Tues (8/6)

9:20 am
19 days until Rias vs Sona Rating Game
Shidou Residence
Garage

"This is yours?" Ange asked Xenovia, sounding surprised as she and the others, minus Akame and Maki, marveled at the dark blue Honda Nighthawk 250 in front of them.

"Yeah, I got it as a hand-me-down from Irina's Mother here in England after I got my license to ride back in April," said the bluenette, sounding proud about it. "She told me, "You have a wild heart that desires to ride, so I am giving you this so you can do so to your heart's content."

"Never took your friend's mom as a wild one," said Moka, the girl considering getting her own license.

"This is very well-maintained," Naruto told her after inspecting it up close. "Ange, do you have a motorcycle?"

"I used to have a Vincent Black Shadow, but it got destroyed during a job," the Pawn told Naruto, just as Nero appears before them out of thin air. Naruto had called Nero to go into Spirit Form and obtain information on Princess Charlotte IV's schedule for the next few days, with Kotomi being asked to closely guard Charlotte while disguised.

"Well?" Ange said to the Saber-class Servant.

"Right now she's teaching piano at the London Contemporary School of Piano until 10:30 am. After that, she's going to be having lunch at The Fat Duck."

"Good job Nero. I'll try to grab a table close to Charlotte's for Xenovia and Moka. Naruto, you will go in as the Princess's waiter while looking for anyone or anything suspicious. Nero, you will be partnered with Akame, where you'll gather intel on the Duke's activities."

"Umu, you can leave him to us!" Nero said with a large smile, giving the Agares Pawn a thumbs up.

"You have your roles. I wish you all luck. Oh and Xenovia, Moka, don't forget to take your purses with you. They will contain something you both will need if things turn for the worse." Looking at the purses they had to bring, Xenovia admits she was more of a wallet and clutch girl and didn't see herself as a purse girl.

"Agreed."

"Complain about it later, girls."

With Maki
London, England
10:27 am

"How are we with Charlotte?" Ange, now dressed in her "work clothes", asked her fellow Pawn, who was keeping watch over her surroundings with a silenced AS50 Sniper Rifle, if there was any trouble on her end.

"Charlotte is doing fine. Kotomi's in there posing as a student, and she hasn't stumbled across any assassins or noticed any odd behaviors whatsoever...Ange, why don't we just ask Naruto to use his ability to see into people's souls?" Maki asked the Pawn. "With that we can-"

"Not an option," Ange told her. "While it'd help, Naruto has vowed never to use it ever again, and for good reasons."

"What sort of reasons?"

"Seeing into a person's soul means seeing the sins that person has committed while also seeing their intentions. For Naruto, the ones that were the harshest...he didn't want to use it anymore, fearing it'd eventually take away his sanity."

"So much for that suggestion," said Maki. Seeing Charlotte and Kotomi leaving the building across from them, Maki and Ange follow them, eventually leading them to a train station that still used steam locomotives, one Ange was familiar with, letting out a smile. As soon as the train starts moving towards their destination, Ange activates her C-Ball and takes Maki's hand, the two getting a quick running start and super jump off the rooftop they were on, safely and quietly landing on the top of one of the train cars, the Agares Pawn deactivating her device after.

"Even after all these years, they still use them. Most stations now use electric and diesel locomotives. Seeing this is with my own eyes instead of through a crystal ball and standing on top of it makes me glad that some parts of my past is still here." Finished with her brief moment of nostalgia, Ange refocused her attention on the mission as she and Maki put on a pair of goggles that granted them limited X-Ray Vision, allowing them to continue to observe Charlotte and Kotomi, who was making sure she wouldn't be noticed by the Princess while also making sure she was safe with her two bodyguards.

With Xenovia
Bray, Berkshire, England
The Fat Duck
Dining Room
10:48 am

"Here we have a Nitro-Green Tea and Lime Mouse to start the course." Once they were served their egg white mousse, after their female server dusted it with green tea powder, Xenovia and Moka took the time to look at the meal in front of them. "This will help cleanse your palate before your meal." Picking their respective mousse off their plates, the girls pop them in their mouths. After chewing them for a bit, they had pleasant looks on their faces.

"Scrummy," Moka told the chef after swallowing her food. After five more mousses, the girls order snail porridge.

"Despite looking like food you'd see in a sci-fi movie, the food here is delicious."

"Glad to hear you girls enjoying the 16 course tasting menu while the princess is on her way. Estimated time of arrival is 11:40 am. How is Naruto doing?" Looking up to see him serving a table a few feet from theirs, Moka tells Ange he blended in well through her earpiece. "What happened to the waiter whose clothes he's wearing?"

"He had to hide him in a locker. As for our assassins, he told me there was another employee he found unconscious in another locker, his job unknown."

