before giving an almost undetectable shrug and turning towards me with an inquisitive look on her face.

"…Will you learning that Magic mean more things like having hot water whenever we want it?"

How pragmatic of her.

Regardless, I slowly nod my head and carefully reply, "It could. The only thing I can't say for certain is how long it'll take to learn that Magic. It might take as little as a few weeks or as much as a few years. Are you willing to wait that long?"

Kuroka's ears droop slightly but she sighs and nods her head anyways.

"It's like a long term investment. Besides, if we really need the money we can just go ahead and pawn them whenever. Deal?"

She makes it sound like I have a choice.

"Deal."

With that she smiles and yanks the box out of my hands before slamming the lid down and stuffing it under the bed before throwing herself onto the mattress.

I look at her in confusion and ask, "What was that for?"

In the corner of my eye I notice Shirone also climb onto the bed, putting Kuroka between us as she curls up in a manner not too dissimilar to how Cats act. The older Yokai merely stretches her back, before bonelessly collapsing onto the bed and closing her eyes.

"It's late and we've been up for awhile now. And it's not like we had any rest when we were healing you."

I immediately flush as that particular memory comes flooding back and turn my head away before mumbling something unintelligible in reply. I hear Kuroka snicker and give an internal sigh before I stare blankly at the ceiling. It'd be great if I could fall asleep, but with all that's happened in the last 24 hours or so, as well as trying to feel comfortable on a bed that isn't mine that I also happen to be sharing with 2 admittedly cute girls…I don't think sleep is coming anytime soon.

Imagine my surprise when I was out like a light barely a minute later.

Kuroka

I shoot a quick glance at our water heater and to my surprise find that he's already asleep, although it doesn't look like a peaceful one. His breathing is even, but the rigidity and stiffness of his body says he's not even close to relaxed.

Well…not that I blame the poor kid. I can say from personal experience that 100% peaceful sleep is a much harder thing to come by when you lose everything and have to start over from scratch.

"For someone who was against saving him, you've been pretty easy on him Big Sis."

I huff in annoyance and give Shirone a mock glare.

"I changed my mind a bit, ok? You heard what he said in the shower, right?"

She just nods and I continue with, "He made it pretty clear that someone with alot of pull is out to get him and that he's probably on his own without a cent to his name, but…"

"He's alot like us is what you're saying."

I frown at my adorable Little Sister's sad tone before sighing myself.

"Yah. I guess I don't have it in me to just throw him to the wolves with no help whatsoever. At least we had each other when everyone else abandoned us after Mom and Dad, well…you know. I'm pretty sure that Kid doesn't have anyone or anything aside from those books and that necklace of his."

Shirone is quiet for a moment before she hesitantly ask, "So, can we…can we keep him?"

Her phrasing causes me to let out a short giggle and I amusedly reply, "What is he, our stray pet that we picked off the street?"

She gives one of her almost imperceptible shrugs and simply replies, "I fed him and you washed him. That's a pet right?"

That earns another laugh from me and I snuggle closer, causing her to purr quietly. I assume that's the end of the conversation until Shirone curiously asks, "Hey Big Sis? Since he seems nice, why don't you have him be your boyfriend?"

I cough in surprise and fix Shirone with a perplexed look while she just stares up at me in open curiosity.

"What brought that on?!"

"I said he seems nice. And then you wouldn't have to bring any of those other guys home…"

I instantly feel a wave of guilt wash over me at how badly I screwed up back then. I'd figured having a 'strong' Boyfriend would help us be a little safer in this city, but…well, me and Shirone didn't get some of these scars by accident, and it didn't always come from the guys my 'boyfriends' were supposed to keep us safe from.

Sometimes they were the instigators.

I shake my head and ditch that particular train of thought before replying, "It's too soon to tell Little Sis, and I promise I'm not bringing any of those other guys to our home again, I've learned my lesson."

I feel a small grin come over my face as I turn the tables and ask, "What about you Little Sis? He looks about your age, maybe he'll make a nice match for you when you grow up, hmm?"

To my surprise she doesn't act shy, instead her eyes droop slightly in sadness before she burrows her head into my chest and sadly replies, "…I'd rather have him to be my friend…"

I instantly feel a lump form in my throat and fight down the guilt that statement brought on. Probably the number 1 thing I regret the most about us being stuck here is that my Little Shirone has never had the chance to just be a kid. No school, no playing at recess…no real friends aside from a scant few that she doesn't get to see on a regular basis.

No chance to be normal.

I slowly scratch behind her ear and feel a bit of sadness enter my voice as well.

"Yah…I wouldn't mind if he could be my friend too."

Caine

As opposed to how I previously woke up, this time I come awake with a violent start and frantic breathing, my eyes spastically twitching and seeking out hopefully imaginary threats.

After a few moments of tense observation of the surrounding room I partially relax. It doesn't take a genius to figure out I was having a pretty intense nightmare, I guess I should count myself lucky that I don't actually remember anything about it.

Heaving a massive sigh I let my body ease out of it's tension, only to notice there's an odd warm band across my stomach. Shifting my gaze I see that Kuroka has her arm haphazardly splayed across my stomach, her fingers curled up in midair as if trying to grasp something.

Maybe a bird?

Briefly amused at the thought I continue my observation and find that Kuroka's other arm is holding Shirone close, the smaller Yokai curled up into her Sisters side. What draws my attention the most, however, is the obviously peaceful expressions on their faces as they hold each other close.

