Ch 15: Message in a Bottle

Caine

(15 weeks after arrival in Kalichi)

"You know, I can't really decide if coming back to this city is more depressing than it is leaving it…"

Kuroka simply gives a cute chuff noise since she's riding around my neck in her cat form while Shirone merely yawns and snuggles deeper into my arms.

"…And since the 2 of you are paying attention now, how the heck did I end up giving you a free ride back here?"

Shirone predictably stays silent and motionless while Kuroka licks my ear before going back to resting.

"…Fine then."

A wicked grin appearing on my face I suddenly retract my wings and frantically shout, "Oh crap!" as I barrel towards the ground.

Kuroka jerks wide-awake and let's out a terrified shriek as her claws promptly dig into my back, causing me to snicker despite the pain.

I wait till we get about 10 meters away from the ground and flare my wings, harshly arresting my momentum but allowing me to land fairly gently on my feet with zero trouble.

I glance down at Shirone…and find her lazily opening one golden slitted eye at me before going back to sleep.

Crap, she's not an easy nut to crack…

I turn my attention back to the older sister…and immediately break down laughing.

Her hairs puffed out to a ridiculous degree, like she spent an hour rubbing up against a balloon, and her eyes are dilated to the extreme, never mind the breathing which is rapid and short.

Smirking at her I playfully sing, "Just kidding~!"

Her head slowly ratchets towards mine and just as I'm wondering if I went too far she lets loose a ferocious MREOW and starts trying to scratch the shit out of my face, cat paws flying left and right.

"OW! Ok ok, I get the-OW-point! Jeez, can't you-OW-take a joke?!"

"Welcome back you 3! How was…your…umm….Caine? Where did you get all those scratches?"

I give Lisa a deadpan look, ignoring Kuroka's murderous glare and the pain several small scratches caused by said girl bring, and simply reply, "Ran into a cat with a bad attitude on the way back. Let's leave it at that."

"A cat? It looks like you were mauled by a small dragon…"

"Close enough."

Kuroka suddenly drapes herself over my back and in a friendly voice adds, "Yah Caine, that certainly was close, wasn't it?"

Not willing to back down from a challenge I smirk and reply, "It certainly was. Next time I'll keep things a bit more, shall we say, grounded?"

Her eye twitches while Shirone walks past Lisa and monotonely says, "Ignore them. How have you been Lisa?"

"Just fine Shirone! If you're interested I think Chiro and Father David just finished harvesting some of-"

That's about as far as she gets before Shirone is already dragging her by the arm to the back of the Church, already moving at the mention of 'harvest'.

I crane my neck back and meet Kuroka's stare upside down.

"Why were you so freaked out by the fall? Don't cats always land on their feet?"

She growls before muttering, "Not if we're caught by surprise we don't…"

I just smile at that before cheerily slipping out of her embrace and we start walking towards where Shirone and Lisa disappeared to.

If we leave Shirone on her own for too long she'll start eating the entire kitchen…

"Oh, if it isn't the brat here to greet us…how charming."

I offer a brilliant smile at the deadpanning Fallen and happily reply, "Aw, I missed you too Grandma! Did the trip tire you out?"

Mittelt's eye twitches and she just grumbles under her breath as she steps off of the Magic Circle, "5 seconds back here and I already want to stab him…"

As much fun as it is trading insults with her, there's a different person here that I'm excited to see.

"I-it's good to see you all again!"

I let my mouth hang open and ask in mock horror, "An excited greeting?! Who are you and what have you done with my friend Val?"

The grey-haired girl freezes up as she obviously tries to figure out whether I'm being serious or not until Shirone just elbows me aside and dryly says, "Ignore the idiot. He's not as funny as he thinks."

I'm about to retort until the Nekoshou gives Vallia a quick hug and almost invisible smile, shutting me up pretty quick.

"Good to see you again."

The Longinus wielder just shyly smiles and rapidly nods before hiding her face behind her bangs.

…Crap, is this what people feel like when there's something just too indescribably adorable to possibly explain?

Because I'm pretty sure that's what I'm experiencing now.

"Long time no see Caine, got a surprise for you from Master Azazel."

"Good to see you too Raynare, what's the surprise?"

She just playfully smirks…and pulls a letter from in between her cleavage before handing to me.

The body heat still surrounding the thing makes it all the more awkward.

"Um…thanks."

"Oh, don't mention it!" Is her cheery response.

Jerk.

As she saunters off to join Mittelt while Kuroka and Lisa join Shirone and Vallia I pop open the envelope and read the letter included.

Hey Kid! It's your friendly neighborhood Azazel here, hope you're still alive or bothering to write this thing just ended up wasting my time…

Anyway! Enclosed is your first cut of the profits we landed, bear in mind we're still working on making sure everything gets to where it's supposed to go so it's not as much as future installments will be, don't spend it all in one place! Oh, I also went ahead and gave Ferdinand and Linus their share of the moolah, so don't worry about delivering their cheddar.

On a slightly more serious note I gave some thought to the circumstances of your families extermination and why no one really seemed to be ready to take advantage of the sudden opening, as well as what Rizevim might have stood to gain from the whole mess. I've got a bone or 3 of my own to pick with that psychotic shitbag.

I've got ears in several different places listening closely for any reason as to why he took such an uncharacteristically direct move, as well as any details on why the attack on your family seemed to be such a mess despite it's unfortunate success.

