Chapter 10: Old and New Acquaintances

Caine

(5 weeks 2 days after arrival in Kalichi)

A bit of honest thievery always puts me in a good mood. Kuroka and Shirone had pointed out this particular store, a rather large shop that goes by the name of Hellmart, as a prime target for business. Mostly because the owner had landed a solid kick to Shirone's ribs a few years back and Kuroka hasn't forgotten that in the slightest.

It sure made me more than a little happy to partake of the store's stock and not pay a cent for it.

That said, this little venture has been…disappointingly easy.

Or maybe it only feels that way because I'm used to going up against Jonah's ever increasing labyrinth of security measures. He and I often used to engage in a passive sort of game where we would try to break into the other person's room and steal something of value, daring the other to come and steal it back.

By the time the attack hit us, Jonah had a fairly extensive system of wards set up around his room, not to mention he'd gotten pretty crafty at simply hiding stuff in general.

Detection wards keyed to any increase in temperature, humidity, Magical presence, sound levels…I'd honestly had to concede for a few months while I figured out a way to circumnavigate that many systems at once.

While someone like Philip could have easily just shut the alarms off remotely using his skill in Magic, I'm not even close to that level yet.

So like I said, breaking into this place and taking my fill was like taking candy from a baby.

The building only had a simple Magic detection array situated over the entrance, allowing the manager of the place to be notified if someone walks through the front door. A simple system with an easy solution, at least for someone with my particular talents.

All I'd done was hang outside the store until someone walked by and then proceeded to hide in their shadow, making sure to cross over the threshold the same time that they did. The detection system only tells you if someone crosses the boundary, not how many. After that it'd just been a simple matter to follow the person as they did their rounds, grabbing stuff when no one was watching and taking care to be smooth and controlled when picking up plastic or other loud products.

I'm starting to get bored, and I've only been at this for like a minute. Heck, even picking out Shirone's favorites hadn't been a challenge, since I'd found a discarded shopping bag before beginning this little venture and can carry all sorts goodies.

Yawn-o-rama…

I barely manage to avoid sighing in dissapointment as the Devil I'd been following finishes paying for his stuff and walks on out with me directly next to him, none the wiser to my presence.

I follow him for another block or so before casually dropping the Shadow and turning into a nearby alley, where 2 very curious cats are waiting.

Kuroka raises an eyebrow at my approach and asks, "Done already? I'd figured this would take you a bit longer, learning to steal takes a bit of practice-"

I just smirk and hold out my bag full of 'groceries' while both Sisters eyes widen in response.

Takis Fuegos and Pocky sticks for Shirone, packaged Cinnamon Rolls for Kuroka and a few cans of A&W Root Beer for me.

The Humans think of some pretty tasty stuff, lemme tell yah. And those are just the specifics, I'd grabbed plenty of other kinds of chips and things while I was in there.

"…Were you some kind of master thief before you ended up here Kid?"

"Well I did practice stealing stuff from both my Brother and people that pissed me off for most of my life. Us Valefor's are practically born to be kleptomaniacs. Although since I'm hanging around you 2 I guess I could be considered a Cat Burglar."

Kuroka can't seem to decide whether to laugh or punch me for that joke and instead takes a Roll with a smile of appreciation. Shirone doesn't say anything at all but the sparkles in her eyes speak far more eloquently than any words could hope to as I hand her a box of Pocky.

Without any further conversation we unanimously decide to halt further conversation and simply enjoy our newfound treats. I pop open the tab on a can of A&W, bring the lukewarm metal to my lips and take an experimental sip.

It's not really hot or cold, pretty flat from being on a shelf for too long and has a way more sugar than the other A&W brands I'm used to.

It tastes bloody magnificent.

Heh, who knew I would take such pleasure in something I once took for granted? How times change.

It's been about a week or so since we took down Adder and only now are we actually heading back 'home' for the first time in almost a month.

"Ahh…home sweet home…actually it's still kind of a dump, but who cares about that stuff, right?"

Kuroka's words drag a brief snort of amusement from me and I cast a critical eye around the place.

Dusty, dirty, dingy…but still home, in an 'abusive relationship' kind of way.

Kuroka and Shirone head off to the kitchen with their snacks in hand while I decide to finally take a closer look at my 'inheritance' now that I have the opportunity to do so. That business ledger thing had caught my attention but the whole deal with Adder had put it on the back burner for awhile.

Not anymore.

I pull out the strongbox from it's hidden location beneath a loose brick and channel my Magic, causing it to pop open just as smoothly as it did weeks ago. I briefly flick through the assembled volumes and briefly debate whether to go ahead and read The Guide to a Fucking Great Sex Life before common sense grabs ahold of me and I table that subject for now.

Somethings telling me that once I read that book there's no going back.

Instead I continue on until the rather plain looking manifesto is held securely in my hands, ready to be inspected.

And is there ever a lot to be inspected…enormous lists of people who provide certain 'goods' (Read: Drugs), the myriad methods those bits of contraband are shuffled around, a comprehensive guide to what product does what…the thing goes on and on.

Cannabis, Meth, Heroine, Angel Wing, Demon Scale…holy crap, is that Unicorn Blood?!

Even a total rookie at this stuff, such as myself, could hazard a guess that the profits coming in from this trade must be enormous. The price tag on some of these things would make even a Pillar Family ask for a discount…

I spend the next few minutes flipping through the pages, making note of all the different names and where these people can be located…unfortunately none of them are in Kalichi, and I sure as Hell don't have any way of either meeting or contacting the people in other parts of the Underworld.

That particular snag drags a rueful smile out of me. Once upon a time I had all sorts of resources at my disposal, finding or communicating with others was as easy as asking someone who worked at the mansion to hook me up, or on the rare occasion I could even sneak my way through a Transport Circle.

Now I have no money, insufficient knowledge to make my own Magic Circles and while the 2 cats are incredibly knowledgeable about Kalichi, I doubt they're experts in this particular field.

I'm just about to give up for the moment when one of the last names catches my eye.

Someone called 'Magellan' who's based in this city and apparently was the main organizer for most of the trafficking in this part of the Underworld.

Now that's easily accessible information right there…although that begs the question of what I want to do with it. With my family gone and no one to provide political protection or grease a few important palms, I'm willing to bet that the majority of those sellers suddenly had the rug cut out from beneath them and are looking for someone to provide said protection along with a cut of the profits.

