Kuro: FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUck.

The first thing that hit her the next morning was the throbbing from her neck.

At first, in her sleep-induced haze, Kuro merely lifted her hand to scratch as it, hoping that would get the stupid bug bite to die down. Instead it persisted, throbbing as if it had been set over a fire seconds prior.

Slowly she eased herself up from the bed, one hand going to instinctively cover her neck while the other pushed the rest of her body up with her. Even cupping the stupid thing seemed to irritate it, making each step over to her living room mirror all the more tedious.

Upon seeing the new mark on her upper shoulder, almost dangerously close to her neck, last night's anger boiled back to life. Her eyes took in the affected area, wincing at how deep the bite seemed, with the surrounding skin turning a sickening shade of bruised purple. While it wasn't bleeding anymore, there were still four new holes in her skin, and honestly, that wasn't a good thing to wake up to.

"Fuck the cage," Kuro groaned to herself, searching for a rag and a water bottle, pouring the water into the rag before using it to dab at the area, doing her best to wash out whatever royal disease he'd so graciously bestowed upon her, "Asshole needs a fucking muzzle."

When that only served to agitate the bite, Kuro growled, throwing the rag somewhere behind her as she glared it down, as if the Crow would be able to feel it wherever he was, "I swear, if he gave me some strain of demonic rabies, I'm going to end his bloodline."

With that threat, the last of her residual anger ebbed away, leaving her tired. She threw her doorway, eyes lovingly caressing her bed like a long lost lover. How easily it would have been, to hope back in and become one with the pillows and sheets-

Like a warning for what was to come, a knock shook her from her thoughts. "I swear to fuck, if it's a royal anybody…" Kuro grumbled, dusting herself up, only to notice something rather gross: she was still in the same thing she'd worn the night before, having dropped into a deathlike slumber the moment her face hit the bed.

Not her best look, but it wasn't like she had any other options.

With that thought, she wrenched the door open, eyes narrowing to meet the tiger demon's equally unimpressed gaze, "What do ya want, Vale?"

"It's not that early," He remarked, making a show of looking around to see the red tinge that bathed all of hell, "How can you be this irritated?"

"Yesterday was crap." Kuro took a moment to look at the large bag hanging from his shoulder, eyes lighting up at the thought of what could be inside, "All crap, full of crap, only crap. A complete shit time, a waste-"

"Well, hopefully today will be better." Valefor cut her off, shifting the bag on his back before dropping his voice to a whisper, "Shax says he's got a job for us today."

Just like that, Kuro's mood instantly illuminated, eyes lighting up with his words as she pushed through the doorway and past him, latching onto his arm as she did so in order to drag him down the stairs with her, "Well, we should hurry it up then!"

She missed Vale's eye roll, head shaking despite the small fond smile on his face, "What a quick turnaround. Are we sure you're a Sloth follower?"

"You best shut your face and pull up your pants," Kuro was talking too fast for her mind to comprehend, words flying from her mouth as she finally let Vale go, realizing how much faster she could go without dragging his striped ass about, "Asses need to be kicked and names need to be taken!"

Kuro had made it halfway down the street by the time he'd had gotten down the stairs, letting out a sigh as he readjusted the bag on his back. At least she wasn't moping anymore.

With how hard Kuro was knocking on the door, one would think she was trying to break the damn thing down. "Hey, open it up, we're here!"

From the other side, she could hear heavy boots growing louder until Zagan threw the door open, "About time. What took so long?"

Before Kuro could retort, Vale pushed past her, "Catty here forgot her bed time last night." He snickered.
"Shut it." Kuro hissed, fuming ever so slightly as she followed him to the bartop, Zagan closing the door behind them, "You didn't have to waste time at some boring party. Honestly, I had more fun during our little raid at Tinci Dunt."

Zagan visibly shuddered at the mere mention of the event, giving Kuro a warning look that melted into a small smile upon seeing her stupid grin, "Just shut up and take a seat, shrimp."

"Already at each other's throats?" Kuro didn't notice Shax behind the bar until he'd spoken up, pulling his hair back into it's usual ponytail before tossing the two of them a look, "Try not to start a fight, it's still early."

"Sure thing, dad." Kuro snickered, earning an eyeroll and a glass of water for her stupid comment. She took a seat next to Vale, throwing him a childish sneer before taking a sip. "So, I was told you had a job you us?" Vale asked, pointedly ignoring the faces Kuro made inches from him.

Zagan moved to take the seat on Kuro's left, throwing his arm around her shoulder as he plopped himself down on the chair, hard. Kuro yelped, nearly dragged down to the ground from the force and weight, "Hope it's something good, the last one was basically an escort mission."

"Hope we're hunting you." Kuro muttered, pulling Zagan's arm from her shoulders with a glare.

"Yes, I just finished looking over the papers. I'll get them." With everyone holding a glass, Shax left to go into the back, the one that led into what Kuro assumed was the kitchen area. The door ominously closing behind him.

Meanwhile, Zagan kicked his dirty boots up onto the counter, throwing his head back to let loose a loud belch, "Man, that tasted as bad as it smells!"