Kalichi see's a lot of traffic, keep your eyes and ears open for any rumors on your end, you might be surprised at how easily word-of-mouth can travel over there. We'll keep each other appraised of any info we find, sound good? Good!

Take care Kid!

Regards,

Sexy Manbeast Azazel.

PS: Vallia was really excited about heading back, you lady-killer you!

PPS: Password for the money is 'I'm a tits kinda guy'.

…'I'm a tits kinda guy'?

Well I think that explains why he Fell in the first place…whatever.

Pulling out the slip of paper with a Magic Circle engraved on it I dryly intone, "I'm a tits kinda guy." and the thing flares to life briefly before leaving a giant stack of U.S. dollars in my hand, the pile actually having noticeable weight it's so thick.

Holy crap, there's probably hundreds of thousands of dollars here…

"Hey Kid, what's that you're holding in your…hand…HUH?!"

I chuckle at Kuroka's expression, her eyes practically alight with dollar symbols and I go ahead and hand her roughly 2/3's of the pile.

"Here you go, your and Shirone's cut. There's a catch to this though, said catch being you let me explain some basic economics to you before you go all spend crazy."

She robotically takes the giant pile of money, still in a state of shock, before suddenly blinking and giving a quick shake of her head.

"Caine, I thought we were splitting it 50-50 between you and-"

"Save it. There's 3 of us in this together, thus we split it 3 ways. Do not try to argue with me on this, or I'll just take it all for myself."

She blankly stares at me for a second before sighing and quietly replying, "All right, fair enough…"

Heh, victory goes to me!

Unfortunately my brief moment of triumph is spoiled as I see Shirone drooling heavily, clearly calculating how many snacks she can buy with that amount of cash, even accounting for potentially crappy conversion rates.

…I better have that talk with them sooner rather than later.

"Hehehe…if this is what not worrying about money feels like, I get why so many people are obsessed with it! I mean, I just used a roll of 100's as toilet paper earlier and I didn't even care!"

I shoot Kuroka a long suffering look and tiredly ask, "Didn't you listen to me when I was explaining how you should save and invest, not just piss it all away?"

"Oh relax would you? I was joking about using it as toilet paper."

She rolls onto her side and evilly whispers into my ear, "But I did use $800 as a napkin during dinner."

I just let my head drop against the roof of the Church in defeat and stare at Kalichi's night sky, the Red Sun over Paradise long since swapping places with it's moon.

Me, Lisa, the Nekoshou sisters and Vallia had gone ahead and headed up here after dinner, since it'd been a little too late to start any serious training. Vallia had initially been hesitant, obviously not used to actually being invited to anything, but Shirone, Lisa and myself had politely bullied her into attending.

I'm relaxing next to Kuroka while Lisa is on her other side, Vallia slightly off to the left of me with Shirone in her cat form resting on her lap, occasionally shivering due to the weather.

It's always pretty damn cold in Kalichi, but tonight is especially brutal with a temperature of only 1 degree, and it's fairly windy too.

I'm just glad for Ravel's Phoenix Heart, like always, otherwise I'd be resembling a popsicle right now.

"So…what exactly do we do now? Got any ideas Kid? You're the guiding light of this whole operation."

"What makes you think I have anything resembling a plan?"

Lisa chuckles and interrupts with, "Because you're a thief! Aren't the most successful thieves the ones who can plan stuff out the best?"

"I think David has been telling you too many stories…"

The Elf puffs out one cheek and vehemently replies, "They're not stories! Robin Hood is real!"

Kuroka suddenly starts snickering which honestly kinda worries me.

"Yah Kid, why don't you abandon this whole crusade of reclaiming your family's legacy and become an honorable thief instead?"

"Yah I'll pass," Is my dry reply, "I wouldn't look good in tights."

Lisa laughs at that before Vallia timidly asks, "Um, Caine? W-why do they call you a thief?"

I smirk and offer a theatrical bow as best I can while laying down and pull my hood over my face.

"Because, Val, as the last surviving member of the Valefor family I'm the only living descendant of the wealthiest line of kleptomaniacs you'll ever meet!"

"…"

"…Also because I keep stealing the sister's favorite foods from different markets around here."

I distinctly hear Kuroka mumble under her breath, "And you couldn't have just said that in the first place?"

To my surprise Vallia looks sad and quietly says, "That's right…you said your family was all dead when we first met…"

She suddenly jerks as if shocked and frantically turns to me and stammers out, "I-I'm sorry, I d-didn't mean to bring up b-bad memories I-"

Instead of rolling my eyes I just easily respond, "Val, relax ok? You're not dragging me over the coals or anything, you're stating a fact of life."

Lisa perks up and while Vallia is giving me a quick nod of thanks she asks, "Hey Vallia, if it's alright with you can you tell us what you're family is like? Shirone said you told Caine but we never heard the whole story…"

I carefully glance at Vallia to see how she takes this, since it's obviously kind of a touchy subject with her, but she mostly just looks miserable and hides her face behind her hair.

Because, you know, that's such a better alternative.

"I…I don't mind telling you about it…but-"

She stops mid-sentence and shivers as one of the freezing gusts of wind passes by and Shirone suddenly meows, gesturing with her tails for her to move over.

Val just looks confused and Kuroka heaves an annoyed sigh before reaching over me and grabbing Vallia's arm, a startled squeak coming from the grey-haired girl as Kuroka drags her over…

…and sets her down no more than a centimeter away from me.

