I woke up in a strange room, and panicked for a moment before I remembered everything.
Yesterday sucked.
From a certain perspective, it was fortuitous.
You're just saying that because I finally agreed to try to summon the armor.
You've stalled long enough. Deal with the distraction at the door and get to work.
Distraction?
One of this house's residents is waiting just beyond the door. I believe it is the feline woman.
Great.
"What do you want?" I said to the door as I climbed out of bed.
Rather than responding like a normal person, the woman decided her best course of action was to throw the door open and jump at me.
I raised my hand and the shadows in the room answered my call.
Black tendrils latched onto her arms and legs, dragging her to the ground before me and pinning her there.
Stalking over to her, I said, "I warned you not to do that again."
She started trembling, and I began to think maybe I'd overdone it.
Uh…. partner? The woman appears to be aroused.
My brain rebooted for a solid three seconds.
Fucking what?
Kuroka turned to look up at me, and I finally realized she was trembling because she was panting. "I would have worn leather if I'd known you were into the kinky stuff. Are you going to ravage me now?"
I blinked. Then I blinked again. Then I blinked a third time. Then I walked right past her through the door, leaving her trapped in my shadows.
"No! Come back-nya!"
Deciding to forget about the previous five seconds, I navigated my way back to the sitting room and found Vali lounging in a chair watching some devil TV show.
"Kuroka was waiting outside my door for me to 'ravage' her. Is this what all your friends are like? Because if so, I really need to leave before I get lumped in with a bad crowd."
Vali smiled and said, "I was hoping she would take the bait. She's been trying to get me to have sex with her since we met. Now she's your problem. Have fun with that."
"What exactly do you mean by 'bait'?"
"She's obsessed with having strong children. I told her you are the Red Dragon Emperor and now she's after you instead of me. I'd say things are looking up."
"I hate you." I said with no real heat as I collapsed onto the chair across from him. "So! Changing the topic, what's the plan?"
"What do you mean?" he said, flipping through the channels absentmindedly.
"I mean what are we doing moving forward? I get that you have this Khaos Brigade thing, but where does that leave me?"
"You're welcome to join, but if you don't, then I guess you just take off and find something else to focus on. Do you have any goals?"
Sitting back to think it over, I said, "The only thing I'm really focused on right now is getting strong enough to hold my own against the absolute craziness of this world. If Beelzebub comes after me again, I want to have a better plan than 'run away as fast as I can'."
"Then you should join. We're all together to push our limits and get stronger. We do other stuff every now and again, but that's the main goal."
"Xarion!"
Sighing, I let the woman jump on me. From what Vali said, it wasn't malicious, and it was more productive to just talk to her.
"Hello, Kuroka. Good morning. Would you kindly remove yourself from me?" I said to the woman hanging on my left arm, rubbing her cheek on my shoulder.
"How am I supposed to claim you if I don't glomp you?" she said as if it was obvious.
"Ah, I see you have acquired Kuroka's attention. You have my most sincere apologies." Arthur said as he walked into the room, an oval shaped silver tray laden with tea and breakfast items in his hands. "Could I interest you in a meal?"
"Please. Thank you." I said, reaching out with the arm Kuroka was not attached to to retrieve the plate he passed to me.
"So, Kuroka, what exactly is it you want from me?" I said, flexing my magic slightly as I spoke.
"Have I not made my feelings obvious?" she said, staring up at me with a pouty lip. "I want you to love me as much as I love you!"
I took a bite out of the toast on my plate as she kept rubbing herself against me, choosing not to dignify her with a response.
"Morning everybody!" a voice I hadn't heard yet said from behind me.
Maneuvering around Kuroka, I turned to see the new arrival.
A lean, muscled man with black hair was walking into the room without a shirt. An ape-like tail swayed behind him as he walked in. His eyes fell on me, and he smiled, saying, "You're the new guy! That necromancer guy that everyone is terrified of."
"I suppose I am. My name is Xarion. It's nice to meet you…?"
"Bikou." he said as he sat down across from me. "So when's the wedding?"
"We don't need something so trivial as a wedding to confirm our love!" Kuroka cried out, hurting my ear a little bit as she was practically attached to it. "We can consummate our union without rituals. So long as we are devoted to each other, we don't need-"
"Aaand I'm putting a stop to this now." I said, tapping Kuroka's forehead with my opposite finger.