"Fuck, dude, why you gotta do us in like that?" Kuro whacked his arm, a small yet fond smile gracing her face before she turned to the other, "Hey, Vale?"

"Hmm?"

Kuro twisted the ring around her finger, a sudden wave of unease washing over her, "Do you… Have you heard anything about Abraxas?"

He tried to hide it, but Kuro caught onto the sudden widening and narrowing of his eyes, the ever so slight clench of his fist, "I've heard a lot regarding our little runaway, most would suggest at least ties to the surface smuggling craze."

Kuro let out a huff at that, doing her best not to sound too irritated. She had asked, after all, "Well, if that's so, he's more of an idiot than I first thought."

She lifted her cup, more so to look through it rather than drink from it, "The hell is that idiot thinking, going into that, of all things?" She muttered it into the rim of her glass, as if sharing a secret with her drink.

A heavy file brought Kuro back to the here and now as it was placed in front of them, Zagan's letting out a startled yelp as his boots were thrown from the bar, "Here you are."

Vale opened the file, taking the first three papers as Kuro attempted to read as best she could over his shoulder, "Halphas Malthus." Vale mused aloud, rolling the name off of his tongue.

Kuro nearly did a spit take, mind reeling as she replayed the name over and over again.

"Heard of him, went big when he got exposed by his big shot friends." Zagan commented. Meanwhile, Kuro did her best to fight the stupid grin from her face.

"With everything else I've heard about, 'went big' doesn't even begin to describe it." Vale muttered, leafing through the papers before looking down at the rest of the file, "Jeez, are these all of his charges?"

"The charges end of page 5," Shax had pulled out a chair to sit down, folding his fingers in front of him as if he'd presented a business proposal, "That's also where the extra accusations are listed, though."

"Oh, come on!" Kuro finally snapped, her mouth splitting into a large, stupid grin as she eyed the other three's confused expression, "Is no one going to say anything about his name?"

"...If you don't mind, I'd like to get to the request part." Vale said, reaching over for the papers Shax handed him.

"You can't tell me that a name like Halphas Malthus isn't funny." Kuro muttered, looking to Zagan for some form of back up, only to have the taller demon lean over her, getting a better view of the papers, "It's like naming your kid Sam Sung, or Ben Ten."

"Do we have an assumed schedule for this guy?" Vale murmured, splaying out the papers on the bar, looking them all over as he took another gulp of water, "Or are we going to have to figure that out for ourselves?"

"Seriously, he sounds like he stole his second name from his absorbed twin."

"We don't have anything schedule-wise," Shax said, shifting the file out of the way before pulling out a paper, pushing it towards Vale, "but we do have some other things: an address, the names of a few acquaintances, etc."

"Bet his buddies call him Hal-Mal."

"We can work with that. However," Vale turned to Kuro, effectively cutting off her next comment, "Personally, I'd like a bit more in terms of information. You think you can manage that?"

"None of you, not one of you, have even a shred of a funny bone in you, I swear." Kuro groaned, resting her face against the cool surface of the bar, "Yeah, fine, just give me a face and I'll go from there."

"Here you are." The photo pushing against the top of her head, Kuro palming at the counter before finally finding it. She rolled her head to the side, narrowing her eyes as she gave the photo a look, "According to what I received, that photo was taken at least two weeks ago. Granted, that may not be how he looks, but it's something."

"Yeah, yeah." Kuro yawned, tossing it back towards the stack before pulling herself up, throwing her arms up in a stretch, "Question: Dead or Alive?" She did her best to fight the boredom and fatigue that crept into her voice, resisting the urge to rub her eyes and yawn again.

"From the looks of it, our client would prefer him dead." Vale muttered, tearing his eyes from the paper to watch Kuro's fist bump, "If I didn't know any better, I'd question your… seemingly misplaced joy."

"Look, I like bringing a guy in alive as much as the next," Kuro waved it off, sticking her tongue out childishly, "But Dead means less work on my end. Like, we just drop the guy and we're done. I can't imagine it being easier than that."

"Of course, that's why you're happy with this arrangement." Vale muttered.

"Anyway," Kuro moved to face Shax, said demon skimming through the whole file, "When was this dropped, and how much are we getting out of this?"

"Last night, found it just as I was locking up." Shax said, "The name of the requester is unknown, but we're being promised ten thousand."

Kuro's eyes went wide, taking the paper Shax offered to her, "You're kidding."

"Each?" Vale asked.

"Each." Shax leaned forward, scanning the paper in Kuro's hands before pointing to the wording.

"Not too shabby." Zagan whistled, rubbing his hands together, "I could think of a few things to put ten thousand towards."

"Like my bar, for instance." Shax muttered, just loud enough to get Zagan's shoulders to sag.

"Well, I mean, not exactly-"

"Have you any idea how much you owe in damages?" Shax pressed, somehow suffocating Zagan despite how far away he stood, "Honestly, if I were to write it all down right now, I'm sure that ten thousand wouldn't be enough to cover it."

Zagan sighed, turning to Kuro with a pleading look, only to have her cackle in his face, "Sorry, but that's where I'm drawing a line. I've been spotting you for decades now, pay for your own mistakes."

