Edit to add 6/11/22: I was made aware this chapter was duplicated. it was not, I just replaced the wrong chapter so very long ago and no one noticed until earlier this year. XD
Disclaimer: Own not I, To Love-Ru, saith the scribe of fans.
"You've come to speak with me again," the living weapon known as Yami, or Eve to her progenitor and Mother, says looking her visitor in the eye, "There's been sightings of you all over Earth, Kuro, and I thought I would check up on why you're here, yet it seems you came to me." The black haired man merely smiles his cryptic smile, before walking out from the shadows.
"You're right Yami, it is time we talked," he states, "It's about Yuuki Rito, and the bounty on his associates head..." The former assassin Golden Darkness, and the former hit man known to most as 'Black', stare each other down. He activates a holographic device, showing a familiar face that surprises Yami. The brown haired, brown eyed visage of Rin Kujou is reflected in the alien wanted poster.
The Next Day
Rin Kujou was currently walking down the street with Rito Yuuki, and Momo Belia Deviluke. The pink haired princess was currently grasping Rito by the arm, pressing her breasts uncomfortably close into his side, as they walked around Sainan Town. Originally he had been sent out to grab some more ingredients for dinner, since it seemed they were to have an unexpected guest come join them. Momo, of course eager to spend time around her darling Rito, decided to tag along for the ride and help him out and potentially get some alone time, where she could jump him and do perverted things to him. What happened instead was an embarrassment, as they bumped into a frazzled and overworked Rin, who seemed like she needed a better day than she had had. Rito, being the overly gentlemanly type, decided to offer his services in the form of his arms, stating he could help carry anything she needed help with.
Two hours later, and Rito was currently carrying: Three pairs of shoes, six dresses of various styles and colors, three jackets that were able to be reversed and exchanged as complimentary colors for the dresses, and then there was the kicker, in the form of a bamboo sword. It became apparent that Rin Kujou was shopping for her employer, Saki Tenjouin, as they were obviously not her style or size, though the sword seemed to be Rin's. "Saki-sama has me running around on various errands," Rin answered when questioned about the various items, "Apparently there is going to be some auction hosted by Saki-sama's father, featuring some unique items he's come into possession of over the years." When they finally reached the Tenjouin estate, it was there that Rin looked truly grateful to both Momo and Rito for their help.
"If there is anything I could do, I'll ask Saki-sama for compensation for your work," Rin states, as she leads them inside the mansion and to a side room, where she directs them to deposit the items, "She's been so busy training to take over her Father's company lately, that I've had to do all her shopping and parcel retrieval, since Aya has been standing with her as her assistant and planner!" Rito nods and scratches the back of his head, just happy to have helped a friend, even if they were a year apart in school.
"No need," Rito states, as he sets down the last of his items, before grabbing the sword from the top and handing it to Rin, "I was glad we could help, its been forever since we've seen you guys around town, its just nice to know you all are still around!" Rin nods, as Saki Tenjouin walks into the room from another door.
"Rin, please tell me you got the blue dress, I'll need it for my appointment with the Mayor, and tell me you got the burgundy for the party tonight!" Saki states, as she rushes up to Rin and grabs the sides of her shoulders, "The auction is going to be the first the Tenjouin has hosted, that will feature an offworld seller choosing to anonymously sell his merchandise on Earth!" Momo's ears perk up at this, hearing that the Tenjouin group would be hosting an intergalactic piece in their auction. Saki then turns to Rito and Momo, before looking them over and smiling. "Rito, darling, it's been forever!" she says brightly, looking happy at seeing the red headed boy, before she turns to Momo, "Lala, I know it's only been half a year, but you seemed to have... uhm, gotten smaller?" A vein in Momo's forehead seems to bulge at the mistake, obviously imaging just what she was insinuating.
"I will let you know, I am not Lala, I am her younger sister Momo Belia Deviluke, the third heir to the throne of Deviluke, which rules the combined milky way galaxy," she states haughtily in return at Saki's slip of the tongue, "I know the Tenjouin family has started dealing with intergalactic markets, including the Deviluke economy, but I was unaware you would be hosting an auction with an anonymous item up for sale." Momo crosses her arms and looks at Saki straight. "Tell me the Tenjouin group managed to vet this event with Galactic Police, otherwise your event might have been mistaken for some black market cover," she states, with venom dripping form her words, "If they find anything illegal within your auction, the Galactic Police could shut down any and all operations the Tenjouin family could be running, both on and off Earth!" Saki nods, before sighing and putting a hand to her cheek like she was bored.
"No need to be so cross, my mistake Momo-hime," Saki states casually, waving the matter off, "The G.P.D. cleared the auction, and made sure most of the artifacts were just cultural doodads and legally obtained pieces of cultural interest surrounding Earth, items to attract people to our wider market and relaxing amenities you've all claimed we've mastered..." Momo steams a bit, before getting an idea.