"Sounds troublesome. He's definitely keeping his head down until Charlotte arrives. Enjoy yourselves for now, just be aware of everyone and everything around you."

"We'll be keeping our eyes open the whole time."

With Ange
Steam Train to Bray
Top of Train Car 8

"Speaking of keeping our eyes open, there's someone on the bridge we're about to pass through." Pointing up towards the bridge above them, Ange spots a figure wearing a bamboo hat and a white cloak looking down at them. Without no fear in their eyes, the figure jumps down from the bridge and lands safely on the train car in front of them without making a sound. Having gotten a quick look at the figure's build before their cloak covered them once they stood up, the girls knew the person in front of them was a she. The girl was a bit short, at least an inch and a half less than them, and a katana was tied to the back of her waist.

"Is she one of the assassins?"

"Looks but part, but that can be deceiving," Ange told Maki, turning her attention towards the girl to speak with her. "As a custom of yours I'd give you my name, but my need to keep our identities a secret prevents me from doing so," Ange told the girl.

"Looks like you won't be getting my name," said the girl. "What I do get, is if you were the enemy, you'd have pulled out your guns and fire at me as soon as you either saw me or I had landed on the train."

"Would be too foolish and stupid to do without considering how well you are with that sword of yours, especially if you're part of the Nabeshima Clan. Wouldn't want to be against someone with a high-quality sword like that." The girl's grey eyes grew wide from the Agares Pawn's response. "I could see the clan's emblem on the sheath of your swordwhile you were landing."

"Good eyes you have there," said the amazed girl. "Now where do we go from here?" While Ange and the girl stare each other down, Maki noticed a faint shine from a sniper lens three miles away from them and quickly fires off a silenced round that makes its way to the potential sniper, the bullet going through the scope and exiting through the back of a male assassin's head.

"There was a sniper, and I had to take a shot. I'm not apologizing for the suddenness," Maki told the girl. Noticing another one on their left four miles away, Maki fires another shot that hits its mark. "I'm not seeing any more, for now."

"Good to hear," said the girl.

"You didn't react badly to my friend shooting those snipers," said Ange. "Looks like we both want the Princess to survive."

"Yes, but for what reason would you want her alive?" asked the girl. "Does she serve a sort of purpose to a grand plan of yours?"

"My reasons are classified, and if I said why, it wouldn't make sense. In any case, we should focus on protecting her."

With Naruto
Bray, Berkshire, England
The Fat Duck
Dining Room
11:40 am

Finished serving a customer, Naruto looked over at the girls' table as they tried the Sound of the Sea for the first time, all while wearing a pair of headphones. After they took their first bite, the girls let out a refreshed sigh.

"Moka, if we get some time later, we're eating out a whole all-you-can eat," Moka said with a smile, the Namikaze Queen agreeing with her. The food was delicious to them, absolutely, but it was just for experience. They knew that even if the food was good, it was just food that was quality made in art form, but was lacking in quantity. "250-325 for a person just for this is a crime."

"I understand the meal is just for the experience but damn," Naruto told himself, amazed by how honest they were about the restaurant in the open. Right after, the Princess enters the restaurant as the girls finish their course.

"Showtime."

"You there." Turning around, Naruto makes eye contact with a female server with pink eyes and long brown hair. The woman tells him the manager needs to see him for something.

"But-"

"No time, follow me," said the woman, taking his hand and pulling him away just as the Princess walked to her seat. Seeing Naruto going off with the female server, Xenovia wondered what was going on. Once they were alone, Naruto was about to ask the server why the manager needed to see him, he quickly stops the server's right hand without looking at her. In it was a small British Billy Club she was about to knock him out with.

"Typical spy response back there," said Naruto, the woman taking out a knife hidden in a strap around her left thigh and thrusting it forward, with Naruto stopping it with his left hand. "Read and watched too many books and movies to know what happens next."

"..."

"Who are you, and why are you trying to kill the Princess?"

"Kill her, I'm trying to protect her," said the woman. "Wait, I should be asking you those questions."

"After both trying to knock me out before trying to stab me?" The woman responds with, "You would've been interrogated after."

"Then killed?"

"If necessary..."

"...We're going to get nowhere with this if we're doing this back and forth instead of making sure the Princess doesn't die," Naruto told her. "Now, I'm going to let go of your hands, and I am hoping you don't try to attack me a third time."

"...Alright." Once he lets go, Naruto turns around, and tells her, "Damn you actually didn't try attacking me after."

"With that quick reaction time, I wouldn't try to knowing I'll lose."

"I can't give you my name, but you can trust me that I want your Princess alive just as much as you do." With a little hesitation, the woman decides to trust Naruto's word for now. "If we're to protect her together, I need to call you something."

"...Fox, the name's Fox. You?"