"Hey Dragon-Girl, there's a reason we crowd so closely around the Kid, and it certainly isn't for his personality."

I set aside the slight blush I had on my face from Vallia's sudden closeness in favor of scowling at the raven-haired Nekoshou.

"Why thank you ever-so-much Bakaneko."

She just cheerfully smiles at me.

This time I do roll my eyes and turn back to Vallia…only to find her eyes wide and face bright crimson.

…

Is she…

"Aw Vallia, are you shy?"

Lisa's innocently posed question causes Vallia to suddenly yelp out, "N-no! I'm f-fine! It's just, umm…why is it so warm closer to you Caine?"

Kuroka grabs the Phoenix Heart from my chest and dangles it gently in front of us, the little gem glowing slightly from the trickle of Magic I'm feeding it.

"Get this Dragon-Girl, this here necklace can either make the Kid catch on fire or, like he's doing now, make the air hotter. And he got it as a betrothal present of all things..."

If Val's eyes were wide before they're practically popping out of her skull at this point.

"B-b-betrothal?!"

I sheepishly scratch my chin as Kuroka let's the pendant drop back to my chest and reply, "Er, yeah…granted, we didn't get a chance to tie the knot or anything like that, but maybe in the future…"

"Oh…I see."

I tense up in anxiety as Lisa mischievously asks, "Vallia, is that disappointment I hear in your voice?"

That crafty Elf!

Matters aren't helped as I notice the Elder Yokai's eye twitch and even Shirone briefly cracks open an eyelid as Vallia quickly replies, "N-no! I mean…it's just that my Mother always used to tell me stories about these great marriages between Devils that always caused great things to happen…you know, the descendants of famous and powerful houses having children that would lead people to victory and everything…I always liked hearing those stories and wanted that to one…day…"

We're all quiet as we realize that she's rather aptly describing both her and my own statuses, something she apparently figures out a second later as she again turns a bright scarlet that puts Kalichi's moon to shame and frantically hides her face.

I'm pretty sure I hear a disembodied voice that sounds suspiciously like Albion laughing in the background, while Shirone's purring has increased to almost deafening levels.

"So, uhh…"

Wow, I'm real smooth with my words, aren't I?

"Hey Val, have you ever been to the Human World before?"

A blatantly obvious change of subject, both away from her family situation and the horrendously awkward marriage thing, but everyone seems content to let it slide.

"U-um, no, I haven't."

"You interested in going?"

Beside me I hear Kuroka offer up a small sigh before she rolls over on top of me and gazes neutrally at Vallia.

"Now that we have the money, the Boy-Wonder over here was planning on taking us to the Human World to see an amusement park. Sound fun to you?"

"C-can I really go?"

…The puppy eyes are strong with this one. I think even Shirone could be given a run for her money.

Apparently Kuroka feels the same way because she groans and hastily replies, "Course you can, now stop giving me that look!"

Lisa throws herself on top of Kuroka causing me to grunt at the increased weight.

Beats me how Lisa is so heavy, having actually gotten a look at her body without the robes she looks like she would weigh about as much as air.

"Ignore the grumpy cat over here Vallia, you're more than welcome to go!"

"Grumpy cat?! Who are you calling grumpy you little pointy-ears!"

The 2 start a friendly argument while Vallia just looks shocked at being so easily admitted into the fun. Shirone and I lock gazes for a moment before her one open eye slowly droops in a wink, afterwards snuggling further into the Longinus Holder's side, purring contentedly.

Well, first thing tomorrow I know what I'm doing…

"Long time no see Ferdinand, Linus. I guess we're all still alive, eh?"

"In no small part to Azazel bailing our asses out of the fire, but yup! For the moment things are pretty quiet. Not that I expect that to last…"

I'd gone ahead and sent these 2 a message after the little conversation me and the girls had last night, a request Ferdinand was only too happy to help with.

Guy's been in a much happier mood since he had to stop worrying about angry gang members kicking down his door.

"So how's your little automaton project coming along Linus? Any luck?"

Ferdinand shoots me a look that clearly says, 'I can't believe you just asked that' as Linus grins maniacally and rapidly responds, "Been pretty damn fun actually! In between the occasional bits of crud Azazel keeps sending and that big ol' hunk of money I hardly have to worry about raw materials at all! Of course there's still plenty of problems to work around but it's such a smoother process! Like there's the slight issue of making sure there's a way to give commands Magically to these things without using a Sacred Gear like mine so I've been looking into different spells like hypnotization and mind control to see if that can be applied to an inanimate-"

I just tune him out as he happily rambles on and Ferdinand mutters, "Dude hasn't been able to shut up about his little project in days. I almost prefer when we could have been shanked at any second…"

I snort and quietly reply, "Careful, he might hear you."

"Oh he hears us just fine. He just doesn't care, which is what really bothers me if I'm being honest. Oh, we're here."

I glance up and find a building that in any normal city would instantly be labeled as a, 'drug dealing, body selling, torture porn house of mercantile services', but by Kalichi standards seems pretty reputable.

…If I ever make it back to Devil society, I'm gonna be in for some serious culture shock.

We head on inside and I'm instantly struck by the similarity between this place and a tour guide office, of all places. There's bits of paper and pamphlets everywhere, the only real difference being how generally dilapidated the floor and furniture is.

"Oh, hey Ferdinand, you looking for something?"