The beginning of a plan starts to form in my mind. It's kinda risky-very risky if we're being honest here-but I can't think of any other way to gain back my family's influence before it all gets picked apart by competing buyers.

I'm not letting that happen.

Come tomorrow I think I'm gonna pay this Magellan a visit.

"Whatcha doing Kid? You've been hunched over here for like 20 minutes or something. Are you finally reading that sex book?"

I practically choke on my tongue in surprise and push away Kuroka who had draped herself over my shoulder.

"I wasn't! And it's not any of your business what I was doing!"

Instead of being offended a gleam enters her eyes and she carnivorously grins, her tails lashing back and forth.

"Oh? Are we entering our teenage phase of rebellion~? That just makes me even more curious about what sort of naughty things are in that book there…"

I rapidly back up as the Nekoshou slowly stalks forward and I can't help but wonder if this is what a Deer feels like when the Dragon is circling above it.

Unfortunately I'm so focused on Kuroka that I neglect her other, smaller half and all of the sudden the manifest is snatched from my hands and a head of white hair walks past me, tails amusedly waving back and forth as she does so.

"…That was sneaky."

Kuroka's golden eyes give me an annoyingly satisfied look as she pats Shirone's head.

"…Big Sis?"

"What is it Little Sis?"

"Small problem."

"Which is?"

"We forgot that we can't read this."

Kuroka's face instantly twitches as her smile becomes strained and I can't help but smirk before I decide to take pity on them. Gently taking the book from Shirone's hands I elaborate with, "This is mostly just a list of all the different trade routes and people in charge of them for illegal stuff. My family kept a pretty comprehensive record of all this stuff and there's a guy I want to talk to tomorrow. He might have information about the current state of affairs and I want to know about it."

Kuroka shoots me a doubtful look and asks, "Just how exactly are you going to get him to answer any of your questions, never mind information that is probably supposed to be secret?"

"Simple. I'll show him who I really am. If this guy is as well connected as he's made out to be in that little pamphlet, he should be able to tell who I am no problem if I just how off my Shades."

…There's an earful coming in 3…2…1-

"Are you crazy?!"

Called it.

"You were just telling us how you were maybe still being targeted by all those assassins or whatever, and you want to go ahead and reveal that you're still alive to somebody who might sell you out?! The Hell are you thinking?!"

I can't help but smile at Kuroka's concern, a marked change from her mostly indifferent-like behavior when we first met.

I'm still gonna go ahead with this though.

"I get why you're concerned, but the alternative is just to wait for an opportunity to fall into my lap, and I think we all know the odds of that happening. I'm going to meet with this guy and that's final."

I see a look of anger appear on Kuroka's face and I briefly wonder if that came across as a bit too strong headed before she just gives a heavy sigh and says, "Alright I get it…we're coming with you though."

I frown and reply with, "There's not going to be much for you to do-"

"I'm sorry, did that sound like an offer? I'm telling you, we're coming with you."

"I-"

Shirone interrupts me with, "End of discussion."

…Can't argue with that.

"Alright, but I want you 2 to stay in your cat forms the entire time. If this does go sideways I don't want this guy recognizing the either of you."

Thankfully they both nod in agreement and I figure I've pushed my luck enough for today.

"Ugh…from one mess to another…" Kuroka grouses as she throws herself down onto the bed, followed shortly by Shirone.

I can't help but chuckle as I sit down next to them and start scratching their ears in their favorite spots.

"What, did you think we would get a vacation after this?"

"Let's just say I wouldn't have minded that at all…"

I just grin and lay down myself, halting my scratching in favor of locking my hands behind my head.

"Hey, Kuroka? Shirone?"

In the slowly dimming light 2 pairs of golden eyes lock onto mine and I quietly say, "Thanks for pretty much forcing me to let you 2 tag along. I appreciate it."

Kuroka just snorts and archly replies with, "So why didn't you just say so in the first place?"

"I can be kinda stupid sometimes."

Ferdinand

Oogh…stress can make people do stupid things. Like drink 2 bottles of 120 proof malt whiskey in one night.

Supernatural constitution or not, that was without a doubt an awful decision, since it feels like someone packed my head with spiky cotton. And I don't even know what spiky cotton feels like in the first place.

"Oh, look who's awake! How'd you sleep gorgeous?"

I crack open a gummed up eye and see Linus happily smirking at me, his Sacred Gear Kaleidoscope Eyes active and whirring in their usual disco mix of colors and shapes. I guess he was working on his little automatons before I woke up.

Slowly opening both of my eyes and wincing at the sharp pain that accompanies the action I notice that that was exactly the case, scrap metal limbs that are vaguely humanoid in design scattered over the hard wood table that serves as both a dining and work table.

"Like shit. How's your little project coming along? Still a complete and utter failure?"

He snorts and none too gently scrapes metal across the table, causing me to wince at the painfully loud grinding noise.

"I forgot how much of a pissy princess you can be after a night of drinking. Just be glad you were born a Devil, that much liquor would have killed a measly little Human like me."

"Yah, wouldn't that have been a shame…" I mutter under my breath.

I know I owed Magellan my life for picking me up off Kalichi's streets, but the cantankerous Old Bastard sometimes made me question his sanity.

Like when he let Linus live with us because he was, 'interesting'.

Annoying and slightly crazy, yes, but interesting? Maybe if you were as senile as Magellan, sure.

And then the Old Fart went and got himself killed along with the rest of the Valefors when he went to a business meeting…I suppose I could have kicked Linus out, but I guess I felt I owed it to the guy who saved me from an early death to honor one of his last acts.

Doesn't mean I can't fantasize about it though.

"What's on our agenda for-"

I have to stop and let loose a nasty burp that tastes vaguely like dried barf before finishing with, "-for today?"

Linus disinterestedly shrugs as he goes back to working on his automatons.

"Same as the last few days, nothing. Not really doing a good job of coordinating all these gangbangers and stuff are yah?"

I snort and annoyedly reply with, "What's to coordinate? There's no way to get their shit to buyers with the Valefors dead and so far no one of any real consequence aside from the Crocells has made an offer. And for whatever reason they're still playing scared, dancing around the issue and only sporadically communicating."

Linus sagely nods at my words.