"I knew you're no stranger to stooping, Zagan, but having Kuro pay?" Vale tsked, shaking his head like a disappointed parent, "That's a new low."

"Sorry, but, do I look like Abraxas to you?" Zagan spat right back, a moment of rage pushing his common sense right out of the way. Zagan missed Kuro's nose twitch, ears curving down to rest against her skull, "No? Then how about you drop it."

"Enough, both of you." Shax stepped in, collecting the papers before placing them back into the file, "I'd rather not start a fight in the middle of our assassination planning."

"If you two start throwing fists, I'm taking you both down." Kuro warned, shooting them both a look. Fights between them were fun (Any fight including Vale was a treat in of itself), but being seated in the middle of it really wasn't where she wanted to be, "I mean it, I'm not above biting and scratching."

Vale scoffed, making sure to ruffle Kuro's hair as he did so, "You're as vulgar as you are cute, you know that?"

"Hey, quit it!" Kuro jumped, slapping away his fingers before they could brush against her ears, "Great, now they're all twitchy. Thanks for nothing, jackass."

As if to spite her, Zagan poked the side of her head the moment Vale backed off, moving instead to take the bag from his shoulders, gently placing it between him and Shax, "How do you feel about this?"

"It's a bit of a pity, really," Shax sighed, eyeing the bag before moving to strap from the edge of the bar, "I used to do business with him; a good partner if I ever did see one."

"Oh?" Zagan asked, finally letting go of Kuro's ear in favor of joining the conversation, missing the murderous look in the cat demon's eyes, "And you're okay with this?"

"I don't see the issue." Shax cocked his head to the side, the action in itself almost adorable with the way his fox ears flopped about, the nearly expressionless look in his eyes making him look more like a confused child than the mastermind of their whole operation, "He's become an issue that someone is paying to put down."

"Damn, cold-blooded." Kuro jeered.

"No, if anything, it's an act of mercy." Shax took a moment to adjust his ponytail, futilely trying to pull his bangs back, "I'd prefer a quick end by the hand of a friend over a drawn out one by an enemy. Do you not agree?"

"You justify it however you please," Kuro muttered, throwing her hands to the side as she hopped off of her chair. She felt just a bit too antsy, unable to sit still any longer, "I probably couldn't care less, as long as we're getting paid."

Shax either didn't hear her or didn't care, instead turning to Vale's bag, "I don't suppose this has anything to do with our assignment?"

Vale shrugged, a ghost of a smirk on his face as he moved to open the large duffle bag, "It may have been a bit late, but Azazel's boys finally pulled through."

At the mention of the name, Kuro stopped pacing about, head whipping around with a toothy grin on her face, "Are you saying what I think you're saying?"

Her eyes grew wider as they landed on the large sniper rifle Vale pulled from the bag, handing it off to her without a second glance, "Don't break it like your last set, yeah?"

Kuro held the weapon with trembling hands, nearly crying on the spot, "It's beautiful."

Zagan laughed from where he sat, shaking his head as Kuro rubbed her face against the barrel, "She looks like a child with a new teddy bear."

"I'm going to sleep with this." Kuro said seriously, holding the gun close as she plopped herself back down on her chair, swinging her legs as she fiddled with the scope, "I'm going to give this gun a spot on the bed."

"Do be careful, yes?" If Kuro didn't know any better, she'd assume that Vale was being sarcastic, still having yet to look up from his bag, "It may take longer to replace that particular model, especially if you want to keep that stupid insignia of yours."

"Oh hell yeah," Kuro moaned, all but drooling over the weapon as her finger traced over the engraving, following the line of the picture, "Tell me more, Vale~."

"...The scope is detachable." Vale muttered, choosing to ignore the gag on Zagan's face, "And the bullets are made of the usual."

"Lævateinn shards," Kuro mused, looking through the scope before setting the weapon down on the bar, "Where do you even get this stuff, Vale?"

"I know people." Vale stated simply.

"Fine, keep your secrets," Kuro grinned, petting the gun as if it were a small animal rather than a force of death, "Me and this sniper are going to have lots of fun."

"Okay." Vale muttered, finally tearing his eyes from the bag in order to toss something over Kuro's head, towards Zagan, "I also managed to snag these for you. I have a few different sets, but they're all for you to use."

"Vale, you're the fucking best." Zagan grinned, slipping on the golden set of brass knuckles, before gently bumping Kuro's side with them, "Wanna help me test these out?"

"Only if you're willing to do the same." Kuro shot right back, rubbing her hand across the barrel before grabbing the handle, hefting the strap over her shoulder with a small yelp, "Holy hell, this thing weighs more than I do."

Vale shook his head, muttering something under his breath before pulling out a small hand-held knife, carefully closing his thumb and index finger around the two flat sides of the blade before offering the handle to Shax, "I know you'd rather not, but it doesn't hurt to have it in case you need it."

Shax stared down at the knife, "... You know how I feel about holding Lævateinn shards here."

"But still, with what goes down, it would be wise to have at least a knife, don't you think?"