"Nah, it's the little guy who's aiming to buy. He's a friend, so try not to screw him too heavily out of a deal…"

The 'owner' of the shop is a young looking Fallen Angel male with a weird scar, almost like he got clawed by a tiger, covering his left eye.

"Hmm. So kiddo, what are you looking for? A special date night with a lovely lady? Or just a fun time on the town with some friends of yours?"

Ferdinand snorts and amusedly replies, "He's like 10 years old, I don't think the former is a concern yet."

I smirk at that. If only he knew I'm already living the Devil's dream and have a harem consisting of beautiful girls lusting after me…

…Pfft. As if. Said girls would probably beat the daylights out of me if they heard me refer to them as my 'harem'.

"Hey Ferd, I'm 11 by the way. Had a birthday a couple days ago, although I had to scavenge for a calendar to figure that out, which was kinda mortifying…"

"Ah. Well happy birthday then Kid. You're still not getting a discount."

I ignore his words and idly reflect that before landing in this city a birthday was something I always looked forward to with practically unquenchable enthusiasm.

Now it was more of a, 'who cares' kind of feeling I got at realizing that I was a year older.

Survival tend to take precedence over celebration.

I give a quick shake of my head and turn to the Fallen who's patiently waiting and ask, "Do you have any tickets to Marine World? Specifically the one in California."

"Ah, an amusement park trip eh? That's a popular one, hopefully I've got some left…"

With that he walks towards the back of the store and starts tossing aside piles of folders marked with a variety of names like 'Disneyland' and 'Cedar Point' before he finds what he's looking for with a grunt.

"Ah, you're in luck kid. Looks like I've got 7 one day tickets left."

7 huh? I guess both Raynare and Mittelt will be coming along, since they'll probably want to keep an eye on Vallia.

"Ok, I'm in. How much do I owe yah?"

"Well normally it's $500 for each individual ticket, but since you're buying all 7 at once I'll knock it down to $3300. Take it or leave it."

"I think I'll take it."

I hand over the cash and receive 6 slips of paper in return, Magic Circle's inscribed onto the back of them.

I always used to hear about these things…never thought I'd be holding a pair of them though.

The Human World is rather difficult to go to if you're not a Devil of some influence or the servant of one of said Devils. The Transport Circles required to undertake the journey aren't easy to make and the few physical means of travel are guarded pretty carefully. Unsurprisingly, an unofficial market popped up for those who wished to visit the Human World but weren't influential or knowledgable enough to make the journey. Special tickets that provide one way trips to hotspots quickly popped up everywhere, becoming a hit with Devils and various other races that wanted to visit the world above.

…Guess I'm another one of those clients now. Oh how the tables have turned…

"…Home sweet home…"

I can't quite bring myself to believe those words as I stare at the familiar dump that is Kuroka and Shirone's abode.

Well, and mine now I guess.

I'd taken a brief detour after parting ways with Ferdinand and Linus to visit this place, mostly out of a whim than anything else.

Sighing, I walk past the illusion that's still running after all this time and walk to where I've got my box full of the family valuables hidden, sliding it out and taking a moment to frown at the one folder I still haven't been able to open…I've tried everything I can think of and nothing's worked so far.

What the heck Mom?

Frustration briefly overtaking me I scowl and decide to just try everything at once. Setting both my hand and a Shade on the thing, along with a drop of my blood I annoyedly state, "How about you open up already?"

A brief flare of light nearly blinds me and then with a muted snap the thing lightly springs open.

…

…

…It was that easy?! Well…easy is probably the wrong word. That was a combination of blood wards, Magic recognition and voice imprinted security on that thing, definitely not easy to crack.

I shrug and eagerly peel back the pages…only to find a note fall out of the thing and land gently on the ground.

More messages from beyond the grave Mom, Dad?

…Well that was macabre.

Picking it up I flip it open and start reading.

Either you figured out how to open this quite quickly or it took you awhile, unfortunately we have no real way of knowing.

You're no doubt wondering why this particular container was so difficult to access, and the reason for that is because this gift of ours to you could be very, very deadly in the wrong hands.

I wish I could give you more details on what exactly is inside, but I fear I've already said more than what is safe.

Show this note to one of the people listed below and they'll be able to accurately judge whether you're ready to handle this gift.

I hope once you see what it is we left you, you'll sympathize with why we're so hesitant to just hand this treasure to you immediately.

Stay strong Caine, and know that we'll always be rooting for you.

Your too cool-for-school Mother,

Clarissa.

I wryly grin at Mom's parting words, still embarrassed at how hard she sometimes tried to be 'hip'…

…If I ever have the chance to write something on Mom's tombstone, I'll be sure to make it something absolutely cringe-worthy.

She'd love it.

I flip the pages of the ledger around, finding yet another Security Seal that I can't open, and can't help but find my curiosity be more than a little piqued.

What's so dangerous that Mom would refuse to just hand it over to me, wanting a middleman to decide whether it's ok for me to get ahold of it or not?

Well whatever.

On that note, who exactly are these people? Hopefully they're nearby and not halfway around the world or something…

I quickly scan through the names and frown, since right off the bat 2 of them I don't even recognize, and there's there only 3 names.

I read the last one and…and…and…

…

…

…

…Oh PLEASE say you're joking!

Waking up gasping for air isn't exactly the best of ways to start your day.

Especially when someone was deliberately trying to asphyxiate you.

"Rise and shine Kid! No rest for the wicked and all that!"