The nekomata froze in place, completely unable to move.
I gingerly extricated myself from her grasp and stood up to find a new place to sit, taking an offered cup of tea from Arthur with a grateful nod as I passed him.
"Oh my god! That's so cool!" Le Fay, appearing from nowhere, said in praise as she started prodding at Kuroka's frozen form with her staff and casting a few analysis spells. "She's trying to break free, but it's too complex to unravel easily. She'll get it eventually, but until then she's completely stuck. How'd you do it?" she asked me, an inquisitive excitement apparent in her demeanor.
"It's a bit of a trade secret." I said non committed as I sat down next to Vali. "Since I'm practically free loading right now, I'll give you this much; it's not so much that I stopped her from moving, I just convinced everything else not to let her."
I received confused stares from Vali, Arthur and Bikou, but Le Fay's eyes lit up in understanding.
"You manipulated the space around her! I've never seen a space spell with such fine control. It must have taken you years to develop the ability to cast this." she said, an awed respect for my ability in her voice.
"I must admit, I didn't expect you to figure it out that easily. You're a bright young woman." I said, saluting her with my tea cup.
Le Fay blushed and started mumbling something I couldn't quite hear.
"Ahem."
I turned to see Arthur staring at me behind narrowed eyes, and I raised my hands in surrender.
"It was just a complement. I'm not trying to corrupt her or anything. As a matter of fact, I'm not interested in a relationship at all right now. I have way too much going on." I said to appease the overprotective big brother.
He held my gaze a moment longer, then nodded, "Good."
The spell holding Kuroka in place finally collapsed under the assault of her many attempts to free herself, and she whipped her head towards me, a challenging grin on her face. "That's twice you've trapped me. I'm going to get even."
Ignoring the low stance she entered to jump at me once more, I looked at her eyes and randomly said, "You were right, Vali."
"What?" the half-devil in question said, unsure what I was referring to.
"She does have beautiful eyes. He was too shy to tell you himself." Discreetly, I cast an illusion that caused it to look like Vali was blushing.
Kuroka looked at Vali and smiled widely. "Vali!" she called as she leapt at the man in question.
Turnabout is fair play. I said in Vali's head as I took a sip of the surprisingly good tea.
"Xarion you son of a-oof" he was pinned to his chair as Kuroka started clinging to him in the same way she was clinging to me a few minutes ago.
HAHAHA! Seeing Albion squirm is amusing. But why did you not mate with the woman? I am in your body, I could feel your arousal. If you wish to copulate, do so.
First off, let's never discuss sex ever again, okay? Secondly, I'm not interested in being a sperm donor. She's just after kids, not a relationship. I, on the other hand, am not ready for kids, nor do I want the woman I have them with to take off with them. Call me a hopeless romantic, but I also want to find someone who loves me before I even consider, as you so elegantly put it, 'copulating'. As is evidenced by the fact that she is now clinging to Vali, she doesn't give two shits about me beyond the fact that I'm strong.
You are now a dragon. Your power will attract many mates. If you do not take them all, challengers will.
Is your only argument seriously that I should fuck her so no one else does?
She also has nice assets…
We are no longer discussing this.
Turning to Arthur - he seemed to be the only one in this house who wasn't insane - I said, "Is this how your mornings typically go?"
"Yes. Though I am surprised there has not been a-"
"New guy!" Bikou said, standing from his chair and drawing all of the room's attention. "I challenge you to a spar!"
"Ah, there it is." Arthur said, a content smile on his face.
"Excuse me?" I said.
"I need to make sure you measure up. The best way to do that is to beat you into the ground. If you last longer than two minutes, you're good enough to fight with me." he said with a cocky grin on his face.
Looking around the room, I saw that all eyes were now on me.
If you do not accept his challenge, he will see you as weak and attempt to remove you from the manor.
And since this is the only place I have to crash right now….
"Fine. Where are we doing this? I wouldn't be a very good guest if I destroyed the Pendragon's living room when they are so graciously allowing me to stay."
Bikou smiled in anticipation. "That's the spirit!" he said, slapping me on the back as my mana spiked. "To the training field!" He ran from the room, leaving me standing there like an idiot.