"…It's probably only a matter of time before some less than savory types come knocking on our door wondering why we haven't been doing Magellan's job, isn't it?"

"I give it another 2 months. Try to finish up your little dolls by then would yah? I think we're gonna need them."

"Or, again, you could do your job."

I decide to ignore him and just get something to eat, descending to the 1st floor as I do so. Magellan had a pretty decent sized 2-story house as his impromptu office and we'd naturally 'inherited' it once he kicked the bucket. Unfortunately we, or rather I, also inherited his job as the middle man between the affluent Devil families and the gutter scum.

While he'd always intended for me to take over his job so that he could retire sooner rather than later, the fact remains that I'm still new at this and quite frankly have been flying by the seat of my pants for the past few weeks. This would have already been massively difficult if it weren't for the fact that there's fucking no one around here that I can reach out to.

Hence my newly acquired drinking problem.

I groan as I pour out a glass of water and am just about to take a much needed sip when there's a knock on the front door. Despite my bleary state I immediately tense and carefully look out the front door's peephole, fully expecting some hulking 'enforcers' from the various gangs around Kalichi.

I sure as shit wasn't expecting some 11-year old looking kid carrying some white-haired cat full of scars in his arms while a pitch-black one sits perfectly upright on his head.

…Am I still drunk?

"Hey! Magellan! You in there?"

…Ok, my curiosity is piqued.

I latch open the door and blearily ask, "Magellans dead Kid, whatever you want from him for you're gonna be waiting quite the span of time for it. Mostly forever, in fact."

The Kid is silent for a moment before he scowls and mutters, "Well crap."

I smirk and take a moment to look more closely at him. Black hair that's scraggly looking and growing out unevenly, although there's a single blond streak that travels down the left side of his face that's rather conspicuous. Not as conspicuous as his heterochromic eyes though, one orb a sharp crimson and the other a startlingly bright green.

I bet the ladies are gonna go nuts over that when he gets older…damn, why do I feel like I should recognize that trait of his from somewhere…

I just sigh and instead inquire, "Well if you had something to ask Magellan I suppose you might as well ask me instead, I'm sort of his replacement."

"Replacement? What's your name exactly?"

Oh, he's suspicious. Good, he's not totally dumb then.

"Name's Ferdinand, and I was adopted by Magellan a few years back, I guess he was hoping that I would one day take over his business and free up alot of his time so that he could visit the Red Light District more often…"

The Kid still looks suspicious and I give him a wry look.

"Kid, I'm already living in the dude's house and eating his food. What do I have to gain from lying?"

"That's what I'm trying to find out."

"How about this? You answer one of my questions, and I'll answer of yours. We'll get to know each other that way."

He scowls and retorts with, "Shouldn't you go first? I'm the one who's suspicious of you."

"Ah, but here's the rub. You came here of your own free will, so you clearly wanted to see Magellan and make him an offer or something along those lines. Whereas I had no idea you were coming and wouldn't have missed you if you hadn't shown up. You clearly need me more than I need you. So are you in?"

He stares at me for a few seconds before grimacing and sourly replies, "Sure, I'm in. What's your first question?"

Inwardly cheering at something going my way for what feels like the first time in forever I ask, "What's the deal with the cats?"

Clearly not expecting that particular question to come first the Kid just stares dumbly at me for a second before shrugging.

"They found me when I first came to this city and we've kinda just stuck together since. I still need to get the black one checked out for fleas though."

Said black one leans forward from her perch and solidly smacks him on the forehead, creating an adorable thump as her paw hits home. That reaction makes me wonder if there's not more to them than just being a pair of cats, but I table that train of thought for now.

"Well I answered your question, here's mine. Who the heck are you?"

"Name's Ferdinand, dunno what my surname is and Magellan never bothered to give me one. I guess you could say that I'm his successor."

We both stare at each other for a few moments, his dual colored eyes boring into my own brown ones, until he frowns slightly and asks, "I don't suppose you would be open to talk business then?"

"Business?"

"Yah, I just so happen to have some info I think you might be interested in. In return maybe you could give me some heads up on a few things I'd like to know about."

Quid pro quid, ok I can work with this.

"Alright then come on inside. Amenities are short so deal with it."

He follows me into the building and I lazily shove aside some stacked papers on one of the tables, not bothering to see where they landed or what they were.

"So what's the offer Kid? You said you had info I might be interested in, but what do you think qualifies as that?"

He thinks for a moment before pulling out a bound pamphlet that looks like it has maybe a 100 pages in it and I curiously look for any signs of who made it, only to find almost no markings on it.

Eyes only then, eh?

"So if I show you this what's to stop you from screwing me over and not giving me my part of the deal?"

Heh, I think I could grow to like this Kid.

"Simple really. While this may be hard for you to swallow, someone's word means alot in this city. While monetary incentives or trading sellable stuff is the preffered way of doing business down here, that's not always how things pan out. Sometimes you can only give someone a promise, or owe them a favor. It's your last bit of worthwhile currency. If you break your word even once, you're the poorest of the poor."

He again fixes me with that intense glare before giving a small nod of acknowledgment and opens up the first page of the book for me.

My eyes widen as I start reading all of the information available.

"Kid…where the Fuck did you get this?"

He seems to struggle with himself for a second before carefully saying, "You said your word was worth alot. In that case, I want your word that after hearing what I'm about to tell you, you'll not flip your lid until I'm done explaining everything, deal?"

Easy enough to agree to, although I'm pretty sure this Kid is blowing things out of proportion here.

"You have my word. Now what's the big secret?"

The words barely make it out of my mouth before I see something very strange happening. Namely the cat that was resting on the Kid's head is gently rising upwards, sitting on what looks like a shadow made solid. Damn that's weird, and haven't I seen that power before-

…

You're kidding me.

"Maybe I should properly introduce myself. My name is Caine Valefor, and as far as I know I'm the last surviving member of the Valefor family."

…I shoot a wistful glance towards a can of beer on the countertop and briefly contemplate downing it in one go.

It's way too early for this shit…

"You're really a Valefor?"

"I can summon another Shade if it'll convince you."

Well…I can't argue with that logic. In between the extremely detailed manifest he's carrying as well as his Shadow powers, something I haven't heard of any other Devil being able to do so easily, I'm inclined to believe him.