Shax shook his head, pushing the handle aside with two fingers, "possession of Lævateinn shards is punishable by death." He spoke with authority, as if he were reading straight from a rulebook rather than speaking.

Feeling the tension growing in the room, Kuro cackled, pulling her own personal dagger to wave between the two, "In that case, better sign my ass up for the gallows." She grinned, almost throwing it down blade-first to watch it stick up from the bartop.

She didn't want to end up paying for the next one, especially since this was one relatively new.

"Don't joke about that kind of shit." Vale scolded, putting the knife down. Kuro pretended not to see it, the masked relief that spread across Shax's face, "Honestly, have you no sense of self-preservation?"

Zagan, on the other hand, opened up his jacket with a grin, showing off his large array of blades, "I'd better get the spot right next to you, short stack."

"Dude." Kuro breathed, eyes sparkling as the blades caught the light just right, "I wants."

"Zagan, close your jacket before we all go blind." Shax muttered, slowly pulling the knife towards his side of the bar, staring at it before sliding it under, "Only to defend the establishment if needed. Hopefully, I won't have to use it with you three around."

"That's a pretty long winded way of asking for help." Kuro snickered.

"How much will I owe you?" Shax asked Vale, only to have the latter shake his head.

"Don't worry about it." Vale insisted, about to go on, only to stop when Kuro reached between them, doing a horrible job of keeping herself concealed, "No, stop that, you got your toy already."

"But what else is in there?" Kuro made another reach for it, only to have Vale slap her hand away, "I can't help it, I'm curious, I wanna see."

"With your luck, you'll manage to break at least half of them the moment they touch your hands." Vale muttered, moving the bag just out of her reach, "Besides, you have more than enough."

"But still!"

"When are we supposed to have this done?" Zagan cut in, coughing into his fist while the other hand picked Kuro up by the collar of her shirt, "Do we have any sort of time limit?"

"We weren't expressively given one, but if Kuro is able to finish her little check in with our target, I'd like to have this done and over with by tonight."

"Tonight it is." Kuro grinned, Zagan dropping her back onto her chair as she cracked her knuckles, "God this is going to be so much fun!" She had a whole speech planned, complete with getting up onto the bar, only to be cut short by a knock at the door.

Shax cleared his throat, making his way towards the door, "I apologizes, but we're not open right now." His voice was loud and clear, as if to help conceal the sound of weapons being hidden away.

"Vale, did you lead the popo here?" Kuro snickered, Vale moving to store the sniper back into the duffle before tossing it over to Zagan, who raced up the stairs with it.

"I doubt it." Vale said, watching as Zagan raced back down the stairs, steps oddly quiet despite the demon's bulk, "I wouldn't make such a rookie mistake."

"Says the guy who once mistook ammunition for candy." Kuro had to choke down her giggle at the memory, instead moving to pull out Zagan's chair so he could sit down.

Vale scowled at that, cheeks turning a little red as he took a long sip from his cup, "Doesn't count, that was a stupid prank between you and Abraxas, not work-related."

"Keep telling yourself that, info boy." Kuro sneered, ducking under Vale's cursory hand wave, before twisting around to look at the door. Shax had opened it just enough to stick his head out, arguing with whoever was on the other side if the stiff movement of his hands were anything to go off of.

"Who do you think it is?" Zagan muttered into the rim of his glass, thin cracks spider-webbing from his grip on it.

"With our luck, it's a Mormon." Kuro shrugged, reaching up to brush her hair to the side, only to wince as the dull throb in her neck spiked, "Shit!"

Vale's eyes went wide as he grabbed her hand, moving it from the spot she'd been cupping, eyes narrowing as he took in the bite, "What the hell is this!?" He hissed, doing his damndest to keep his voice.

"Oh you know," Kuro grinned through her wince, another painful throb shooting down her spine, "I got bit by some feral demon outside of the apartments-Where do you think!?"

Vale cursed under his breath, ignoring the pointed concern on Zagan's face as he pressed his finger against it. Kuro bit back a snarl, moving to slap his hand away, only to have Vale catch it, "Fucking oww!"

"Is it throbbing?" Vale muttered, more so to himself than anyone else.

"Yeah, right now it is." Kuro fought to keep the bitterness out of her voice, a losing uphill battle she quickly stopped fighting, "Tends to happen when you've got fang marks on the side of your neck!"

"That's not why it's throbbing," Vale muttered, eyes darting about, before pushing her up from her chair, "Kuro, you need to leave, hide, something. You can't be here."

"What? Why not?" Kuro asked, ripping both hands from Vale's grip just in time.

The bar's door was thrown open, Shax nearly diving off to the side so the door didn't throw him on his ass. He levelled a glare with the demon who walked in, Kuro's eyes going wide as she took in the familiar figure, "You've got to be fucking me."

The Crow prince stood there in all his glory, taking a moment to adjust the cuff links of his expensive looking suit before straightening out his white tie, "Ah, and there she is."

Kuro barely noticed as Zagan slid to his feet, Vale almost leaning over Kuro, doing his best to put himself between her and the door without making it too obvious. When no one said anything, Kuro cleared her throat, "...Yeah...Here I am."