"Would someone kindly direct me to wherever it is he ran off to?"
X
Kuroka
"I wager two weeks' chores Xarion does not last three minutes." Arthur said calmly as we watched the two of them square off on the granite training field.
"That's a little harsh. I think he'll make it. You're on!" Le Fay said as she summoned the protective barrier over the training field into being. It wasn't that we were worried we'd be caught in an attack and be hurt, we were all too strong to be caught by mistimed spells, the bubble was there to safeguard the manner. It was not as durable as we were.
"I will wager a month's chores that Xarion will win." Vali said, surprising everyone, he never participated in our betting sessions.
"Vali, I understand he is your friend, but Bikou is too far beyond him." Arthur said diplomatically. "But if you are serious about your wager, I will take it. If Bikou wins, you will cook everyone's meals for a full month."
"Deal." Vali said, not sounding the least bit worried.
"Is he really that good?" I said as I walked up to Vali.
"You missed your chance." Vali said, puzzling me.
"Um…. what?" I said, trying to figure out what that had to do with the betting.
"Earlier in the sitting room. You ruined your chances with Xarion." Vali said simply.
"Oh, Vali, you don't know just how seductive I can be." I said, pushing my chest out from under my kimono, though much to my chagrin, the movement did not cause Vali's eyes to stray from Bikou and Xarion.
"Actually, I do. I have been on the receiving end of you for nearly a year. I also know Xarion, and you have ruined your chances with him." he said, sounding annoyingly certain.
"We just met, Vali. There's plenty of time for him to warm up to me." Rome wasn't built in a day, and my kittens wouldn't grow in one either. But soon enough I would get Xarion into my bed. He had all the signs of a repressed loner who hadn't known a woman's touch in a long time, maybe even at all. It said something about his discipline that he was able to resist me for this long, but he would cave before too long.
And when he did, I'd finally have my family of strength. No one would ever take my loved ones from me again.
"No, there isn't." Vali said, giving no sign that he was lying. "Xarion's abandonment issues are more severe than mine and you stomped all over them somehow."
My eyes widened at that admission. Vali, for all the strength he projected, was a broken man trying to find his way in the world, a fact he rarely confronted. His obsession with battle stemmed from the fact that it was one of the few things he could control; one of the few things that was wholly his. It was hard to picture Xarion having more damage than Vali.
"Xarion is far more subtle than anyone any of you have ever dealt with." Vali said, having realized that both Le Fay and Arthur had started eavesdropping and deciding to speak to all of us. "He trusts me, and even I only know a small amount about where he came from. From what I have gathered, he was an orphan and was constantly in fear of death. Every test or trial could have been his end, yet he emerged victorious. Silence was his greatest weapon, so he never showed his strength until it was time for him to use it.
"He does not flaunt his power, preferring that only those he has come to trust know the full reach of what he is capable of. He approaches every encounter in a way that will give him an advantage, and never reveals his hand until he's already won, which allows him to discard any strategy at a moment's notice to focus on another."
Vali finally turned away from the training field to look me straight in the eye. "You intrigued him, and it is plain to everyone here that he's attracted to you, but you failed his test."
Huffing in indignation, I said, "If that little stunt with the 'beautiful eyes' comment is your definition of subtle, then you-"
"It wasn't that." Vali said. "It was before, when he asked you straight to your face what your intentions were. What you answered didn't matter. He can do things with magic even Azazel hasn't seen before, and he used those powers on you after tricking your mind into focusing on what he wanted to know. What you said didn't matter at all. He learned everything he wanted to know directly from your head, and I could tell by the way he reacted that he didn't like what he saw. From now on he'll see you as a desperate woman who is only after his sperm. He'll still be polite because he wouldn't gain anything by being rude to you, but it will be nearly impossible for you to alter his perspective of you, especially given your proclivity for antics."
Now I was actually starting to get irritated. It was one thing for Vali to insult my seductive abilities, it was another for him to imply I was a horny simpleton who only wanted to be bred.
"I'm going to get my babies out of Xarion, Vali. I don't care what it takes. He isn't good enough to elude me forever."
"That is where you're wrong. If Xarion wished for it, he would arrange things so that the two of you never spoke again." Vali said.