I hate myself for the sudden pang of jealousy that I feel. I know why I'm jealous, since I'm almost certainly the only one left of my family and seeing someone else so obviously happy with their sibling only reminds me of that fact in the clearest way possible.

I hate myself for feeling that way because I'm fairly confident that their sibling is the only thing those 2 have.

I'd wager it sure isn't this dump of a building…

I'm snapped out of my reverie by Shirone letting out a cute yawn before she stretches like a cat, arching her back and slowly stretching out each leg. After that she fixes a her golden eyes on me, a sleepy expression still on her face.

"…Good morning."

"Uh, yah…good morning Shirone."

I'm surprised that she actually said anything since she struck me as the quiet type, but I'll take it.

Either way she apparently considers the conversation over as she stands up and walks on out of the room. Kuroka wakes up shortly after that and goes through her own rounds of stretching before fixing a gaze of her own on mine.

"So how'd you sleep?"

I shrug before replying, "Better than I thought I would. Hey, Kuroka?"

"Hmm?"

I flounder for a moment, trying to think of how to put this into words before I just go for it.

"How do you and Shirone live in this place? I've read all about Kalichi and I don't fancy my chances of surviving on my own, and that's assuming everything is exactly like it was said in the book, which I doubt is the case."

I give an irritated shake of my head before asking, "What I'm trying to say is, will you show me how to survive down here? I know you've already gone out of your way to save my life, but I swear to you, I'll make myself useful for more than just heating up your water."

I let the ghost of a smile cross my face as I say, "Even if you already consider that pretty important."

Kuroka stares at me silently for almost a minute before a grin that I'd say is almost proud adorns her face.

"Well look at this, a wise guy that's already figuring out how to play by our rules. Sure thing Kid, having an extra pair of hands around here is never a bad thing. I'll give you one more day of rest, then I'm gonna start the lessons whether you feel ready or not!"

…Well that was simpler than expected.

Judging the conversation over she gets up and walks towards one of the other rooms, leaving me on my own. Wincing I roll over and try to stand up once. Although I almost fall back over from the sudden vertigo I manage to keep my balance, trying to center myself on my still admittedly shaky legs.

Well…at least I can stand on my own. That's sort of an improvement.

"Here, catch."

I turn around just in time have something wrapped in foil smack me in the face and fall to the ground in an anti-climactic thud. Kuroka smirks and archly asks, "Good reaction time."

I stiffly bend down and pick it up before dryly replying, "You try losing something like half-a-liter of blood and then try speed catching."

She just sniggers before unwrapping her own breakfast and takes a languid bite while I open my own with some difficulty. I take a hesitant bite before shrugging and finishing the rest. It's nothing too fancy, probably some mass produced energy bar that tastes vaguely like peanut butter and that's about it.

"Well at least you can stand now, that's a pretty big improvement."

"Over being on the verge of death? Yah, I'll agree with you on that particular point. Where'd your Sister go?"

"Oh she probably went off to get another tub of water. Now that we can have hot water whenever we want she'll probably be wanting to take as many showers as she can get away with. I know that's what I'm going to be doing. In fact she should be getting back just about…now."

Right on cue there's a metallic thunk and I turn around to find the white-haired Yokai giving me an expectant look, the giant bucket of sloshing water set before her.

Hiding my amusement I take off the Phoenix Heart and dunk it in the tub, repeating the process I pulled yesterday. Soon enough the water is pleasantly steaming and Shirone gives me a brief nod of thanks. Kuroka saunters on by and says over her shoulder, "I'm so glad we picked you up in that clearing. We'll leave some for you!"

"There's a person attached to this necklace you know."

She ignores me and Shirone gives me a quick deadpan look as she manhandles the bucket into the next room.

"…No peeking."

I'm about to vehemently deny that I would do something like that when Kuroka snorts and playfully adds, "Yah Caine, don't sneak a look at us 2 beauties, you might not be able to handle the sight…"

Her words just leave me confused as the 2 of them walk off. I simply sigh and chalk this up to me not being experienced enough in flirting.

Provided that was flirting to begin with…

I drag out the box containing all of the books my parents thought I would need and briefly flick through them again. The elemental Magic and body building ones are going to be immediately useful as soon as I'm in better shape, but the other ones…well, that's going to take some serious research on my part. Although the volume about criminal psychology will no doubt be worth it's weight in gold, considering I ended up in Kalichi of all places…

I'm about to pull out the photo album and go through it when I hear the sound of approaching footsteps and I quickly put it away and reseal the box.

I'm slowly getting used to the idea of being on good terms with Kuroka and Shirone…but there's still plenty of stuff I consider personal, or just don't want to show them yet.

Maybe one day in the future, once I figure out if I can trust them or not…

"Heya Caine, we left your allotted amount of a quarter of a bucket, need me to carry you in and wash you again?"

She says this last line with a batting of her eyelids which for some reason makes my cheeks heat up. I ignore the strange reaction for now and instead shakily stand up, taking a deep breath as I do so.

"Thanks, but…I think it's time I start walking on my own 2 feet again."

So I do, only collapsing and smacking my face against the wall once, leaving a pretty noticeable bruise.

So much for being cool.

And that's it for this chapter! Next one might take a few extra days since there's alot to it, but it's going to be diving into the culture of Kalichi in way more depth. Thanks to all who reviewed, favorited, followed and such shenanigans, it's always interesting (and important) to see how people feel about the work I'm doing :D

Till next chapter y'all.