Crap, you'd think Magellan would have had a picture lying around somewhere…

"Alright, I'm convinced. Although naturally I'm curious why you're telling me this then. What exactly does this gain you?"

He leans forward and calmly replies with, "That's what I was hoping you could tell me. I've been mostly focused on just surviving these past few weeks and haven't gotten much news aside from the bit that my entire family is dead. What's been happening with all the people we used to do business with and all that?"

I lean back with a wince and briefly debate whether to try to break it to him gently before I immediately discard that thought. If he's survived his family's massacre and living in Kalichi thus far I think he can handle this no problem.

"It's a mess and I dunno if it's salvageable if I'm being honest here. More than a month of being unable to distribute and sell, people are getting restless. Beats me how knowledgable you are about your family's business, but you guys were a big part of how shit got done. Paying off officials, keeping well meaning social types from shutting us down…with that gone most of our usual routes are closed, never mind the fact that there's no real way to get any profitable amount of contraband to potential buyers."

Thankfully Caine seems to absorb this easily enough with only a scowl and proceeds to ask, "Isn't anyone else trying to fill the void we left behind? I would have thought that everyone would be chomping at the bit to get a slice of what we had. I've seen some of the stuff we were letting through, there's no shortage of money to be made there."

I can only shrug at that.

"I thought that too, but aside from the Crocells no one is really coming forward with offers. And even then they're dancing around the issue, not really committing to anything of value."

I notice his face darken at the mention of the Crocells and briefly wonder what that's about before he goes back to his usual expression.

"That is pretty weird…although where do you come in? What's your role in all this?"

Ugh…this question.

"Well…I guess you could say I'm the middle man in all this. Magellan used to talk to your family directly, or at least to a trusted representative, and then pass along information to the gangs and whatnot in this city. Of course, now that duty falls to me and I have neither someone to talk to or anything to tell to all the other guys in the city."

He suddenly grins and I realize in my still slightly hungover state I was a little free with the information there. Dammit.

"Well in that case I think I have a bit of a proposition for you Ferdinand. What if I could return to my position as the Valefor family head and provide all those services we used to?"

I frown and think about it.

"Well that would be pretty awesome for me personally, but it's not gonna be that simple. Let's assume your succession goes smoothly-which I seriously doubt it will-and you're the family head in just a few weeks or something. Alot of you're old business associates are gonna be wondering about whether it's a good idea to return to being under Valefor patronage."

"Why would they think that?"

"Dude, your family was wiped out in a night. I'm familiar enough the various faction's strengths to understand how easy it is to wipe out a single family given enough resources, but the common gangbanger and even a few of their leaders don't get that. Unless The Great Red or Ouroboros Dragon themselves wiped out your lineage, you're considered weak."

He gains a pretty fierce scowl at that and I don't necessarily blame him. Most people living in Kalichi don't realize just how many levels there are in the Supernatural food chain, and it's hard to judge whether someone is just really just that weak or ran afoul of something way out of their league.

"Well how exactly do I convince them that we're still worth it?"

"Lemme show you something."

I root through the papers I'd pushed off the table and find the one I was looking for, Magellan's old map of Kalichi. It's pretty sparse on details, but mostly just because the landscape and 'borders' in this city are constantly changing. I roll it out and show it to Caine.

"Take a look at this Kid. Here's Kalichi. Separated into 9 districts, or as us locals call them, the 9 Circles. There's a few different gangs that run most of the city, and those guys are the Griffons, the Black Wings, the Exiled and the Serpents. Well, the Serpents were part of those gangs. Their boss went up against a Priest called the Paladin about a week ago and ended up dying along with a few of his subordinates, so they're currently falling apart right now."

"Yah, I know. I was the one who helped kill him funnily enough."

I snort.

"Having a sense of humor is pretty important in this city, glad you have one Kid."

"Who said I was joking?"

I give him an amused look until I notice his totally bland expression.

"…Seriously?"

"Yup."

…I dunno how to respond to that.

So I don't.

"Anyway, these gangs are the ones that oversee all the contraband that makes it's way through Kalichi, or is made here. In essence, they control 20% of your family's goods."

"Wow. That much?"

"Yup. Since Kalichi is such a melting pot of cultures and species, alot of stuff is brought in through here from other Factions. And since EDEN houses most of the goods, travel routes through the city are watched over by these gangs, who are in turn given another share of the profits. If you wanna start building up your family's fortune again you have to prove to these guys that you have the capability of staying in business."

He frowns at the map in response to my explanation.

"Why are the Gangs in such a position of power here? It's a big city, can't they just, I dunno, go around?"

I shake my head in the negative.

"Way too dangerous. While the drug suppliers could hire guards to protect their shipments, it's cheaper to just have the Gangs do that kinda work and then take a share of the profit and a few choice morsels of contraband. A lot of the more desperate people in this city know how much a few bits of really valuable stuff like Holy Artifacts and the like will sell for, and aren't afraid to get their hands bloody for the chance at wealth. Not to mention the damn Tartarus Pits restrict a lot of the available routes..."

He gives me a confused glance at my mention of the Pits and asks, "Tartarus Pits? What, like the prison?"

I shake my head in response.

"Tartarus is nowhere near as dangerous as a Kalichi Tartarus Pit. A Tartarus Pit houses the worst of the worst Kid. Stray Devils, psychopaths, serial killers...those things only house the toughest of the tough, and getting within 50 meters of a Tartarus Pit is something you couldn't pay me to do with all the money in the world. Getting captured by a Pit Dweller is the worst thing that can happen to someone. Mostly because you won't be dying anytime soon, although you no doubt wish you could..."

I sigh and point to 4 parts of the map that have darker highlights around their borders.

"The breakdown goes like this. 6% of Kalichi is EDEN. 14% is Tartarus Pits. The rest is all open game, but that's almost 20% of the city surface out of reach for these guys. Trust me, 20% is a lot."

The Kid scans through everything before giving a soft sigh, saying, "Well that makes an unfortunate amount of sense now..."

He straightens up before looking me right in the eye.

"So basically I have to prove to these gangs that I can make sure suppliers keep coming through the city so that they make a profit. And then I have to talk to the suppliers and convince them that I can provide a stable market. All the while making sure that no other competitor steals away their business. And that's all just in Kalichi."

"Yup. You can see why I'm skeptical about your claim to be able to fix everything in just a few weeks or months. The damage has been done Kid, and it's more about creating something new than it is fixing it."