"Well, Saki-chan," Momo says sweetly, her demeanor flipping in an instant to manipulate things her way, "Since Rito was so~o nice, and offered to help Rin-chan with her work, why don't we both get an invite to the auction!~" At that Saki blanches, before composing her self and smiling towards Momo.
"O-of course the Third Princess of Deviluke is welcome to attend, bring Lala as well, in fact your whole house is invited Rito-kun," she states, slightly embarrassed by Momo's ploy, before taking a breath and looking at him genuinely happy, "You've helped me out before, Rito, and if I wasn't so busy setting this up Rin never would have needed the extra set of hands, so please, invite anyone you want and tell them Saki Tenjouin said it was ok!" Rito bows slightly before grabbing Momo, who seemed thoroughly rejected for having her plan of only her and Rito being invited rebuffed with an open invitation.
When they were gone, Rin turned to Saki and bowed. "Thank you, Saki-sama, for allowing them to be invited," she states to her mistress, "It will be nice to know some people at the party, and you won't be so uncomfortable, I'm assured." Saki chortles at this, before looking at Rin with a smile.
"You mean we won't be alone," she states, "You and Aya are invited to attend as my guests as well, I won't have you work so hard for this, and not let you have the night off to enjoy the party!" Rin smiled, as they left the room to continue in their duties.
Yuuki Household, Later
"Huwah, a party?" Lala states, bright eyed and happy, "We've been invited to a formal auction at the Tenjouin estate!" Lala practically jumps for joy, knowing that being invited by one of the most influential groups in Sainan to a party they would host, was a big deal for everyone.
"Yes, Lala, and they have an open invitation for everyone, so Mikan, you, Nana, Momo, Celine, and I were all invited, though I'm sure they would accept you too Yami-chan," Rito says, noticing the living weapon was sitting next to Mikan, "It's tonight, so I was hoping we could find a way to get Mikan and Celine some formal clothes-" At that, Peke chose to speak up.
"Leave their clothing to me, Rito-san, I can upload some designs onto temporary pins," the robot states, "If Lala-sama can generate some blank pins, I can get them loaded, even formal wear for you to wear Rito-san!" Lala nodded in agreement, before jumping up and racing to their rooftop bedroom. Momo took this time to scoot next to Rito and whisper in his ear.
"You can use this time to forward the Harem Plan, Rito!" she says cheerily, as the others milled about unaware, "Try and get Yami-chan, or Rin by themselves and confess to them, fufu!" At that Rito awkwardly smiled at her suggestion, but he took it to heart.
'I do need to confess to someone, tonight,' he thinks, 'Rin would be the easiest to corner tonight, though I might get a chance to talk with Yami-chan too.' Rito sighed, as Momo departed from the room, already going to pick out her own clothes, no doubt. He had to deal with Momo, and soon, before she lead herself down a path she may not make it out of without seriously compromising her feelings. Rito knew he wasn't leading her along on any assumptions, but he had yet to confront the girl for fear he might break her heart. He could never get into the right situation, no matter what he tried to do.
Then again, the princess just loved to put him in awkward situations, such as in the bath or while he was getting ready in the mornings. The Devilukean princess had slowly tried to whittle her way into his heart, after her confession to him months ago. He had just never done anything about it since then, ever since he was heartbroken after Haruna had moved away. Perhaps he would find Haruna first, then go after Momo once everything was made clear for him. He hoped he could find a situation where it would work out.
Later...
Finally the hour arrive, and the six members of the Yuuki household, plus Yami, shuffled into the grand ballroom of the Tenjouin estate. Momo and Nana were wearing variations of their normal royal dress, slightly altered to be longer and more regal looking, without being offensive to Earth styles. Celine was wearing a green dress that was comfortable for the child to walk around in, but still carry an air of cuteness that the adorable child gave off. Yami chose to just lengthen her own dress style, while Mikan had been given a peach colored dress that seemed to compliment her skin tone, with makeup that brought out her mature personality. Rito himself was dressed by Peke in a fancy, three-piece, black pin strip suit and orange tie to accent his eyes. Lala, on the other hand was stunning in Rito's eyes, wearing a slightly altered version of the dress she wore to Tenjouin's Christmas party years ago, which fit her well and accented her Deviluke style.
Splitting up to mingle, before the main event, Rito found himself drawn around the room to see the various items for display. Various originals of Earth artwork and culture seemed to fill the room with auction labels showing what their lot number was, with a brief history surrounding the item. There was an unfinished marble bust that was found and shipped from Greece, next to a painting illustrated by some famous Italian, which had been found hidden away in some attic. There were also mechanical works, devices that were called 'art' made by American inventors, as well as wax sculptures and lost manuscripts penned by ancient writers. The jewel of the collection seemed to be hidden away behind a massive curtain, with only a lot number and a name to identify it, as it sat in the midst of the hustle and bustle around it, just waiting for the main event to reveal itself. The 'Pearl of the Taoist', was donated by some off world backer, supposedly a mysterious artifact recovered from the ruins of a long dead world in some distant galaxy.