I bat away her tail that was snuffing both my mouth and nose and annoyedly ask, "There a reason you're trying to kill me? And here I thought we were getting along just fine…"

She rolls her eyes and dryly replies, "It's time for breakfast genius. And there was a reason I was kinda-sorta strangling you. Take a look to your left."

"Why, what's on my-"

A pair of unblinking golden eyes meet mine and it takes no small amount of self-control not to jump.

"Um…morning Shirone."

Still staring.

"Uh…How are you?"

Still more staring.

"…You want me to get up so you can eat breakfast without feeling bad, don't you?"

She blinks once.

"Yes. Hurry and get up."

…Best do as she says.

A hungry Shirone is a dangerous Shirone, one that makes Kuroka's attempt at assassination pale in comparison.

"Ok ok, give me a second. By the way, I have something I want to talk to you 2 about…"

"Huh?! What's wrong with the way we're dressed?!"

I roll my eyes at the dark-haired Nekoushou's indignant outburst and dryly reply, "Kuroka, put bluntly we all look homeless, Lisa looks like some Church missionary out to spread the word of God while Raynare and Mittelt look like some sort of weird, cosplaying bondage team. Probably the only one of us dressed normally of us is Val! We'll stand out like a sore thumb in the Human World, we need to at least make a quick stop somewhere and buy casual clothes."

3 stony glares from Kuroka and the Fallen, while everyone else just looks thoughtful, is my only response and I sigh in exasperation.

"Why are you so against this? What, are you freaked about picking out outfits or something?"

…

"You're…you're not actually worried…are you?"

She slams her hands down on the table and frustratedly shouts, "Well DUH! When the Hell would I have a chance to actually learn about fashion or stuff like that?!"

Mittelt suddenly snickers and coyly asks, "What's the matter girly, where's that confidence you always seem to have in spades?"

Knowing full well that Kuroka isn't one to back down from an insult like that, especially when she's embarrassed about it, I quickly jump in with, "Well none of you need worry then, because I just so happen to be something of a fashionista, so all of that stuff will be handled by yours truly."

"…HUH?!", are the 2 intelligent replies from both Kuroka and Mittelt.

I proudly smile and continue with, "Yup! My Dad taught me all sorts of things about how to match colors, fabrics, what kind of body types look best in what…"

"…Your Magician Dad right? Not the, uh…Viking one?"

Yah, that's most people's reactions…

"Look, why don't we head out and I'll show you what I mean?"

More doubtful looks are my only response until Lisa says, "I wouldn't mind that! I mean, I appreciate the clothing Father David and Sister Bianca have given me, but something new wouldn't hurt, would it?"

I merely grin and demurely reply, "Of course it wouldn't Lisa. Of course it wouldn't…"

The clothing shop we ended up going to, Torture and Textiles, was a surprisingly large building for Kalichi, resembling a giant warehouse more than a ramshackle hut kept together by spit and meanness.

And the entire thing was just packed with clothing of all kinds and descriptions. Shirts, pants, dresses, socks, shoes, hats and on and on and on.

Granted, something like 80% of it is second-hand or on 'clearance' (read: stolen) but the rest seems pretty new.

If it wasn't for the glaring tough guys that act as this place's security, clearly hoping someone will try something funny, one might be forgiven for thinking of the shop as a slightly shady clothing outlet, rather than just another place of business in Kalichi.

"Ok Brat, you talked a good game earlier, time to put your money where your mouth is."

I glance backwards towards Mittelt and find her unimpressedly staring at me, everyone else bar Raynare looking around the shop in wonderment at the sheer variety of clothing available.

A competitive grin comes to my face and I smugly ask, "Oh? You willing to make a bet on it?"

"A bet? What the heck are we betting on?"

"How about this? If I can pick out an outfit that you think fits amazingly, I win. If I can't, then you win."

She smirks and gleefully replies, "You clearly don't know much abut Fallen Brat. Who's to say I won't just pretend to not like whatever it is you choose anyway?"

Shooting her a smirk of my own I idly respond, "Oh, there's nothing stopping you, sure…but wouldn't it seem rather, say, childish to lie about such a simple bet?"

Her eye twitches at that. No doubt she's debating whether to fall into my obvious provocation or keep her pride and play fairly.

"Are you 2 fighting again?"

We both glance at Raynare as she comes sauntering over, drawing a few gazes from the other male customers as she does so.

I shrug at her question.

"We were just hashing out the terms of a little wager we're having."

Now interested Raynare grins excitedly and says, "Ooh, what's the bet? Never mind that, what's the prize? A shared kiss? Or does he get to cop a feel on you if he wins? Although considering your bust size-"

A bright pink lightspear flares to life in Mittelt's hand and she growls out, "Finish that sentence. I dare you."

Fighting down my slight blush at Raynare's words I notice the security guys perking up at the confrontation and quickly interject with, "It's nothing like that, we just decided that if I can pick out something that she likes I win. And ease up on the lightshow there Mittelt, those guys are making me nervous."

With a scowl and mutter of, 'we could kick their asses anyway…' she dematerializes the thing and several of the security staff send glares my way, no doubt pissed that I took away their potential source of entertainment.

Sheesh, damned if you do, damned if you don't…

"Alright then Brat, what are the stakes? And you better not get any funny ideas like the Bitchy Bimbo over here did, I have standards and you don't meet them."

Rolling my eyes I briefly think of something that would be demeaning for the proud Fallen…and come up with something immediately.