He rubs his hands over his eyes and wryly says, "Yah, I find myself agreeing with you on that…"

Well…at least he's adaptable.

"Man you're all sunshine and rainbows today Ferdinand."

I turn around and find Linus walking down the steps, hands in his pockets and that same damn goofy grin on his face that he always has, Kaleidoscope Eyes active and whirring.

"And you are?"

Offering a sardonic bow Linus cheerfully replies, "Name's Linus Mossa, Ferdinand's roommate of sorts. Good to meet you Caine Valefor, and your 2 Yokai lady friends there. They have very beautiful aura's by the way."

Caine merely raises an eyebrow but I don't miss the way he subtly shifts his weight and moves his arms lower, making a convenient spring-board for the white cat in his arms should things go south.

"I'm assuming those eyes of yours aren't just for show then? What are they, some kind of Sacred Gear?"

"Yup! Kaleidoscope Eyes, let's me 'see' the flow of energy in the world and even alter it to an extent. Still getting used to the altering part though. And relax Kiddo, I'm not here for a fight."

Apparently that puts him at a bit of ease as he slowly eases his stance, tension leaving his frame. Linus just chuckles as he walks over to the kitchen to grab something to eat, seemingly oblivious to the potential threat of violence.

The dudes a mad scientist in the making.

"Well if the jig is up feel free to switch to your normal forms you 2."

The white cat in Caine's arms seems content to stay that way but the black one jumps down before a dull white light takes the shape of a Human before fading away, leaving one bombshell of a girl standing where a cat used to be.

Heck, even the raggedy clothes she's wearing and noticeable scar on her cheek don't detract from her beauty.

A couple more years and people are gonna be begging to lick the ground she treads on.

Oh, and she has a fantastic rack.

"Well Ferdinand, let me introduce to you Kuroka, she's the one who still needs a good fumigating."

The newly introduced Kuroka scowls at that and smacks the back of Caine's head.

"I dunno why you think that joke is so funny! It isn't!"

"Of course it's not. It's your reaction that's always the real treat to watch."

The smaller cat makes an odd chuff sound like it just laughed while Kuroka just glares at the 2 of them.

Well don't they seem close?

Shaking himself out of his little reverie Caine locks eyes with me and says, "So where do we go from here?"

"Oh? Whatever do you mean by that?"

"Quit playing dumb, whether you meant to or not you kinda admitted to being under pressure to do something by all of the gangs and whatnot. We share a common interest."

Linus pipes in from across the room, "Said common interest being not dying!"

"Like your roommate said. If nothing else I at least want to keep my family's legacy out of the hands of the Crocells of all damn people…"

I raise an eyebrow and ask, "You have a thing against the Crocells?"

"Yah. I hate their guts."

Hmm…well, that works for me.

"Ok, my thoughts on this are pretty straightforward. I'm scheduled to meet with the various gang leaders and suppliers in the coming week, I'll leave out the fact that you're still alive and just tell them that someone with alot of influence wants to potentially act as our 'patron'. They'll obviously want to know who it is I'm talking to but I can lead them on a run-around, saying you want to remain anonymous and such."

He nods and says, "Sounds good. What should I be doing in the meantime?"

"Think you can be the head of your family again by next week?"

"Honestly? No."

"I didn't think so either. So start thinking of ways you can pull it off, because if I do manage to stave off the bloodhounds of Kalichi we're gonna need to back up our claim. Also you might want to work on your family powers a little. The gang leaders only respect strength, and if you can't use your family name then you're gonna have to settle for beating them down."

He grimaces at that and quite frankly I don't blame him. While Adder was definitely a cut above the rest of the gang leaders it's not like they're all pushovers…

Caine stands up and holds out his hand, all the while saying, "Maybe not the best of situations we could be in, but at least we've got something resembling a plan. I look forward to working with you Ferdinand."

I shake it and am briefly surprised by the strength in his grip.

"Feelings mutual Caine. Oh, by the way, how do you feel about Fallen Angels?"

He looks confused for a moment before returning to his bland stare and replies, "Depends on the Fallen. I'm not xenophobic if that's what you're asking. Way I see it there's plenty of reason to dislike people that have nothing to do with race."

"In that case make sure to drop by in 2 weeks time. I've got some Fallen guests stopping by who were originally supposed to meet with Magellan but, well…hard to meet with someone who's dead. Apparently they're some big shots and if things don't work out with the Kalichi gangs we might need to get on our hands and knees and start sucking some serious dick."

My only response from him is a blank look and I realize that dropping an innuendo in front of a Kid who looks 11 years old was kind of a dumb idea.

"Never mind, just be here in 2 weeks if you're still alive, deal?"

"Uh, sure. Deal."

I notice Kuroka is trying hard not to laugh at Caine's confusion while Linus is shooting me a thumbs-up.

Ok ok, I get it. Dumb thing to say…

Without further ado our 3 guests get up and leave the room, leaving me alone with Linus, who's idly sipping some sort of juice box.

"…So you think this actually has a chance of working?"

"If I'm being perfectly honest here? Nope. There's just too many things we have no way of getting a handle on in time. Think about it. The kids stranded in Kalichi of all places and obviously has no way of getting back to his family position, otherwise he would have done that by now. And while I do believe that he took on Adder, he did say he had help, so we probably won't be able to count on him just steamrolling everyone into following him."

"…So basically we're due to take to take a cactus enema in just a few weeks?"

"Yup."

Linus offers up a rare sigh and dryly remarks, "Well, at least that gives me plenty of time to buy the lube."

Caine

Well that meeting was…enlightening.

Although not entirely in a good way…crap, I've got alot to do and not much time, or resources, to do it…

"I won't pretend to be an expert on any of that stuff you were talking about in there, but it sounds like you've set something of an impossible goal for yourself Kid."

I heave a heavy sigh and miserably reply, "Don't have to tell me twice…I guess I'm going to have to talk to David and ask if he knows anybody that can give me a hand. And ask him for some 1-on-1 training."

"What, you don't like sparring with us?"

"I prefer my teeth to remain in my mouth, thank you very much."

"It's only Shirone that hits that hard, not me."

Said Little Sister merely snuggles deeper into the crook of my arm with a contented purr as I scowl at her happy tone.