His chuckle was dull, as if it were only there to be polite. He stepped over Shax, eyes tinged with disgust as he surveyed the bar. Corvus took his time, running a gloved finger across the surface of a dustless table, eyes narrowing upon seeing his pristine gloved finger staring back up at him. Kuro tilted to the right, nearly pressing her head against Zagan in order to confirm that there were, in fact, at least two guards waiting right outside.

Vale seemed to be trying to signal something to Shax, only to be cut short by a snap of the Crow's fingers. One of the guards came in to grab Shax, hauling him outside before closing the door behind him.

"What a repugnant establishment," He muttered to himself, eyeing the broken chairs in the corner and the ground, "What is my Kitten doing in a place like this?"

"Okay, one, not your 'Kitten', so we can cut that shit now okay thanks." Kuro didn't care enough to bow. She didn't care enough to try and filter herself, in fact, she made sure to pour more obscenities as Kuro-laden words into her speech, hoping that it would trigger some sort of emotion that could wide his smug grin straight from his stupid face, "And two, don't you dare try to talk shit 'bout my chill space."

"Your… Chill space?" The Crow rolled the words off his tongue, as if it were both amusing yet revolting to say.

"You heard me." Kuro hadn't realized it but she'd hoped off of her chair, taking a daring step forward as her irritation with this pompous douche strutting about like he owned the place, "Do you honestly think you can just waltz right in like you're the big boss man? Cause, if so, lemme take a moment to straighten you out, rich boy-"

Kuro was cut off by Zagan's violent elbow to her side, nearly knocking her to the floor despite his obvious attempt to hold himself back. She took a moment to breath, counting the scuff marks on the floor as she forced herself back under control. Lashing out wouldn't help anyone, especially her.

She didn't realize what was happening until Corvus' shoes came into view, Kuro looking up just in time to deck Zagan in the face, "Hey-!"

"I don't take kindly to scum, especially when it dares to threaten something that is mine." Despite the crafted smile on his face, his eyes screamed murder, evident by the way he kicked Zagan while he was down, the much larger of the two too shocked to retaliate.

"Zagan!" Vale shouted, moving Kuro behind him as he leapt over the chairs, moving to help Zagan stand back up. Meanwhile, the Crow stared down at his shoes, shaking his head as if he'd just ruined his favorite pair before turning to smile at Kuro, "the things I'm willing to do for you, Kitten."

She was ready to hiss back some scathing profanity, maybe even scratch up his face if she could, only to stop when Vale shot her a look. Even unspoken, she could practically hear his chiding in her head, warning her to stand down. For all she knew, this was just the egotistical jerk showing off his power, crushing a bug under his shoe just because he could.

Who knew what he'd do if she didn't at least try to cooperate?

"What do you want from me?" She tried to take some of the bitterness out, she really did, so it wasn't her fault that she sounded about as enthusiastic as a death row inmate.

She had been preparing for some sort of bombastic speech, as if padding his "request" with words would help persuade Kuro to agree to whatever noble nonsense he was here for. What she didn't expect was to be suddenly picked up bridal-style.

Kuro yelped, hands automatically reaching for something to stabilize herself: around his neck. He seemed pleased with this, if the low rumble in his throat was anything to go by, "Don't worry, Kitten, I won't let you fall."

"I'd happily take the floor over you." Kuro muttered under her breath.

"Now now, that's no way to speak to your newly betrothed." The Crow chided, turning around and heading for the door. She had enough time to take in Vale's wide eyes and Zagan's grit teeth from over Corvus' shoulder, the bar door squeaking open behind her before slamming shut, effectively cutting her off from both of them.

Her mind raced, too busy to comprehend what the Crow had said as she twisted back around in his hold, taking in the harsh lighting of the red sun, squinting as she made out the curious onlookers held back by a wall of guards, Shax among them.

Kuro wasn't often shameful, but being on display like this made her face flush red. The small crowd held familiar faces, regulars, even the toothless homeless man was there. Each of them, from her height, looked like they could blend in with the dirt road: their clothing stained a gross-looking brown color.

Shax only stood out more with the grimace on his face, one hand physically restraining the other as if he were trying to keep himself from doing something drastic.

The hand holding her lower back ran up her thigh, giving her ass a small squeeze to bring her back. Something in her head told her that, assuming she ever got out of it, she was never going to live this down. Speaking of which…

"Put. Me. Down." Kuro growled through her teeth, all but shaking with rage when her answer was a shit-eating smile.

If only she could punch his teeth out.

"Listen well, Tempters," Corvus said, pulling and twisting that last word out before shifting, making it difficult for Kuro to hide her face, "Take pride in knowing that one of your own has been chosen."

It took a while for the words to register, and even then, she threw him a confused look, "You don't actually mean-"

If he heard her, he made no move to show it as two large, black wings unfurled from his back. Before she could say anything, the air around her pushed against her face, the prince shooting straight up into the sky.