Sticking my nose up, I said, "If he's really such a mastermind, then how will he beat Bikou?"
Vali smirked, turning his attention back to the field as he said, "He already did."
"Are you ready, new guy!" Bikou called across the gravel field.
"I'm ready." Xarion said back.
"If you would do the honors, Arthur?" Bikou said as he fell into a fighting stance.
Arthur, after giving Xarion a contemplative glance, walked towards a small bell atop a table. "When this bell rings, the battle begins." He picked up a mallet and struck the bell. It released a shrill whine like a wire whipping through the air at extraordinary speeds.
The moment the sound reached his ears, Bikou charged. The Monkey King dashed across the distance between himself and Xarion as Xarion desperately tried to cast a spell before Bikou could close the distance.
Bikou reared back with his bo staff, swinging down towards Xarion with his full strength. Somehow managing to roll out of the way, Xarion sent a stream of blackened magical bolts up toward Bikou.
Bikou was forced to disengage to avoid the torrent but he used the space provided to launch a youjutsu fireball down towards Xarion.
A shield flashed into existence before Xarion and the fire dispersed against it. Xarion kept hurling black bolts at Bikou to keep him away while his eyes frantically dashed around the space, looking for anything that could give him an advantage.
"I'm not impressed, Vali." I said as Bikou slammed his fist into the ground, the resulting earthquake knocking Xarion off his feet. "I thought he was supposed to be a powerful necromancer."
"There aren't any corpses or spirits for him to use here." Vali idly said as Bikou leapt high into the air, aiming to land on Xarion. "Besides, Xarion is toying with him."
A jet of black flame appeared in front Xarion's outstretched arm. The force of the spell blasted Xarion back and out of range of Bikou's falling strike, but the moment the monkey touched the ground he turned to charge after the necromancer.
"I don't think we're watching the same fight, Vali. If he doesn't pull out Boosted Gear soon, Bikou might accidentally kill him." I said, growing somewhat worried for the panicked necromancer as he fled the madly grinning yokai.
"We're not, and he can't." Vali said as Xarion summoned a spell circle and Bikou's own shadow rose up to latch around him just as mine had when I'd invaded Xarion's room.
"What do you mean?" I said as Bikou was coated in a flaming white aura, allowing him to pull free of the shadows before they could smother him completely.
"We're not watching the same fight. And Xarion can't use Boosted Gear." Vali said to clarify as Bikou launched himself forward on a jet of youjutsu fire.
"He can't use Boosted Gear!" Le Fay cried in alarm. "We need to call off the fight. Bikou doesn't know. He might kill Xarion by accident!"
I shared Le Fay's panic. Bikou wasn't holding back. If he hit Xarion without the added resilience of Boosted Gear, the necromancer might die. This was bad.
"I'm opening the barrier." I said as I pushed Le Fay out of the way to get at the power stone channeling mana into the dome.
"Don't bother." Vali said, a small smirk on his face. "The fight's already over."
I followed his gaze and my jaw fell open as I saw Bikou fall to his knees. The yokai was panting heavily as dark lines snaked out from his chest to cover his arms and face. His grip on his staff weakened, and the wooden bo staff fell to the gravel at his side. He looked as if he wasn't able to get back to his feet.
"What just happened?" Le Fay said in shock.
"I won the bet." Vali said triumphantly. "I don't have to do chores for a month."
"And what do I win?"
Le Fay, Arthur and I leapt back on instinct as a new voice spoke from less than a meter away from us. Only Vali seemed unsurprised by the voice.
"The thrill of victory." Vali said.
"Considering you just profited from my toil, I was expecting something a little more substantial than that." Xarion said as he shimmered into being on the other side of Vali.
"Impossible." I said breathlessly, unwilling to believe what my eyes were telling me. "I would have sensed your ki."
"Is that what it's called? Good to know." Xarion said as if he was making a mental note. "If we had fought yesterday, both you and Bikou would have been able to figure out where I was. But after I absorbed some of the energy you summoned up to defend yourself from my sword, I was able to create another ward over myself that blocks it's signature when I don't want to be found. I was also able to layer another illusion over the one out there next to Bikou to give it a facsimile of ki." He pointed onto the training field, whose barrier was slowly coming down, and we all follow the gesture to see a second Xarion kneeling next to Bikou with his hands against the monkey's chest.