"...D."

"You're not setting me up with a joke, are you?" Knowing what joke he was referring to, the woman says she's serious, and that she goes by D. "Like I would be caught dead making that joke. Now, I suggest you check the kitchen. One of the chefs there looks suspicious, but I wouldn't be a match for him if he does turn out to be the enemy, due to his size."

"Size?" D tells Naruto he should see for himself. "Very well. I leave my role to you." As soon as D leaves, Naruto informs Xenovia and Moka of D and that she was going to help them.

With Xenovia

"Good to know, though I believe Ange would be against this."

"Maybe, but a bit more help wouldn't hurt. And if they turn out to be an enemy, better to keep them close. I'm about to check the kitchen, so D will be doing my role while I check her suspect out."

"Alright."

With Naruto

Kitchen

Upon entering, Naruto's attention immediately goes to a seven foot seven inches tall British man cooking at the right corner of the kitchen.

"Holy fuck he's tall," Naruto said to himself. After putting on a pair of lenses, Naruto approached the man. Blinking twice in quick succession, the lenses activate to identify the ingredients in the dishes he passed by, each of them not containing anything that would prove lethal to the Princess or anyone in the dining room. Once he was close enough, the tall man immediately took notice of the Rook.

"Is there a problem with the last dish I prepared?" asked the tall man, who sounded nervous, reminding Naruto of Shirabi.

"No, it turned out great," he assured. "I would like to look over your dish before serving." Naruto looked a bit surprised when the man said it was okay, allowing him to look at the Best End of Lamb dish he made. Looking it over, Naruto found nothing wrong with it.

"Is the plating wrong?"

"No, you're all good," Naruto told him, just as a server arrives, rudely asking for the dish.

"Apologies, I hope the Princess enjoys-"

"Just give me the dish," the server insists before Naruto steps in.

"Hold on there, I don't remember seeing you as the Princess' server," Naruto told the man.

"And who the bloody hell are you?" asked the angry server.

"The Princess' server before I gave the job to another person, and I doubt she'd put you in charge of her table, especially with horrible manners like yours." Noticing a vial containing a clear but toxic liquid inside being held in the server's left hand, Naruto knew the man was one of the two assassins. Before the server in front of him could grab a kitchen knife, Naruto took the tall man's dish and smashed it on the man's head, catching everyone's attention.

"My dish!" the tall man shouts.

"Sorry!" Naruto yells as the assassin grabs a cleaver and swings it at the blond, who blocks it with a sauce pot twice. The sudden fight causes every chef present to run out of the kitchen.

Dining Room

Watching the chefs run out the door, the customers wondered what was going as a customer tables tables away from the Princess takes out a gun and prepares to fire. Acting quickly, Xenovia got up from her seat, grabbed a customized doll house with self-opening drawers stored with sweets (Like A Kid In A Sweetshop) meant for a family of five, and threw it at the assassin. The doll house breaks apart as soon as it makes contact with the assassin's head, knocking him out.

"What the hell!?" shouts one of the family members (The husband). "Are you bonkers or something, that was ours!" Seeing ten customers getting up from their tables, the girls knew those were the only assassins they'll have to worry about. Immediately ten turned to nine once the newly arrived Maki snipes one of the assassins from outside.

The Princess' bodyguards are quickly killed before they could act as three more customers get up from their seats with their own guns drawn, one of them shouting, "Protect the princess!", and firing at the nine assassins as Ange, using her C-Ball, quickly enters the restaurant to grab Princess Charlotte. Seeing Ange, D's eye look shocked to see her.

"Ange?" Hearing her name being called out, Ange looks at her and is caught off guard for that moment, regaining herself after and and jumping out of one of the restaurant's windows, with the Princess in her arms.

"The Princess is getting away!" One of the nine remaining assassins shouts before being shot through the chest by Maki, who was receiving supporting fire from the girl she met on top of the train.

"I much prefer up close battles," she told Maki, who tells her she too preferred them.

When a female assassin tries to shoot Xenovia back in the restaurant, Moka grabs a knife and throws it at her, the blade stabbing through her right hand. Xenovia grabs a circular metal dish and throws it at her, hitting her in the face and knocking her unconscious. She then tips hers and Moka's table down when two assassins aim and fire at them.

"I was honestly hoping to try that doll house dessert thing," Moka tells the Knight as she reached into her purse and took out a Browning High Power handgun. Getting up from cover, Moka fires three shots at one of the assassins, who gets behind cover to protect himself from her bullets.

"We'll grab one to go if we can," Xenovia tells her, reaching into her purse and finding her custom-made IWI Jericho 941s. "Cool, she packed my guns."