Well…at least I'll have good company when this whole little adventure comes crashing down on my head…

"Hey, Kuroka?"

"Hmm?"

"How come you never said anything about the Tartarus Pits before? That seems like a fairly big thing not to tell me about."

She simply shrugs and replies with, "There aren't any Pits near where we live or the Church, so I never bothered to bring it up. And trust me, if you'd seen the entrance to one you would have stayed well away. Even a nose-challenged Devil like yourself would be able to smell one of those damn things from pretty far away."

Shirone accentuates her Sister's point with a tail thump against my chest and I decide to just take their advice for now.

I swear, this city just keeps getting deadlier and deadlier...

Azazel

Office work…Damn, damn office work. Seriously though, can't people just assume what I'd like them to do and do it? Nope! It's approval this, approval that! I could be off doing some more research on that Artificial Sacred Gear project I've finally got off the ground, or off in a bar in the Human world talking to some lovely ladies, but no!

Damn Baraqiel. lucky dog went and finally got a girlfriend and now he's talking about marriage of all things…

Well, whatever. He's been an uptight stick in the mud for as long as I can remember, maybe this'll finally make him loosen up a bit.

"Hey, Penemue?"

"Yes Lord Azazel?"

I sigh as Penemue still insists on calling me Lord of all titles, even after all these years acting as my secretary. Why not 'boss', or 'master', or even 'sexy beast' as I've suggested to her over the years? Well whatever…

"Do I have any obligations in the coming days? And by obligations I mean ones I can't skip out on."

"You're not supposed to 'skip out' on any obligations in the first place."

"Eh, details."

She peeks her head around the corner of the door to my office, her usual stern look completing the look of intimidating businesswoman, all rounded out by her professional looking suit.

She really could stand to get laid at some point in the future.

"Well, gross negligence of duty aside, things you absolutely can't miss out on are a meeting between Grigori leaders 4 days from now-"

"Are you kidding? That sounds exactly like the sort of thing I would ditch-"

"Shemhazai said he would be there and is expecting you to come. If you aren't present, he told me to tell you to expect more paperwork to come your way since he'll obviously be too busy at the meeting to do it himself."

"…Damn, he got me there."

"Other than that it's all fairly clear, although you have…maybe I should say, 'had' a meeting with Magellan in exactly 2 weeks. Something about an interesting species of Sacred Gear he thought you would find fun to examine."

"Oh damn, I forgot about that!"

No one had really been expecting such a brutal and thorough extermination of the Valefor family, and my poor old buddy Magellan had gotten caught up in it. A few months back he'd sent me a message saying he'd picked up a youngster with a rare type of Sacred Gear a while back and said I could visit whenever I had the chance and I'd fully intended to go, not willing to pass up this opportunity.

But as usual life happens and I'd gotten sidelined by all sorts of meetings and projects, and then Magellan had gone and gotten himself killed. He'd always told me that his successor, Ferdinand I think his name was, could help me out but it still sucks.

I'd actually been rather fond of that grumpy old cunt…

"Hey Penemue, I'm going to step out of the office for a bit."

"What do you mean you're-"

"It's just for a few hours, I want to talk to Raynare and the rest about our upcoming trip, not to mention I should probably check up on our newest 'guest' and see how she's doing."

In a subdued tone Penemue replies with, "That's…actually a good idea. She didn't seem all that…stable when you brought her in."

"Precisely. See you in a bit. Hold my calls will you?"

I step into my office's Magic Circle array and set it's destination to my 'house', mostly just a decent sized flat with an enormous research lab beneath it.

One has to have priorities after all.

I step out of the circle only to immediately hear 2 voices arguing and I can't help but sigh.

That'd be Raynare and Mittelt arguing again…

"The instructions clearly say you bake at a high temperature for a shorter amount of time! Not the other way around you clueless slut!"

"Fine words from some tit-less midget like yourself! I'm surprised you could even see over the counter to read the recipe!"

"Oh it is on Bitch! And for your information I'm a B-cup!"

"A B-cup on on you might as well be a negative size!"

"You take that back you overdeveloped skank!"

I walk on over to Kalawarner and Dohnaseek who are calmly sitting in a pair of chairs, Kalawarner flipping through some celebrity magazine while Dohnaseek is idly paging though a novel.

Either they're excellent pretenders or they're so used to Raynare and Mittelt's arguments that they don't even hear them anymore. They both notice me and give respectful nods which I wave away and turn towards the arguing duo.

Both girls have their wings out, 4 wings apiece, and are clearly gearing up to bring out the Light Spears. Normally I'd let their spat play out since they always do this, but today we have a guest with us…and it is my house.

"Girls, is this really the image we want to show to our newest resident?"

Both of them jump at my voice and Raynare suddenly rushes over, a beaming smile on her face as she enthusiastically says, "Welcome back Master Azazel! I apologize for our rudeness, but Mittelt just refused to admit that she was reading the recipe wrong and-"

"I was not reading the recipe wrong, you just-"

Dohnaseek calmly interrupts with, "While I've long given up trying to get you 2 to stop arguing, I'd hoped that you would at least have the decency to not do so in front of our leader…"

Both Fallen look slightly chastised at that and out of curiosity I ask, "What's this recipe I keep hearing about?"

Both girls suddenly look embarrassed and Raynare shifts about uneasily as Kalawarner chuckles and says, "They were going to bake cookies of all things."

"What's wrong with that?!" Mittelt hotly retorts, before pointing to her charge, "It's better to do something than just letting her sit there like a lump!"

Raynare enthusiastically nods and adds, "What she said, maybe with something a little more exciting than instant meals she'll, well, you know…actually liven up a bit."

I can't help but smile at their response.

While Kalawarner and Dohnaseek have their quirks, I chose them for this duty due to their temperament and ability to stay cool under pressure.

Not at all the same reason for which I chose Raynare and Mittelt.

While Raynare's crush on me isn't exactly secret, nor is Mittelt's idea of me being a Father sort-of-figure to her, I selected them because they're capable of caring.

Raynare can come off as manipulative and callous, while Mittelt is oftentimes deliberately insulting and confrontational, but that's merely their public faces, the ones they display because showing selfless compassion in Fallen culture is often seen as a sign of weakness or cowardice.

Right now our newest guest needs someone who cares more than she needs a guard.

On that note I walk over to said guest and slowly take a knee, bringing me down to eye level with her and I try my best to appear non-threatening or make any sudden movements.