Now, Kuro wasn't some bubbly ball of sunshine and positivity. No, she would sooner describe herself as "hateful" and "negative". Hence, her hatred towards a multitude of things, such as:

-Random water dropping on her (Thank Satan there was no rain down here)

-Sudden loud noises (Zagan still laughed about the airhorn incident)

-Hairbrush getting stuck in hair (Damn knots)

-Sudden touches (Some people thought the cat ears were cute. Kuro was quick to prove it wasn't worth touching)

-Too much attention (Hard to kill someone when you've got that)

And those were just off of the top of her head. But, after this sudden yet harrowing experience, she now had something new to add to that list:

Heights.

Eyes going wide, she all but sank her nails into the Crow's shoulders, hugging him tighter than she'd ever want to admit. She all but buried her face into his chest, a slew of curses flying from her mouth the higher up they got.

She could feel the Crow's cheeky smirk, his cheek coming down to nuzzle the top of her head, "Don't worry, Kitten. I already promised I wouldn't let you fall."

"How about you fuck off with your condescending bullshit and-OhGodWe'reHighUpWhyAreWeSoHighUp!?" Kuro's voice climbed with their altitude, daring to pry her face to screech at the prince, only to put it right back where it came from.

Had this been any other situation, she would have found that laugh to be infectious, "There's no reason to be like that." Those were his last words before the world around her tilted downwards. Her grip only grew tighter as the Crow went into a dive.

The moment Corvus landed, Kuro wiggled out of his grasp, landing on her hands on knees before nuzzling the ground, "Oh dirt, sweet dirt, I'll never take you for granted again!"

"...Alright." The Crow muttered, watching her futile attempt to hug the floor before clearing his throat, "If you think the balcony is beautiful, I'm positive that you'll love the view."

With the adrenaline and panic out of her system, she couldn't help the confusion at his words. Slowly, she pushed herself up from the ground, only then realizing that this wasn't the usual dirt road she was used to, but rather, an intricately-carved stone slab. Slowly, her fragmented mind caught up with itself, dusting off her knees. What did he mean by balcony, and why was it so windy-?

"Holy FUCK." Kuro made a mad grab for the railing, nearly vomiting as her mind registered just how high up she was. If not for that, she could hissed at the Crow's hand on her back, holding her in place as another gust of wind threw her hair behind her face.

He said something, but she couldn't hear him past the blood rushing about in her head. She felt like someone had stuck her under a waterfall, all sound coming in as loud white noise as her brain tried to make sense of the odd local. If she was this high up, and she could see the edge from here, than-

"You'll have more time to take in the view." the hand on her back moved to clasp around her shoulder, twisting her around before steering her through the grand glass doors, "While the whole castle will now be considered your home, I do believe that first being acquainted with our room would be a good first step."

"Whole castle." Kuro repeated, brain going absolutely silent as she took this new room in. She could easily fit Shax's bar in this space and still have room. Hell, she didn't think that she could call this space a "room", she almost felt like she'd be doing it a disservice.

The bright reds and obsidian brick interior made the room look both bright yet dark, with some gold lining toe walls and floor to really emphasize how "royal" this room was. The far wall was covered with some sort of tapestry, Kuro barely able to make out what it was supposed to represent with all of the colors.

She couldn't help but jump right onto the large big boy double king-sized bed, rolling around on it as the fluffy mattress threatened to swallow her whole.

She didn't notice how the Crow still stood next to the glass door, a small smile on his face as he came to sit down on the bed next to her. "Well? What do you think?"

"...Whole castle." Was all her brain could offer as a response, brain melting into the blankets with the rest of her body. What she'd given to be submerged like this, safe and snug amongst the only things that could ever really understand her: a mass of pillows and a fluffy blanket.

She was yanked right out of her happy little safe space the moment she felt a hand brush down her head, reaching up to swat away the hand, "Don't you fucking dare."

She missed the Crow's absentminded shrug, the bed dipping next to her as he laid down next to her, "I take it that you like our room?"

Kuro nearly choked on her own words, head whipping up from the safe suffocation of the comforter. Her eyes went wide at the implication, "Our?"

"Our." Corvus repeated, rolling over to face her on his side, hair draped over his face as his smirk grew, "The mattress is the best of the best, but if it's not to your liking, I can have it changed. I only intend to give you the best."

"Wow, okay, hold up a sec." Her body screamed as she threw herself from the bed, backing away like a cornered animal. Her tongue stumbled over itself in her mouth, the words in her head failing to match up to the screaming in her head, "I, umm, I don't know how to say this without sounding like a complete bitch."

"Go on," He moved to sit up, hands folded on his lap as he leaned forward, giving her his utmost attention, "Communication is important in any relationship, both emotional and verbal."

"I don't want to be with you." Kuro deadpanned.

Crow's smirked died down into a small and awkward smile, pushing himself up from the bed as he fiddled with his fingers, looking like a sheepish kid about to ask his crush out to the dance, "Well, I did insist on honesty."

"That you did."

"Thus, I shall be as equally clear as you have been with me." Kuro realized it too late, quickly being backed into a corner as Corvus advanced, effectively trapping her against the wall the moment his hands slammed against them, his fingers brushing against her hair with how close they were.

"Oh Jesus fuck, hi." Kuro fought to keep his gaze, doing her best to push herself into the wall. She yelped his leg pressed itself between her own, holding her in place as he breached her bubble, "Get the fuck off!"