Outside, Maki sees a team of four mercenaries chasing after Ange, the four wearing strange gear around their bodies. When she tries to shoot one of them, a female, she looked surprised when she saw her avoid the shot by firing a pair of grapple hooks at a side of a building and activated a mechanism that reeled the female mercenary towards it and out of the bullet's range before continuing her pursuit towards the Princess.

"That's new," she said to herself, chasing after the four with the katana-wielding girl.

Inside the kitchen, Naruto puts a cutting board in front of him to protect himself from being stabbed, the blade close to his forehead. He then disarmed the server and stuffs a fruit in his attacker's mouth, confusing him and knocking him out with a left punch after. After exiting the kitchen and joining Xenovia and Moka, after dodging gunfire, Naruto asked them where the Princess was

"Ange grabbed her and ran," Moka informs him. "Can't really go after them until these guys are dealt with." Peeking over from the table they're behind, they see two of the three customers get shot at and killed, though not before one of them fires a shot that kills one of the eight remaining assassins.

"Xenovia-" Without saying a thing, the bluenette hands Naruto one of her guns before grabbing a round metal tray and throwing it across the room. When it flies past a female assassin, the bluenette fires a single shot at it, said shot ricocheting off the metal tray and hitting the left side of the female assassin's head. Getting back in cover to avoid a few shots aimed towards her, the Knight sees Naruto and Moka staring at her.

"Show off," said Moka, Xenovia giving her a smug look.

With Ange

"Who are you and what do you want?" Charlotte yells out as Ange carries her in her arms while running from rooftop to rooftop to get her to safety.

"The only person who can keep you safe for now, Princess. Trust me, I'm your friend, and my associates and I want nothing more than to keep you alive." Though this was the first time they met, Charlotte felt she could trust the Pawn, who looks behind her and sees the four mercenaries gaining on them via their maneuvering gear. Each of them had a pair of guns that could fire a round at a time each, something Ange noticed after narrowly avoiding one of the shots and dodging seven more shots by jumping from building top to building top.

[Princess Principal Soundtrack Sound of Foggy London - go and get it!]

One of the four, a male with red hair goggles with glowing red lenses and a metal mouth mask, assumed to be the leader, quickly loads one of his guns and fires another shot at her, narrowly hitting her. With another seven rounds focused on her Ange covers herself and Charlotte with her cape and crashes into the window of an apartment to avoid the bullets.

One of the mercenaries, a female with short brown hair with a side ponytail, goes to the other side of the apartment, hoping to fire at the two, but sees Ange kicking a dining table towards her before applying a jet thruster on the bottom of it, sending it flying towards her, smashing the mercenary into a wall and letting her drop to her death. Ange leaves the apartment through a window on the left side of the apartment, covering the Princess with her cloak and continuing to evade her pursuers. The mercenary leader fires at her, one bullet missing and the other destroying her hat.

"That was my favorite one," she told herself. Pulling out her Webley-Fosbery automatic revolver, she fires a few shots at the mercenary leader, who protects himself with a wrist-mounted collapsible shield on his left forearm.

"Bloody hell," Ange says to herself, while holstering her revolver. Four more mercenaries, all male, appear and fire at her from the back, missing when she goes to the side of one of the buildings and kicks her feet off it, propelling herself towards the ground and landing on her feet as the shots she avoids hit the building behind her. She then activates her super jump boots launches herself towards a male mercenary with long blond hair, taking out a knife she had hidden inside her right boot and cutting his jugular. She kicks the now-dead assassin towards two of his teammates and throws her knife at a male assassin behind her, the blade piercing into his forehead. Grabbing one of the guns with her right hand, Ange fires at the two mercenaries in front of her, the large shot going through both of their chests.

When the mercenary leader and his two remaining allies, male and female, prepare to fire at her, Ange grabs her pocket watch and activates its cloaking tech to render herself invisible, catching them off guard. Immediately, Ange fires at and kills the leader's two remaining allies, the shots meant for him being blocked by his shield, though one of the bullets manage to graze the right side of his head.

Two more mercenaries appear behind Ange and fire at her, Ange narrowly avoiding them while keeping the princess in her arms out of harm's way, distancing herself from them and the mercenary leader as she makes a run for it, with the three in hot pursuit. Ange goes behind a chimney as cover as the three shots fired at her hits it, the chimney proving strong enough to protect her, though it leaves her and the Princess open for a three -pronged attack. Anticipating this, Ange pulls out her grappling hook and fires it at the female mercenary on her right, impaling her in her left shoulder. The Pawn then swings her at the male mercenary behind her, the two colliding with each other before they fall to their deaths.

She then tries to avoid the leader's bullets, with one of them hitting the Princess. The leader looked astonished to find that the Princess the Pawn was carrying turned out to be a mannequin, leaving him open to receiving a kick to the face from the latter.

"When?"