"Hey Vallia, are you feeling any better today?"

Vallia Lucifer, daughter of Ralzar Lucifer of the quintessential line of Devils and wielder of Divine Dividing, someone who should be cheerful and confidant of their power and authority, actually flinches away from my calm and soothing tone, her eyes wide and desperately trying not to meet my own, her body ridged with fight-or-flight tension.

I try not to let the bitterness and anger I'm feeling show on my face, least of all because I'm the last person who has any right to feel furious with someone for mistreating a loved one.

But I feel it anyway.

And out of the corner of my eye I see even the usually composed Kalawarner and Dohnaseek seem mildly upset at her reaction, never mind Raynare and Mittelt's reaction.

You'd think they'd just come across a dying puppy and were at a loss at how to save it.

Heh, I can remember their reactions the first time I'd told them they would be guarding the new wielder of Divine Dividing, and a Devil at that…

(1 week earlier)

"You want us to what?!"

"To keep an eye on on the newly found host of Albion."

Mittelt looks at me like I'm insane.

"So you want the 4 of us, who only have 4 wings worth of strength apiece, to watch over an apparently unstable host of a Heavenly Dragon who also just so happens to be a Devil. Well that sounds perfect."

I dryly remark, "Well when you say it like that anything sounds like a bad idea…"

"It sounds like a bad idea because it is!"

Dohnaseek interjects more calmly with, "While I would not put it so hysterically, Mittelt does have a point Azazel. If the host is as…damaged…as you made it sound she might very well go into Juggernaut Drive in a fit of panic. If that happens I don't see us being able to do anything more than just delay her by a scant few seconds, if that."

"I'm not asking you to fight the White Dragon Emperor, I'm just asking you to keep an eye on the kid herself and help her out as needed. She's…not in the most self-directed moods as of now. I've got Shemhazai watching her for now but he's got other responsibilities to take care of. I can trust you 4 more than I can trust others, so you've got the job."

Kalawarner, Mittelt and Dohnaseek seem to grudgingly accept this while Raynare just preens at my mentioning of trusting her.

…She really needs to crush on someone who isn't me. It'd do her a world of good.

"This…this is the White Dragon Emperor?"

I can understand Raynare's confusion, the half-emaciated little girl that looks like she just got dragged through a jungle and is desperately trying to avoid our gazes is about as far away from what most would consider one of the most potentially powerful beings in the world as you could imagine.

Shemhazai gives me a helpless glance and says, "She hasn't really said anything to me other than her name, and while I would have normally tried to get her cleaned up a bit she isn't exactly in a rush to do anything on her own and I, uh…didn't exactly feel comfortable going into the shower with her-"

"Ok we get it pal, sheesh. Hey Kalawarner, Mittelt, Raynare? Can you fix her up? Shemhazai over here is too shy to admit he's a lolicon."

He just scowls at me before rolling his eyes and telling the 3 girls, "Her name is Vallia, and just try to not be too hard on her. You'll see what I mean."

With a slightly confused look at that the 3 nonetheless guide the smaller girl off to the house's bathing room, the diminutive Longinus wielder moving as if on auto-pilot. Once they're gone Shemhazai motions for me to go off to the side, Dohnaseek taking the hint and heading off to the kitchen to give us a bit more privacy.

"What's up, anything special I need to know."

"Her full name is Vallia Lucifer."

…Well that's interesting.

"You're sure."

"Absolutely. The refrigerators motor suddenly kicked on and the poor thing practically had a heart attack, causing her Demonic energy to spike. It's way beyond anything a Devil her age should normally have, so I'm inclined to believe her."

I run a hand through my hair at that.

"Well what in our Father's name was she doing all the way out here of all things? Our border guards barely even caught sight of her…"

"Dunno. I checked with the Devils and our other contacts about whether there's been an any sort of movement from the Old Satan Faction, but nothing. Near as I can tell she just ran away from home and never really stopped running."

That leaves me completely at a loss until an unpleasant thought suddenly occurs.

"Hey, Shemhazai? How much do you want to bet this was all Rizevim's idea of a sick fucking joke?"

He looks confused for a moment before his eyes widen and distaste dominates his expression.

"Unfortunately, I can 100% see that. Forcing his Granddaughter out of the house, probably enjoying the idea of her one day coming to despise her family…Shit."

I offer up a scowl of my own.

"Hell, he might have just convinced her Dad to do the deed and stayed out of it entirely. We know Ralzar Lucifer isn't exactly the most mentally stable of individuals…I wonder what her Mother thinks of all this."

"As much as it sucks to admit, there's not much a mere Human can do in this kind of a situation."

I heave out a sigh and dryly remark, "Well, we might as well try to make the best of this situation. Hopefully she starts to open up soon, if not, well…I guess I'll think of something else."

Shemhazai just nods and replies, "Well I'd best be off to finish my work then. At least one of us has to take their leadership duties seriously."

"Hey I resent the implications of that statement."

"It wasn't implied so much as boldly stated."

I annoyedly wave him off as he smirks, instead walking over to Dohnaseek as he offers me a beer of some kind with a raised eyebrow.

"Anything we should know about?"

"Not right now, no. Heck, I'm not too sure what to do with this bit of info myself if I'm being real here. Sorry to keep dumping this stuff on you 4 at the drop of a hat by the way."

He shrugs and a side of his mouth quirks upwards in a small smirk.

"It wouldn't be the first time you've done so."

"Har har. Think you'll survive in a household of 4 ladies for awhile?"

"If I've lived thus far working with those 3, I think I can handle anything."

I snort and am about to reply when I hear a door open and my subordinates along with Vallia walk out.

Now that she's free of a lot of the dirt and other crap that was on her the Kid is a pretty striking figure. There's still a bit of baby fat on her face, but it's a pretty minuscule amount. In fact her face is rather angular, reminding me vaguely of a bird of prey.

The effect is completed by her striking light blue eyes, even if she's trying hard not to stare directly at anyone else.

I glance up to smile at my 3 subordinates and completely falter when I see the expression on their faces. Kalawarner is probably the more composed of the 3, but there's a stiffness to her expression and her eyes are constantly roving, as if searching out threats.