She could feel the red on her face the moment she averted her gaze to the floor, hands shaking at her sides. She would have launched her fists right into his ribcage had his hands not trailed down to interlace his fingers with her own, holding them in place as he leaned in closer.

She jumped when his nose poked into her nair, shaking as his low chuckle filled her ear, "I don't plan on giving you much of a choice."

Her panic skyrocketed, Kuro's panic replacing all rational thought with a fight-or-flight mentality. Without a second thought, she threw her foot directly out, missing the intended target as her heel found his inner thigh.

Instinct took over as she bashed her head against his own, ripping her wrists from his grip before digging her fingers into the lapel of his coat, pulling him forward into the wall while darting to the right.

She made a mad dash for the door, shaking twisting the handle to no avail, groaning before slamming her head into the wall, "Locked door, why didn't I think about a locked door?"

She whipped around as the Crow coughed, pulling himself from the wall while clutching his head, eyes burning with rage. Regardless of how fucked she most likely was, she couldn't help the grin that spread across her face, back up against the door as the prince staggered to his feet.

"Kitten, I really would rather not hurt you…"

Kuro huffed at that, dusting off her shoulders as she took a step back with her right foot, hands up and out as she sized the Crow up. She couldn't give a damn about his title, she was ready to mop the floor with his face, "Try me."

She felt it the moment he snapped his fingers, the bite going from its usual dull throb to a near blinding pain. She didn't realize she'd dropped to the ground until there was a hand on her shoulder, arms shaking as they held the weight of her torso, "Holy crap, okay, point taken."

"I told you I didn't want to." The Crow sighed, one hand steading itself on her back while the other helped her stand back up, "Let me see it."

Before he could move her hair, Kuro backed out of his reach, a hand cupping the bite as if she was prepared to guard it with her life. If she hated the Crow before, she absolutely despised him now, "Thanks but I think I can manage." She accidentally brushed her finger against it, wincing as the wound protested, "Fuck, what did you do to me!?"

"I can explain it while I help you with it." He insisted, holding his hands up as if he were trying to console a caged animal, "Come on now, don't be so stubborn with me."

Kuro hissed, seeing there was no other choice before finally stepping forward, her gaze holding his as her eyes narrowed, "No funny shit, you hear me?"

Corvus hummed, taking this small victory as he brushed her hair out of the way, leaning in closer to get a better look at the bit he'd left, "It doesn't look infected or anything, that's good."

Kuro had to restrain herself from letting out an irritated huff, nearly slapping his gloved hand away when it brushed against her skin, "So, you gonna start explaining your demonic rabies, or what?"

"The… I'm sorry, what?"

"Just tell me how you fucked up my neck. Please and thank you."

"The bite is a… precaution." Corvus muttered, absentmindedly rubbing his thumb against her throat, the rest of his fingers curling to support the back of her neck, tentative of the bruised area.

"Hey, none of that now." Kuro groaned, hand raised to backhand him, only to falter at the last moment and weakly push against his shoulder instead, "Explain now, be a creep later. Preferably, with someone else. Anyone else."

"It is a tradition to mark your mate in such a manner." Kuro nearly gagged at the m-word. Despite the Crow's matter-of-fact tone, the word sounded vulgar, "Some say it's a territorial thing among demons of a higher power, but in all honesty, I can't help but mark what's so obviously mine~."

With that, Kuro had reached her top tolerance, removing herself from his hold. Surprisingly, Corvus didn't stop her, instead taking a step back to give her face. "Maybe I'm just stupid, but you mind dumbing that down for me?"

"Regardless of our rough start, I promised to treat you well." His coy voice only made his promise sound all the more faked, his loving smile and open arms looking about as inviting as an upright bear trap, "I'd like to make up for our rather horrid beginning."

"Umm… Okay, cool." Kuro laughed awkwardly, rubbing the back of her head with one hand while the other reached out to grab his hand, maneuvering her hand into an awkward sort of handshake, "I guess."

Corvus looked like he was going to protest, only to take his arms back, shaking his head with a small smile, "All good things come to those who wait." With that, he made his way over to the large closet she hadn't noticed till then, the dark color easily blending in with the wall, "It'll only be a matter of time until I have you falling for me."

"Right." Kuro muttered, shaking herself from her self-induced haze, watching as he pulled… Something from the closet. The longer she looked at the pale green, the more her mind melted. What the hell was that, was that supposed to be a dress? How in the fuck-

"I have to go and speak with my father, he'll want to know of your arrival." Crow muttered, more so to himself than her as he laid the horrid thing out on the bed, moving around it towards what a vanity of sorts, another little thing she'd failed to notice upon her first inspection of the room, "Before I leave, would you like something? I can call a maid to draw you a bath, something to eat, a book to read?"

"Hard pass." Kuro grumbled, plopping herself back on the bed as she eyed the offending piece of clothing. Hell, could she call it that? No matter how hard she tried, she really couldn't look away from it, head spinning as she tried to mentally put it on. Was that an arm hole or a head hole? Hell, did this thing have an arm hole? Maybe she was expected to get a pair of scissors and make her own-

"In that case, I'll send a maid up to retrieve you for dinner." Corvus said, moving to the door before pushing it open. Kuro watched in baffled shock as the Crow walked out of the room, turning around in order to blow her a kiss, "Till then, dearest."