[Music End]

9 minutes ago

Looking over her surroundings in the apartment and noticing an adjustable mannequin at the corner of the room, Ange puts Charlotte in a closet and tells her to wait in the apartment, letting her know someone will come for her soon. She quickly grabs the mannequin, covers it with her cloak and leaves.

Now

"Your mistakes were assuming I'd be holding on to the Princess up until now, and not realizing she didn't scream or speak the whole time I was avoiding your shots. After all, 90% of the attention was on me and my fast legs."

"Once I kill you, I will correct my mistake," he told Ange, sounding calm but angry.

"That gear you and your buddies are using, they're prototypes from the 19th Century. The Directional Mobility Gear, meant for quick evasion and maneuverability in a 3D space, preferably in escapes after a mission's been accomplished. The downside was that the gear requires gas to work and it couldn't be concealed. The shield's formerly made for blocking bladed weapons, looks like you've upgraded it, along with those guns, which were originally used as tools for construction workers to nails bolts."

"How could you possibly know about all this?" asked the mercenary leader.

"I have knowledge of all the technology that was developed during the 19th Century, provided by the Black Lizard Planet," she answers.

"I guess this also includes the Cavorite Ball you have?"

"Oh, you know about the Cavorite?" she asked.

"A mysterious mineral that was monopolized by the UK used in the 19th Century, before all of them was rendered inert sometime in the early 20th Century. The one you have there is the last remaining one on Earth. Once I kill you, I will figure out how to produce more of it."

"Assuming you can kill me," she says. "You only have one bullet left, along with the grapple hooks for your gear, and that knife on your left waist. If I am correct, your current tank is almost gone, and I won't let you refill."

"It'll be enough to kill you." Before he could act, the mercenary leader sees a shine from Maki's rifle lens, reacting in time to only get shot in his right arm. Ange takes out her revolver and fires at him, but the bullets are blocked again by his shield. The leader then throws a smoke grenade onto the ground and uses his mobility gear to escape.

"Ange, did you get him?"

"I wish I did. Sadly the tosser (Supreme asshole or jerk) had a damn shield that blocked my bullets and escaped," Ange told her fellow Pawn, sounding annoyed. "Makes me wish I had my armor piercing bullets on me, and that I knew how to use Storage Magic. I take it the girl we met is with the Princess?"

"Yeah. Also, she and someone who goes by D want us all to meet with her. After we make sure the Princess is brought home safely and we pick up Akame and Nero, the girl will take us to their base of operations.

With Naruto
MacBean's Dress & Lingerie
Paddington, London, England

"Your base of operations is a lingerie shop?" Naruto asked as he, Xenovia, Moka, who was holding a dollhouse with automated drawers full of sweets, and Kotomi look at the lingerie shop in front of them.

"We sell dresses too," D adds. "Our lingerie is top of the line and has provided nothing but the best for the UK since the late 19th Century. No other lingerie shops can compare to ours, not even Tallulah Lingerie. Tallulah Lingerie wishes their lingerie were as good as MacBean's. The shop won five Stars Awards in a row for Best Shop at the start of the first Stars in 2007 before being banned from going to any more Stars shows because we were too good with our lingerie."

"...Can we go in?" Naruto asked after D was finished.

"Of course, come my new friends."

Inside the shop, Ange looks at an old picture of her friend Dorothy, Ange's old teammate and friend, during the time the shop's grand opening, with Beatrice, Chise, and (Princess) Charlotte I standing beside her. Maki, Akame and Nero were checking out the lingerie while the katana-wielding girl, now dressed in the uniform for Queen's Mayfaire Academy rested her back against a wall. Once Naruto, Moka, Xenovia, Kotomi, and D enter the shop, the latter tell the female employee behind the register to close the shop early and that they had work to do.

"Right away, Miss." The female employee switches the open sign to closed, locks the door, and closes the blinds as D presses a green button behind a wooden frame, summoning an elevator behind a mirror.

"Come." Once they entered the elevator, D apologizes for how cramp they were now. "Should have installed a second one."

"Oh don't apologize. I'm enjoying this," Infernus says out loud, knowing no one but Naruto can hear him. "Inside a cramped elevator ride inside a lingerie shop with ten beautiful girls, can't ask for more."

"This is more than a Century late, but welcome back Ange." The Pawn and her allies were caught sporting astonished looks when D called Ange by her name. "I was right. You are her. My great grandmother told me you'd come back, I just didn't expect the real one instead of a great granddaughter."

"..."

"You haven't aged a bit. How? Did you get into some sort of accident similar to the one in "The Age of Adaline" which saved your life and rendered you unable to age?"

"That is a secret between myself and the Black Lizard Planet," Ange told D.

"Not even your teammates know?" Naruto and the others nod their heads no to answer D's question.