"Ok, how about this. If I win, you curtsy and loudly thank me for picking out an amazing outfit and admit you were wrong about me not knowing my stuff."

The briefly disgusted look on her face tells me all I picked out something she'll definitely hate to do and I cruelly smile…until an evil grin of her own appears and she whispers out, "All right then tough guy…if I win, you publicly get on your hands and knees, kiss the tip of my shoe and admit that you aren't good enough to even dream of serving me."

My eye twitches and I clench my jaw.

"Alright, Grandma, you have a deal."

We shake on that, and when she moves to crush my fingers I enhance my body with Toki, noting with no small amount of glee that she briefly looks shocked at the fact that I'm not wincing before schooling her features into impassivity.

Raynare breaks the moment by heaving a sigh and grousing, "Man what a lame bet, no one is even getting stripped down to their underwear or anything like that…"

In a rare instance of being on the same wavelength both Mittelt and I growl out, "Keep it in your pants!"

Hmm…how to go about this?

"Uh, Kid? Can you stop looking at me like you're gonna buy me at an auction or something?"

I ignore Kuroka's slightly weirded out tone and distractedly respond, "Quit being so nervous, I'm figuring stuff out here…"

What to do, what to do…Dad always used to say clothes, and by extension fashion, wasn't just matching colors and fabrics together, it was about having the appearance be an extension of the personality. What was the Human phrase he liked to bandy about all the time? 'Clothes make the Man' or something?

Regardless, Kuroka's black hair and slightly pale skin at least make an easy color scheme to match, but that's like the most basic of basics. What would express who she is, and more than that, what's important to her?

…Well there's one obvious answer here. She sure doesn't mind being flirty or on display, so something a little provocative won't hurt…and while 'tomboy' isn't the right word, she's certainly not afraid to get a little dirt under her nails, so something like a dress is out…and then there's Shirone, the 2 of them practically inseparable by both familial ties and circumstances. I'll have to bring that relationship out somehow…

A pleased smile spreads across my face as I peruse the aisles. While it's a shame I had to pass up most of the Chinese, Japanese and Middle Eastern sections (I freaking love billowing fabrics and stuff like that), there's plenty of things that match Western styles that can do the job.

After a bit of deliberating I walk over to Kuroka and hand her the items I picked out.

"Here you go, see if these fit."

She looks briefly doubtful but goes ahead and heads into the changing rooms, essentially just a bunch of re-purposed shower curtains. After a few minutes she walks out and a proud smile comes to my face.

I chose pretty darn well if I do say so myself.

A white tank top that cuts off just above the midriff, dark blue jeans with a few rips in them for appearances sake rounded off with black Basha sandals.

Sexy and stylish!

…Maou above, I really just sounded like Dad there…

Raynare makes an impressed sound and says, "Not bad kiddo, maybe you really do know you're stuff after all…"

I don't miss the briefly panicked look in Mittelt's eyes before she calms herself and indifferently says, "Feh, could have just been lucky."

Oh we'll see about that.

"Well Kuroneko? Like it?"

Her tails and ears twitching excitedly a childlike grin comes over her face as she excitedly says, "Hell yah I do! Dang Kid, guess you really do have an eye for this stuff after all!"

She glances around the room and smirks once she notices quite a bit of male attention being sent her way.

"But just to make things clear to the masses…"

With that she swiftly walks over to me and plants a kiss on my cheek before winking.

"Wouldn't want any of those other guys to think I'm unclaimed, now would we?"

I just scowl to hide my sudden blush and mutter, "So now they're gonna try to knock me out of the competition? Swell…"

Evidently my attempt at misdirection didn't work too well since she just snickers knowingly and saunters back to the changing rooms, replying over her shoulder, "I'll be taking this! I expect Little Sis's outfit to be just as good!"

I just scoff at that. As if I'd compromise my professional integrity!

My indignation is brought to a halt as there's a small tug on my sleeve.

Shirone looks up at me with her typical stoicism, but I don't miss the anticipation in her voice as she says, "Me next."

"Eager are we?"

She just nods and simply replies, "Big Sis looked happy."

I clap my hands and eagerly state, "Alright, let's get started then!"

I eagerly start prowling the aisles, wondering what to get the little Yokai.

I like what I did with the color reversing, the sisters having a white and black color scheme and all, so I'm gonna keep that. And Shirone is a bit more 'dainty' in appearance than her Sister, so something like a casual dress would look good on her.

…Not that I would ever call her 'dainty' to her face, since a single Toki enhanced punch to my chest would probably collapse a lung…

Anyway, maybe something along those lines would do the trick…I glance back at Shirone and notice that her bangs frame her face a bit more than Kuroka's do, even if her hair only drops slightly below her neck. Maybe a ribbon or some other accessory to complete the image then?

After a few minutes of prowling I think I've got it. A black bell sleeved top and plain white skirt that comes down to her knees, along with the same style and color sandals I got Kuroka, with a black ribbon to tie her hair a bit off to the side with.

I hand her the clothes and amusedly say, "Go ahead and try that on, see what you think."

With a composed nod she walks off and I shoot a glance towards Lisa before asking, "So Lisa, do you prefer being mostly covered up? I have a few ideas if you don't mind showing a bit of skin but that's entirely up to you."

She playfully gasps and says, "Why Caine! Asking a pure maiden of God to show off her skin? That's so bold of you!"