Raynare and Mittelt are far more expressive with their emotions and right now both of them are radiating disgust. I inwardly sigh and hope that those 3 weren't freaked out by having to keep an eye on a Dragon, otherwise Vallia's stay here might seem more than a little similar to her previous home…

That line of thought is immediately kicked aside as Vallia stiffly walks to a nearby couch and sits down in it, her back ramrod straight and eyes downcast. But instead of taking the opportunity to walk away Kalawarner immediately takes up a seat next to her and pretends to read a nearby magazine, keeping a careful eye on the Kid and her surroundings, like some sort of watchful bodyguard.

And that's nothing compared to the younger Fallen who march right up to me.

Mittelt gets right to the point with, "Azazel, what the fuck happened to that Kid?!"

I frown and raise my hands in an attempt to calm them down.

"Woah slow down there, what happened between you 4?"

Raynare fiercely scowls and says, "Well when we were about to go into the shower she was fine, even undressing herself when we asked her to, but when Kalawarner was about to wash her back the Kid suddenly slapped her hand away and acted like she was about to be attacked."

"Well that's unfortunate but hardly enough to be all upset about-"

Mittelt has a dark look on her face and angrily says, "You weren't there Azazel. The kid suddenly realized what she did and…shit, the poor bitch looked like she was about to have a heart attack. I dunno what kind of home she grew up in, but I'd wager they didn't take to well to defiance. It took us awhile before she calmed down enough to let Kalawarner finish cleaning her."

Raynare curses under her breath before muttering, "White Dragon Emperor my ass…she acts more like some downtrodden slave…"

While I can't help but wince at hearing how badly Vallia was mistreated at her previous home, I also feel a brief burst of pride in Raynare and Mittelt.

Usually they're the ones who are always looking out for themselves, trying to ensure that at the end of the day they're the ones at the top of the pile.

This is probably the first time they've been so concerned for someone other than themselves, and they probably don't even know it. I refrain from pointing that out though, since it'd probably just make them more resistant to the idea of actually caring for Vallia.

They can be stubborn like that.

So instead I just say, "Well you probably won't have to worry about her suddenly changing into a rampaging Dragon then, will you?"

Mittelt scoffs and says, "I doubt the Kid could hurt a fly in that state."

(Present Day)

"Vallia, are my 4 friends treating you well?"

At first I don't think she's going to answer, but she gives a jerky nod after a few seconds, even if she still doesn't meet my gaze.

Well…some reaction is better than no reaction.

"Do you want to go someplace other than this house? Dohnaseek, Kalawarner, Raynare and Mittelt will go with us so you won't be among strangers."

4 questioning looks are directed my way but I ignore them in favor of giving a gentle gaze towards Vallia.

Again she's silent and I once again doubt she's going to answer…until another sharp nod is given.

Subconsciously releasing a breath I smile and say, "Alright then, in 2 weeks all 6 of us will go to a city called Kalichi. It's kind of a rough place, but the others will always be with you and keep you safe, so need to worry overmuch. Who knows, you might even find a friend there."

She doesn't respond to any of that and I can't help but feel like that's a rather optimistic hope.

Well, stranger things have happened…

I leave it at that and turn to my subordinates, who are giving me curious looks.

Kalawarner voices their unanimous question and asks, "Why Kalichi? Isn't that kind of a rough place to take a traumatized 10-year old?"

"Yah, it is, but there's a reason for that. Magellan said he'd discovered a Kid who had a Sacred Gear and I think it might be a good thing for Vallia to meet someone closer to her own age."

"Mittelt can pass for a child."

"Shove it Raynare."

I ignore the 2 of them and continue on with, "Besides, I can't imagine staying cooped up in this place for too long is healthy. Safe? Maybe. But as cruel as this may seem, it's probably better for her not to get stuck in the pattern of staying here and wasting away."

All 4 seem to agree with that assessment, albeit reluctantly.

Raynare sighs and says, "Well, I might as well try to keep making those cookies then. We're probably going to need them…"

Fallen Angels holding a miniature bake class in order to bring the White Dragon Emperor out of her funk...Sirzechs and Michael would be laughing their asses off if they heard about this.

Shit, Dad would probably think it's hilarious...

Quite a bit of ground covered in this chapter, and it came out way quicker than I thought it would. Heck, I've already gotten quite a bit of actual writing down for the chapter following this one, I've been a total madman the past few days. I guess I always just wanted to write about a supernatural drug cabal...Once I got around to writing out the dialogue and such I couldn't really stop. Anyway a couple of announcements this time around.

1st: 100 follows?! Don't you people have anything better to do with your lives?!

...I kid obviously :D

Seriously though, while by no means some grand tally of followers compared to alot of stories out there, it's no small number for me personally, and big thanks to all who are sticking around and continuing to read.

2nd: A couple smart and rational readers mentioned that Rossweisse would probably fit better into Jonah's harem than Caine's, and after thinking about they're totally right (The joys of easy to make feedback, I can be stopped before throwing myself off the cliff :D). It makes more sense in the timeline of the story, compatible personality, and a host of other issues when I glanced at my broad story outline. The revised and updated list of couples is below

Caine: Ravel/Kuroka/Shirone/Jeanne/Vallia/Mittelt/Secret character/?

Jonah: Sylvi/Rossweisse/?

On that note, the above list won't be changing for quite awhile since as of now in the story I'm going to be focusing more on the actual interaction between characters rather than just throwing more into the mix. This chapter introduced quite a few OC's as well as series mainstays, so I'm gonna be fleshing them out instead having a 'too many cooks in the kitchen' problem.

3rd: The LN kinda just glossed over Vali's (I guess Vallia's in this case) past and as usual, toned down a seriously messed up situation. Being belittled and treated like some kind of freak leaves scars, and I'm going to be spending time on both how she deals with that and what it means for her further down the road.

4th: Oh, by the way, Female Vali (Vallia. Gonna have to get used to that). Been done before, sure, but to the best of my (admittedly limited) knowledge this is the first time anyone has written about her actual past in any sort of detail, so hopefully I can bring a bit of a spin to it.

5th: The 4 Fallen Angels are self-evidently stronger than their canon counterparts, having 4 wings already, and they're going to take a larger role in the grand scheme of things. They were often mentioned as being Azazel's select subordinates, so I'm gonna be expanding on that a bit.

Whew!

That was long winded. Anyways big thanks to all who read, follow, favorite and review, that support means alot!