Unnamed Headquarters
Operations Room

Once the elevator makes a stop, the doors open to a secret base with several operators working around the clock. Exiting the cramped elevator, everyone takes a minute to take in their surroundings.

"Since you're all friends of Ange, I can safely introduce myself. My name is Daisy MacBean III, and this the headquarters for the White Pigeon," Daisy tells Ange and the others. "Oh and the girl with the Katana is Chie Todo, great great granddaughter of Chise Todo."

"Hello everyone," Chie says with a smile while waving at them.

"After Ange's..."disappearance", the four members of Team White Pigeon, Daisy "Dorothy" MacBean I, Chise Todo, Beatrice, and Queen Charlotte I founded this spy organization to protect the Crown and perform operations outside of the government in secret, our funding provided by yours truly, the Nabeshima Clan, among others. Near the end of the 19th Century, Queen Charlotte I resigned from the organization, along with Beatrice, who moved to Italy and lived a long and peaceful life, married with kids and so forth. Since they left, the descendants of Charlotte don't know about this organization."

"This organization has been protecting the Crown since the 19th Century?" Naruto asked. "How did the Queen and Princess Carla get killed under your watch?"

"One of our own was compromised by our mutual enemy before she was killed, and the spies assigned to guard the Queen and the princesses were disposed of after," Daisy revealed to them.

"Any ideas on who these assassins and mercenaries work for?" asked Moka.

"We came to the conclusion that it was Duke Ryan who we know is a descendant of Richard," Chie tells her new friends. "However..."

"The Duke is supposedly clean," said Nero. "My friend (Akame) and I were shadowing him until now and he hasn't been doing anything behind the Queen's back."

"We've had spies in waiting for whenever he goes out, and we had well-placed cameras in his office for several months, and nothing came up." Looking at a live feed through a camera in the Duke's Office, they see Duke Ryan busy with paperwork at his desk until a male butler enters the room and hands him a cup of café au lait.

"We may need to start from square one," said Daisy, who had hoped Duke Ryan would be their suspect. While Daisy was conversing with the others, Naruto watched as the Duke finished his drink before resuming his work. While watching the feed, Naruto notices something about the way his left hand and legs were quickly but slightly moving.

"Angry...Hide...Prepare...Tomorrow...Birthday..."

"Naruto?" Akame calls out, but Naruto doesn't pay attention to her calling his name."

"Is your friend okay? He's muttering words to-"

"He's messaging someone," he says out loud, bringing everyone's attention to him.

"How can you be sure?" asked Chie.

"He's messaging using a 5x5 tap code with a mix of Morse code. His left pointing, middle, ring, and pinky fingers tend to tap on his desk 1 to 5 times quickly, sometimes tapping it in a way to signify a dash in Morse. The tapping of his fingers goes with the tapping of either one of his feet, based on their slight movements under his desk. It's possible his shoes have a device in them that sends sound to the mercenaries, well, to their leader. He's sending specific words to the receiver, one he knows will piece them together and make sense of it, in case he's being watched." Seeing a ring on the Duke's left middle finger, he says the ring may also be a small device that functions the same as his shoes. To make sure it was accurate, Chie observes the Duke's limb movements and finds Naruto's claims to be true.

"Excellent observation, Fox. This will help us incriminate the Duke when it comes time to reveal this intentions him."

"Hold up, Daisy," said Chie. "Besides the ring and his shoes being used to listen to the coded messages, how exactly would the other person know he's messaging them?"

"Could I see a recording of the day the Queen and Carla were poisoned, along with an extra recording? It can be any recording as long as it's during the times he works in the office." Checking the footages, fast forwarding when necessary, Naruto noticed whenever the Duke wanted to message his allies, he'd order the café au lait, informing Daisy and the others about it after confirming it with his own eyes.

"That means his butler is working with him. He must be wearing a wire or some sort of device on his body almost every day."

"Bloody brilliant Fox. If I could kiss you, I'd- Who am I kidding, I'm going to kiss you anyways." Placing her hands on his cheeks, Daisy pulls the blond in for a long and thankful kiss, parting lips after, Naruto's hair looking a little messed up. The sudden kiss had the Rook at a loss for words.

"Damn, she got you good Naruto."

"My new friends, feel free to look around our headquarters. Fox, please continue to help translate the Duke's messages when he starts messaging his mercenaries again."

"Will do!" Naruto shouts after regaining his composure and fixing his own hair.

"If there's a break room, I'm going to have myself some doughnuts," says Kotomi, who promptly leaves for the room she spoke of as Akame and Xenovia follow Chie to a training room , with Moka and Nero staying with Naruto to watch him work while enjoying the sweets in the drawers of the dollhouse Moka took from The Fat Duck. While initially deciding to stand with Naruto, Moka, and Nero, Maki noticed Ange reading the map layout of the headquarters on a wall before walking off.