Unable to stop myself from chuckling, followed shortly after by a wince as I remember the one time I saw her body uncovered after she was rescued from Adder, I quickly shake my head and announce, "Alright, then how about something like a sweatshirt and jeans? Fashionable and modest! As for colors maybe a light blue would do the trick…maybe a pink?"

She just cheerfully replies, "Hey, I'll leave it to you!"

Well if I'm going to be given permission just like that…

Actually, this is probably the easiest of all my searches so far. In just a few seconds I find a light pink t-shirt with a cross emblazoned on it alongside a light blue sweatshirt and plain jeans. Her walking shoes she's wearing right now will do just fine for this ensemble.

As I hand her the outfit she playfully pouts and says, "How come you only spent a few seconds picking something out for me and minutes for Kuroka and Shirone?"

I just wave my hand and airily reply, "Because you're not a royal pain in the butt like they are."

She chuckles at that before walking off to change and I stretch my back, happy at being able to display my rather unconventional skill. I turn around to head back to the changing rooms…and almost smack myself for forgetting about Vallia. She's been so quiet and innocuous the whole time I forgot she was with us…

"You want me to find something for you too Val?"

She jumps at my sudden question and quickly replies, "Oh, um, y-you don't have too…"

That pretty much settles it for me as I roll my eyes and grab her hand, dryly saying, "Ok Val you're coming with me, we're getting you something and I'm not taking no for an answer."

She makes a noise like she wants to protest but I ignore it and only let go of her hand once I'm sure she's matched my pace.

Huh…now this is a slightly different challenge here. I glance back at Vallia and ignore the fact that she's obviously freaked out by my scrutiny for now in favor of trying to figure out where I want to go with this. With her shy and submissive demeanor (words I never thought I'd use to describe a freakin' DRAGON) she'd look really cute in a plain grey single-piece dress or something along those lines, or maybe even something similar to Shirone with a blouse and long skirt…maybe some other time, for now something simple will do, she's probably not really comfortable with any of that 'fancy' stuff as of now anyway…

I keep looking as I peruse the aisles, not really finding much and deciding maybe I'll just go with one of my former decisions that she can try later, since the outfit she has on now isn't that…bad…

A happy grin appears on my face as I find something that just might be perfect.

A simple, long-sleeved grey t-shirt that isn't too dissimilar to what she's wearing now except for one important detail.

Printed on the front of the shirt is the stylized outline of a white Dragon, the body encompassing most of the front of the shirt with the tail wrapping around the right arm and ending near the sleeve.

Simple, but that's the beauty of it.

Smiling, I hand it off to Vallia who's eyes go wide as she takes it and slowly examines the article of clothing, before that rare but worthwhile smile appears and she quietly says, "I…I like it."

She suddenly laughs, a quiet but musical noise that I hope one day becomes much more common, before she notices my stare and blushes, quickly saying, "Albion said he, um…also likes it."

I got the Vanishing Dragon's approval in my clothing choices. Does it get any better than that?

Not to mention I got Vallia to break out of her shell for yet another few moments and that's always more than enough to leave a warm feeling in the pit of my stomach.

…I think this little venture has been giving me a bit of an ego trip.

Although…

I smirk evilly at Mittelt, who's looking more and more resigned as this goes on.

Guess I have one last hurdle to clear here…

"Oh you 2 are just so ADORABLE!"

I turn around at Kuroka's squeal and see her somehow rubbing her face against both Lisa and Shirone at the same time, picking them up off the ground and twirling them around in her arms.

I find myself agreeing with the older Yokai's assessment with no small amount of pride upon taking at closer look at the 2 of them.

Shirone is understated cuteness personified, the slightly billowy top and skirt accentuating her petiteness rather than detracting from it while the ribbon contrasts with her Sister's hair perfectly.

Lisa looks like she could brighten up any room no matter how dire the circumstances. The light color alongside her shimmering golden hair are huge mood improvers, something further enhanced by her naturally sunny disposition.

Heh, am I good or what?

In a rather magnanimous mood I slowly face Mittelt and happily ask, "So? Willing to concede defeat now with no consequences, or do you still think you have a chance?"

To her credit she briefly looks like she might just throw in the towel but then again, this is Mittelt we're talking about here. With an imperious hmph she just raises an eyebrow and coldly retorts, "Hit me with your best shot Brat."

Oh I'll take that challenge…

I slowly crack my knuckles and start running through a mental checklist of what little I know of Mittelt.

These past few weeks whenever I've seen her she's always been wearing casual stuff like long sleeves and jeans, clearly more concerned with practicality than making a statement, unlike Raynare who's been more than happy to occasionally show off the detachable parts of her outfit.

While that might suggest she's a bit more modest than most would consider a Fallen Angel, I remember that strange maid-gothic looking outfit she had on when we first met.

She certainly doesn't mind being on display, that skirt of hers and garter belt didn't leave much of her lower half to the imagination, the slightest breeze or bending of her waist and she'd practically be flashing people.

Rather, it's what she was alright with flaunting that's the important part.

That getup hadn't really accentuated her chest much, in fact it practically hid it under the lace and ruffles. Not to mention she always gets more defensive than usual when Raynare makes fun of her bust. Which doesn't make any sense whatsoever to me, Mittelt has curves and as far as I'm concerned that's that.

Maybe this is one of those things that'll start making more sense when puberty decides to actually start it's bizarre work…Maou only knows Mom's book gave me the prerequisite knowledge, now I'm just waiting for my body to catch up.