Rito felt his eyes drawn to the curtain, a feeling of impending doom seemed to crawl down his back as he stared at the hidden thing behind it. He felt something icy in his heart, react to the feeling of dread he felt, as he stood by the curtain. He reached his hand out, which had begun to throb, feeling the soft silk of the curtain between his fingers, as- He felt Lala grab his hand and spin him around, before she smiled at him and dragged him away from the center of the room. "Come dance with me, Rito," she states, laughing at the boy's obliviousness, "The auction doesn't start for another hour, you can find out what's behind the curtain with everyone else!" Rito felt the warmth in his heart return, as he replaced his thoughts with a happy Lala.
From the corner of the room, Rin Kujou stood with a glass of fruit punch in her hand, sipping at the fluted glass absentmindedly, on guard even when she had the night off. It was her nature, after all, to want to protect Saki-sama and her investments, so it was only natural for her to be scanning the room for hostiles. From her own perch, Yami watched Rin, intent to make sure the girl was in her view at all times during the night, if she could help it.
Earlier...
Yami stared down Kuro, as he showed her the form of Rin Kujou. "It appears the woman known as Rin Kujou was involved with an incident on Earth some year and a few months back, regarding an ancient artifact that had found its way to the Tenjouin groups possession," Black states, "Tomorrow, the Tenjouin group is hosting an Auction surrounding artifacts related to Earth culture, though there will be a unique piece there donated by a mysterious benefactor that wishes to remain anonymous." The hologram changes to show a Galactic Police video, showcasing a warehouse were confiscated weaponry of criminals were kept. "Apparently, the weapon once known as Bladix, the parasitic metallic organism that took over its hosts and used their energy to shed blood for the sword to consume, was stored at a G.P. facility in the outer rim," he states, as the footage shows the place blow up, and a shadowy figure escape form the scene of the crime holding a large box, "Apparently after you shattered the sword, its remains were stored there up until last week, when a as of yet unidentified intruder assaulted the facility and stole the remnants for an unknown purpose."
Yami nods along, understanding that the remains of a parasitic weapon could be dangerous if its materials could be reproduced. "What does this have to do with the Tenjouin group, or why Kujou would have a bounty on her?" she asks, "I understand the shards were stolen, but why would they be heading here?" Black looks at Yami seriously, and sighs.
"The specifications in the contract reveal that, Rin Kujou is to be brought in alive and unharmed to the payee of the contract," he states, "The reason is yet unknown, though it becomes clearer once the Tenjouin groups relationship with the special auction, and former possession of Bladix come into play." He brings up another hologram, this time of a pitch black pearl of the size of a baseball. "This is the 'Pearl of the Taoist', the Tenjouin group doesn't know it, but they have a unique and very dangerous artifact being smuggled into be sold at their auction," he continues, "Legends say that an ancient group from some far off planet in an unnamed galaxy, separated the spiritual energies from their bodies to create items of power that could be likened to wish granting objects, able to do anything from heal the sick, to solve the hardest of problems with a mere thought... even resurrect the dead, on the rare occasion when a pearl was strong enough..."
"And this pearl is one such example?" she asks, "Do you believe whoever has stolen the remains of Bladix, is coming to Earth to steal the pearl and resurrect the Cursed Sword?" Black nods, and closes his hologram projector.
"If my intelligence is correct, Miss Kujou was the last person to be possessed by the sword, correct?" Yami nods as he speaks, "Then it is no stretch that whoever put the hit out on her, means to use her energy to successfully restore the soul of Bladix, by using the Pearl to extract his essence from the depths of her mind." Yami falls silent, as she ponders this as well. "If you can make it so, please find a way to guard Miss Kujou while I pull some strings to get Galactic Police in this neck of the galaxy, and I'll join you later on," he states, "I've been hired on as additional security by the benefactor, but they wish to remain anonymous, as they want the Tenjouin auction to go off without a hitch as well." Yami nods, as Black smiles at her cute face of concentration. He waves her off, and disappears like a cat into the night. Yami ponders just how difficult this task was going to be.
The Present
Yami sighs, stepping back to watch the scene of the night unfold. It was going to be long, if anyone showed up at all to interrupt the auction at all, though Yami was sure Kuro's information was correct. He was honorable, after all, and it wasn't hard to believe he wouldn't vet his sources before approaching her to help out. Something was going to happen tonight, and Yami would be prepared to fight it head on.