With Ange
Meeting Room

Entering the room, Ange sees a round table at the center of it. Turning on the lights, she finds the walls of the room had cases containing the spy outfits and replica gadgets belonging to her friends (Dorothy, Chise, Beatrice, and Princess Charlotte) and herself. Looking at the table, she noticed a seat meant for her to sit on, with a new top hat in front of it. Walking over to the chair, the Pawn takes a seat on it and picks up the hat, finding a sealed letter under it. Opening it up, Ange reads it out loud.


Ange, it's about time you came back. We are hoping you have survived your mission and are doing okay, wherever you may be. Do you have kids? Grandkids? Whether it's you or a descendant of yours, we're glad to have you returning to us. The White Pigeon wouldn't be complete without you." - With Love, Dorothy, Chise, Beatrice, Charlotte. P.S. How is the hat? Does it fit?


"Yeah...it fits..." Even when she keeps her emptions bottled tears still flowed down her cheeks. "I've been compromised..."

"This is where you went, huh?" Maki asks Ange as she enters the room, the latter quickly wiping away her tears before responding.

"Yeah," Ange replies. When Maki tells her she had a nice top hat, Ange thanks her. "It was a gift from my team...I'm the only original member left," said Ange. "It'll take so many years until my time comes and I get to see them again. I wish I could have seen Princess and Beatrice before they quit the organization. I wish I knew what their thoughts were about my supposed death."

"I would assume they had high hopes that you survived. Seekvaira did take your body after you reincarnated." Ange lets out a small chuckle in response.

"They probably thought you may have lost your memory and was living a quiet life somewhere under some other alias. Whatever their thoughts on it, one thing is for sure: They kept hoping you'd come back to them, even if it's through their descendants."

"Not sure what to think about it, but that would be one thought I wouldn't mind naively believing in if I was the same 7-year old living that dull and sheltered life as the real Princess."

"I should prepare a thank you for you and the others for coming. I never thought this would end up with me meeting their descendants. After meeting them, I feel that most of the weight of guilt I have on my shoulders has lessened."

"Must be nice."

"One day I'm sure the same weight will be off your shoulders," says Ange, Maki telling her she wasn't sure what she means.

"I already got over Kaito's death and all. I have no more weights on me."

"Are you sure?" Ange asked. "Don't think I haven't stopped observing how you interact with others." Ange's response doesn't receive a facial response from Maki, who compliments her on how she's still able to keep up her stoic expression.

With Naruto
Operations Room
5:36 pm

While waiting for the Duke to possibly message his mercenaries again, Naruto and the others have Chinese takeout some of their agents bought for everyone. When one of the agents opens a Styrofoam box with a pound of roast pork in it, Akame quickly takes all the good pieces with her chopsticks, Naruto admonishing her for doing it to someone who went out of their way to bring the food over to them. In response, Akame puts back half of the good pieces she took. As a rewards, Naruto picks up a crispy duck leg with his chopsticks and offers her a bite, Akame happily taking it.

"Also have some vegetables Akame," Moka tells the girl, putting steamed broccoli and sliced carrots onto her paper plate, with Xenovia doing the same thing.

"Oi, you girls, eat your veggies too instead of giving them to Akame," Maki tells the two while pulling at one of their cheeks, Xenovia and Moka thinking, "Busted..." to themselves, Naruto laughing to himself as he watched them quietly.

"The C-Ball you have Ange, is that really containing the only Cavorite left on Earth?" asked Chie.

"It is," said Ange. "But it's for the best the mineral doesn't return. The chances of getting cavorite poisoning were high for those who worked in the mines and refineries for it back then."

"I can't imagine what the Duke and his mercenaries would have done with that mineral in their hands. It's a relief to know it's in good hands with you."

"Definitely don't want them to know that the mineral is back and is in the hands of Seekvaira and the House of Agares." Naruto and the others thought to themselves.

"...I'm going to go out of the way and ask, how are you alive?" Daisy asked Ange. "Did you get struck by lightning that stopped you from aging?"

"Daisy, that movie is full of rubbish," Ange told Daisy. "I was saved when the people on the Black Lizard Planet came and found me, saving my life at the cost of my aging."

"Whatever the reason, if you obtained it through life-threatening means, I understand why you're not willing to say."

"And I thank you for not pushing further." Looking up at the monitors, Kotomi informs everyone that the Duke was asking for his drink from his butler. In silence, Naruto and the others watched in anticipation as the butler returns with the Duke's drink and sets it down for him before leaving the room. After two minutes of sipping his beverage, the Duke finishes it, sets the cup aside, and starts messaging as he works.