I shake my head and refocus.

So something that accentuates her legs and skin, but doesn't necessarily draw attention to her chest…hmm…

It takes me awhile of walking up and down various aisles, picking up and then discarding various articles before I finally hit the proverbial jackpot.

A small one-piece dress made of soft, black material that's trimmed in dark red fabric that reminds me of blood, similar in design to her gothic dress but far simpler without all the ruffles and lace flares.

Smirking I walk up to her and hold up the outfit, registering the brief look of shock on her face.

"Well? Want to give it a try?"

She slowly takes the thing without another word and marches off to the changing rooms, her back stiff as she does so.

Heh, I smell victory…

"What's got you looking so smug Kid?"

I glance back at Kuroka, who's being followed closely by Shirone, Lisa and Vallia, and heave a dramatic sigh before replying, "You all changed back before I could even get a good look at my handiwork."

Lisa just chuckles and holds up her hands, clothes folded neatly in her grasp.

"Oh don't be such a baby, you'll get to see us wearing them tomorrow!"

"Hey I did all the heavy lifting, I can baby as much as I want."

Rolling her eyes Kuroka interrupts with, "So are we just waiting around or-"

Her words abruptly die in her mouth as a certain Fallen Angel walks towards us, her new outfit on full display.

…Yup. Once again, it's official.

I'm a fashion genius.

"What are you all staring at?"

Ignoring Mittelt's defensive tone Lisa just disarmingly smiles and says, "You look very pretty in that, that's all."

And she speaks the truth. With her blonde hair left unbound instead of it's usual twin-tail style, she looks for all the world like a very pretty teenager on the cusp of adulthood, the dress accentuating her body in a pleasing way without making her appear 'easy'.

Raynare chuckles and says, "Well I'll be damned, the boy actually made you look almost as beautiful as me! Quite the improvement Mittelt."

Clearly desiring nothing more than to tear Raynare's eyes she instead fixes me with a smoldering look. An expression of pure frustration and resentment shows and I can practically hear her teeth grinding, but…

"Fine. You were right. You win."

Ah…what glorious words those are. I may never have come close to beating Mittelt in our sparring sessions, but this?

This is just…great.

"Wipe that fucking smirk off your face Brat."

I merely raise an eyebrow and coyly ask, "Don't you have something to say? As per our agreement?"

With an air that suggests she's marching to the gallows she roughly swallows before stiffly picking up the edges of her skirt and bowing ever so slightly, her voice a monotone that would make Shirone's seem positively cheery by comparison.

"Thank you for picking out such a lovely outfit Caine. I was wrong to assume you didn't know what you were doing…"

Oh…oh that had to hurt.

Grinning like some psychotic Demon I graciously reply, "Think nothing of it Grandma, the pleasure was all mine."

She keeps her face neutral as she turns back to the changing rooms but before she does she pulls me aside and quietly whispers with a shaking voice in my ear, "Put whatever affairs you have in order before we fight next time, because you're dead."

…Eh, totally worth the coming onslaught.

I just shrug and simply reply, "So what's new? Besides, that dress does look nice on you."

She just scowls and mumbles out, "That'd sound a lot more convincing from someone who's balls have actually dropped…"

Well that's mean.

As she stalks off all the other members of my group approach me with varying looks of awe and amusement.

"What?"

Kuroka just shakes her head and sympathetically says, "You have a way with Women Kid…"

"That doesn't really sound like a compliment…anyway, if we're done here I need to make a separate stop someplace else. It's private family business, unfortunately…"

That particular statement earns me a round of scowls and I quickly raise my hands and say, "Woah, before you start chewing me out at least let me explain who I'm going to see for said business. It's probably not something you want to be a part of anyway."

Kuroka clearly isn't having any of that and annoyedly says, "Ok then hotshot, who is this mystery person?"

"Hey Little Bastard! Long time no see yah? Brought double money right? If not can fuck right off yah? So? Double money or no money?"

…

I have no words.

"Uh, hey Chow. I don't have the money but uh…you wouldn't have happened to have worked for someone named Clarissa Valefor before, would you have?"

The older man just irritatedly sets down his ladle full of sauce and grumbles, "What? Just figuring that out now Little Bastard?"

Hmmmmmmmmmm...I just spent like a third of this chapter talking about fashion and how to pick out outfits for people. I can't help but wonder what that says about me...

Other than I CLEARLY missed my chance to star on Queer Eye for the Straight Guy when it was still airing.

More's the pity.

Anyway last chapter I said I would cover the specifics of the Boosted and Dividing Gears but I ended up doing a bit of re-shuffling of events (It was previously an awkward transition that came out of nowhere) so it'll be a few more chapters before we get to that. Other than that not too much to remark on, more a characterization chapter than it was a 'plot' one.

Question answering! (In no particular order)

Firstly: Caine and Jonah will most certainly meet again, but they'll be doing their own thing for awhile.

Secondly: The next 2 chapters will take a break from Caine and his story and focus on Jonah and Ravel and what they're up to (Can't forget our leading lady!)

Thirdly: Chow will certainly get drunk and hit on Caine at what point...but it just might not be in the way we're thinking of (After all Chow is incapable of feeling something as mundane as affection for another living being, his sporks are more valuable after all)

Well that's about all I got for now! Huge thanks to all those who review and offer both criticism and praise, the former helps me improve and stay humbled while the latter keeps me going despite the former XD