She nearly gagged at the pet name, flipping the door off as it closed, as if that would do something for her situation. With that, she was left alone with this odd mop of fabric.

She pulled the thing up, making out the corset-like top and the skirt, wincing at how high it was. Sure her shorts were shorter, but still, the whole outfit basically both caused and laughed at her discomfort.

"Yeah, uhuh, hell no." She finally muttered, throwing the dress down before stomping over to the vanity. Sure enough, it had a drawer, and sure enough, she managed to pull out a pair of scissors from under the seemingly random ribbons and strips of cloth.

"Okay, so," Kuro turned back around to the dress, leering over it with the vigor of an impassioned butcher, "Let's start with arm holes, yes?"

"What do you mean we're not doing anything about it!?"

"Maybe you'd hear me better if you'd stop shouting and backed away from the door." Vale groaned, voice slightly muffled with how his face was buried under his hands, nose pressing against the cool wood of the bartop, "You don't know if they're still outside."

Zagan scowled, stomping about like a child before taking a seat, slamming his glass onto the counter, "Aww, is the tiny tiger too scared to face his problem head-on? Is he planning to try and drown it in booze again?"

Vale growled, "Do not play that card on me."

"Then pretend you care for a second so we can get Kuro back!" Zagan's volume only rose, each word adding to both of their anger.

"Do you think that I don't want to get Kuro out of that hellhole!?" Vale finally snapped, giving the much bigger Zagan a look as he shot out of his seat. Despite being much larger than Vale, Zagan couldn't help but feel Vale towering over him, his barely contained rage only shining through with his shaking fists, "I know what happens in there, especially for those chosen."

"Then get your head out of your ass and help." Zagan said through closed teeth.

"No."

The two looked over to Shax, who had been silent ever since the last of the guards left. His expression, such as most times, was near unreadable, apart from a sort of irritated fire in his eyes.

Zagan laughed without humor, "You can't honestly be taking Vale's side, this is Kuro we're talking about!"

"You're not the only one worried about her welfare," Shax murmured, sighing as he rubbed the bridge of his nose, "Do not jump to the assumption that we don't care about her. She is an important part to this team."

"Wow," Zagan deadpanned, "And I thought that Vale was horrible with emotions."

"But, with that said, we must bide our time," Shax went on, "They just finished dragging her in, it will be hardest to drag her out while she is still freshly printed into so many minds. Word travels fast down here."

"Fuck, I should have known." Vale muttered, slapping his hand against his face as he sat back down, nearly slamming his face into the counter, "I should have told her, been more attentive, something-"

"Beating yourself up isn't going to help either," Shax chided, moving to fill Vale's glass with water, hoping it'll help clean his system out, "If anything, we're worrying too much. The moment it's revealed that there's a Rifter within the castle, all hell is bound to break loose."

"And knowing Kuro, she is currently in the process of making her name big." Vale added, accepting the glass with a nod.

"We are not now, nor are we ever, going to give up on her." Shax insisted, massaging his forehead for the headache to come before heading into the back, "I'll be right back, I need to go and make a few calls."

Zagan huffed out a laugh as the door closed behind Shax, "Wasn't aware that the introvert bartender had other friends."

"I'd prefer the term 'business partners'." Shax called from the back, "Hopefully, with the right connections, I might be able to at least figure out where my pig of a brother is."

Vale threw the door a look, as if Shax could feel his gaze from the other side of the wall, "You joking."

"I might not be able to drag Abraxas down here, but at the very least I can try and get a message through to him."

"Damned idiot." Vale muttered to himself, taking another sip of his water before standing back up, running a hand through his hair before moving towards the door, "I'll go and see if I can find him, let you know if I get anything."

Vale's response was a muffled hum from the back, the closest thing to a thank you he was going to get at the moment.

"Make sure to tell him about the whole surface smuggling thing." Vale added, rolling his eyes at Zagan's wheezing laughter, "Not that it will stop him, but he should at least know the change in the law."

"Honestly, I don't think that anything can hold Abraxas down," Zagan muttered, "Especially the law."

"Either way, we need him here, eventually." Shax sighed to himself, listening to the front door open and close as he shifted through his papers, "If anyone can get someone in and out of a place, it's Abraxas."

Part of the reason that this took so long was because of all the research that went into it.

From "What is the demon sword in Black butler made out of?" to "Top ten things cats hate", a lot of work, time and effort went into this. I don't like non-consistency, which is kinda hypocritical since I do that a bit much.

You know, like all the time.

With that said, I'm only now putting everything into a real life timeline, and even if some stuff doesn't add up, I'm still going with it.

While that makes little to no sense, you'll get it later on.

Kuro: Just end the chapter already, I'm too tired to-Zzzzz

Me: (0_0) Okay then.

Well, hope you guys enjoyed it, and I'll see you next chapter!

Till then, bai bai!