"Princess...Guarded...Party...Unknown...Hire...Special...Finish...Tomorrow...Trust...Brother?"

"Brother? Makes sense," Daisy tells herself. "While you can call and consider a friend a brother, the possibility of the person on the other line being blood related is high. Ange, it is obvious you and your friends will be helping to keep the Princess Charlotte safe, but I'm going to ask anyways. Ange, will you help the White Pigeon stop the Duke and his mercenaries?"

"We will, Daisy." To make it official, Daisy extends her hand to Ange, who smiles at her and shakes her hand to seal their short alliance.

"Tomorrow, three hours before the party, we will meet here, where I will provide some of our teams with the best dresses and suits to wear to infiltrate the palace, along with your invites.

11:03 pm
London, England
Shidou Residence
Kitchen

Waking from his training with Infernus within his mind during the night, Naruto went to the kitchen to get himself a glass of water, finding Ange helping herself to a cup of lavender tea.

"Mind if I help myself to some of that tea?" he asked.

"Sure." Grabbing a teacup of his own, the Rook pours himself a cup and has a sip. "I was told that three people died at the restaurant shootout. I am glad you refrained from using your powers, and I am-"

"Ange...don't. There's nothing to apologize for," Naruto tells the Agares Pawn, taking a sip from his cup after. "I already have my own share of people I wasn't able to get to or save. Even if I am frustrated over not being able to prevent them from dying, I can help you make sure their deaths and possibly more following meant something by finishing this mission of yours."

"I couldn't have said it to you any better," Ange says in response to Naruto's words. "I can only hope we can succeed under these self-limitations I put us all in."

"We will. I have faith in us succeeding, even if things may turn bizarre, which I am sure will end up happening." When asked if he was some sort of future teller, the Rook told her no, but he had a hunch things will go off the rails tomorrow night.

"With the mercenary I encountered earlier, I believe it. With this birthday party coming hours away, the Duke and this brother of his will surely have a Plan B placed in the case that their original plan fails, and it may be a chaotic one.

"I'll be sure to provide what I can so we can succeed." Finishing her tea, Ange tells Naruto to get some sleep in after he's done with his cup.

"Also, those super jump boots, really helped me out a bit." Naruto responds by saying he wished he and the others could utilize what he made for them instead of being stuck in a restaurant shootout. "I'm sure our enemies will allow you to better display your equipment in action when the situation calls for it. One last thing."

"Yeah?"

"If you plan to stick around the UK with Xenovia, I suggest a hot air balloon ride over London coupled with with a small picnic and sparkling juice," Ange tells the Agares Rook, giving him a smile after and heading back to the guest room to sleep.

Elsewhere

After stitching the grazing bullet wound on the right side of his head, the mercenary leader tells Nyau of the Three Beasts he and his brother, the Duke, paid a lot to hire him and his helper, the masked female assassin with long purple hair that participated in the attack on the Three Factions.

"I am hoping the amount my brother and I paid to hire you won't end up becoming a wasted investment."

"Trust me, the amount you paid to hire us will be worth it once the Princess no longer breathes. Although, I must ask, for two people with intentions to kill just the Princess and like they did with her sister and the Queen, I would have thought you'd be against taking other lives besides hers.

"Most of the guests attending are either descendants of those who made the unanimous decision to strip my great ancestor of his rank and deny him the right to take the Crown, or the secret society that's been protecting the Princess. We're nearing the the point where casualties must be made to see our revenge through, and we've played this game long enough. Should those people be caught in the middle, should your plan fail and drastic measures were to follow, and should those foolish enough to throw their lives away for the the Princess get in our way, then so be it for all three."

ED5: Agapanthus by 麻倉 もも

Crown Savers (Ange Arc) to be concluded in the next chapter


With Ange insisting most of the allies she has are to not use their powers, lives will be lost, whether it's just a few or many. Here's hoping more won't be lost.

For the next chapter, things will be slow but near the middle and end it will pick up in a crazy steampunk sort of way. It may borrow stuff from Uncharted 4. What that will look like, I am not sure, at least for now.

I believe Xenovia is destined to ruin other people's dessert time by using them as a situational throwing weapon. I did laugh a bit when she threw that dollhouse filled with sweets. That is an actual thing they serve at The Fat Duck.

For Xenovia and Moka, quality is important, but they much prefer quantity over it. The food at The Fat Duck looks good, but doesn't seem filling, to me at least. Hard to believe you pay $250-$450 just to eat there.

For the main bad in the Crown Savers Arc, it's all Ange. She will get help dealing with this antagonist, but she does all the fighting. Naruto is more of a supporting character for this one, doing the best however he can. It may not be a lot but he does try.

The team Ange was in is actually called Team White Pigeon, hence the name of the organization made to protect the Royal Family in secret.