"What have you done to Bikou?" Arthur demanded to know, his eyes narrowed at Xarion.
"It's a curse that drains you of your vitality, but I'm using my double to purge him of it. Give him five minutes and he'll be back to one-hundred percent. That being said, my tangible doubles can only operate at a fifth of my normal power so I should probably purge it personally." He waited for the barrier to finish descending then walked out towards the still kneeling form of Bikou. "Oh, and, Vali? I'd appreciate it if you didn't talk about my past behind my back."
Vali grinned at his fellow Dragon Emperor and said, "But I didn't talk about you behind your back, did I?"
Xarion narrowed his eyes, but said, "Point. Expect payback." The necromancer turned around and jogged towards Bikou, laying his hands on Bikou's shoulders as the second version of him disappeared in an explosion of blue energy.
"I didn't see Xarion place any curses on Bikou. When did he manage to curse him?" Le Fay said, trying to get over the shock of realizing Xarion had been fighting through a proxy yet had still managed to win.
"When we were in the sitting room. Bikou touched Xarion's back and Xarion used the contact to transfer the curse." Vali said in answer to her question.
"He cheated." Arthur said, a disapproving look in his eyes.
"When it comes to Xarion, he doesn't cheat. He wins. Everyone else can argue about the semantics, he just plain doesn't care." Vali said as he watched Bikou climb to his feet and slap Xarion on the back, a bright smile on the monkey's face.
"How long has he been here?" I said quietly to Vali, already suspecting I knew the answer.
"He's been standing right next to me since we left breakfast." Vali said simply.
"Then… Does that mean he-"
"He heard everything." Vali said, cutting me off. "Including the part about getting babies out of him no matter what. Like I said before; you screwed up your chance with Xarion. Quit while you're behind."
Vali shoved his hands in his pockets and started strolling out to meet Bikou and Xarion.
Xarion motioned in our direction as he and Bikou were talking, and the Monkey King's mouth fell open.
"That is such bullshit!" Bikou screamed. "You weren't even in the dome!"
With a bright smile on his face, Xarion said, "What can I say? I'm just that good."
Bikou stared at him for a moment, then turned to face us, cupping his hands around his mouth to help his voice carry. "We're keeping him! I don't care what anyone else says. He's ours now!" He spun back around and pulled Xarion into a crushing hug. "Welcome to the team!"
As Xarion tried to pry himself free from Bikou's incredible grip, Arthur spoke next to me.
"It wasn't him." he said, as if he just came to a realization.
"What?" I said.
"The Xarion fighting Bikou wasn't actually Xarion. That is why he was unable to use Boosted Gear. He didn't have it." The Pendragon's gaze fell on Xarion, a look of grudging respect in his eye. "Underhanded or not, Xarion just defeated The Monkey King without using Boosted Gear. I believe he will be a great addition to our team." He walked out to join Bikou in welcoming Xarion to their group, and, after shooting a quick glance at me, Le Fay followed to do the same.
As my friends welcomed their newest team member, my eyes never left Xarion. He'd just defeated Bikou without ever actually engaging him. The 'fight' was just a show to buy time for his curse to work through Bikou's overwhelming ki. I should have been salivating over his strength, that was what I'd always told myself I wanted, but that wasn't what I noticed.
As everyone came up to him to hug him or shake his hand, Xarion's eyes snapped to their hands, their waists, their feet. He was looking for an attack; expecting an attack.
I hadn't believed Vali before, but I did now.
Xarion had been through more than Vali, maybe even more than me. Whatever it was that he had lived through, it had taught him not to trust anyone, to always be wary of an attack, to always keep a wall between him and anyone who wanted him to see them as a friend.
I had been through Hell. I watched as the last bastion of my people burned before my eyes, as men, women and children were cut to ribbons. Then I was given to one of the monsters responsible for their eradication to be used as a toy. I had been through so much more than most people could ever dream of, so why was it that I could feel nothing but pity as I looked at Xarion now?
I wanted to help him, and I had no idea why, but I'd set my mind on it so it was happening.
He'd open up to me and let me help him. He didn't have a choice in the matter.