Hi hi!
Damn it, I was one day off of the Fourth of July.
So, hehe, my bad on that! (Insert sweatdrop emoji here)
Kuro: And I thought that I was the lazy one here!
Me: You know what, shut thy face, I didn't ask.
Kuro: Jeez, no need to be a Lilith.
Amy: Hey! Don't talk shit about the Shade!
Kuro: Why not? Is someone having a loyalty thing?
Amy: What? Fuck no, I just don't feel like meeting an ungodly end at the moment!
Kuro: So, wait, you're scared of her? But you poke so much fun at her!
Amy: If she doesn't know I'm scared, then all the better!
Erin: It really doesn't matter, she can smell fear.
Kuro: What the hell are you talking about?
Me: Can you guys continue this in the background or something? I've got a chapter to go through with and you guys are irritating.
Lilith: She's right.
Amy: (0_0) Hey, Lilith, didn't know that you were-
Lilith: Can it, Stone. And yes, I can smell fear.
Amy:...Fuck.
Me: ONWARDS!
It was hard to go back to the chill life after that.
Every time she woke up in the morning, she'd constantly keep an eye on the wall, knowing that someone inside of that room could get her killed.
Every time a knock came to the door, she'd dash to grab a knife before answering the door, most of the time it was the occasional homeless person asking for money or a child doing a prank.
She had a full week of living on the edge, before he came to the door.
"What do you want?" Kuro scowled.
"I wasn't aware that you could look grumpy." Vale said, a ghost of a smirk on his face,
"I can't sleep in anymore when I know that there is something out there that wants to kill me." Kuro growled.
"You should have thought of that before you decided to steal your way to the top." Vale sighed, looking around, before ushering her out, "Come on, we've got to get to the bar."
"Why?" Kuro scowled, even if she tried to fight back, Vale was a lot larger then she was, "I don't know if you've noticed, but I'm underaged."
"That's not why we're going." Vale insisted, leading her down the stairs, "Besides, I know that something as small as age doesn't stop you."
"Is there anything you don't know?" Kuro asked, grumbling a bit.
"No, and I take pride in that." Vale murmured, "Information is key."
"Thank you, professor boring." Kuro said, faking a yawn.
"Do be silent." Vale sighed, leading her down a random alleyway, "We don't want to attract any attention."
Kuro grumbled to herself, mocking the tiger demon, only to sigh. Being how he did nothing but constantly push her back, he was getting quite boring, "The bar isn't too far, why do you insist on walking around the same damn building a thousand times?"
"I do remember telling you to be silent."
"You're not answering the question."
From then on, Vale ignored her, continuously walking on. Kuro was tempted to be as loud and outlandish as possible, only to stop when she really thought it over.
She was now stuck with only this other tiger demon against a rather powerful demon of the Rift. If any sort of word of them walking about got out in any way, they'd be dead.
"Someone looks like they're finally putting the pieces together." Vale murmured, as they reached the bar entrance.
"Do be silent." Kuro scowled, walking in when Vale opened the door for her, flipping him off.
Once inside, she took in the different atmosphere.
With no one there, the once loud bar was now a rather homely and had a sort of safe feel to it, as if it was a friendly gathering place rather than a riot house at times.
Behind the counter, Shax stood, giving the two of them what looked to be a warm smile, "I see that you've brought her today. Thank you, old friend."
Vale only nodded, before sitting off on the side, "So, is Zagan going to take over from here?"
"On any other normal occasion, yes, he would have." Shax sighed, looking up to the clock, "But, I have him working with Dajjal, and you know what that means."
"Poor guy is probably watching Sarlea." Vale murmured, "But, we've got a different pain in the ass to deal with at the moment."
"Do not title her in such a manner," Shax said, almost with a scolding tone, before looking Kuro over, who had elected to remain silent and watch from afar, "For the time being, she is our guest and ally."
"You know, if you remove 'and ally', that could have been a good Disney song opening." Kuro murmured, more to herself than anyone else.
"Well, I don't fight, and I doubt that she's similar to you." Vale said, tapping his chin as they both ignored what she'd said, "...Is your irritating brother still here?"
"Indeed; most likely gorging himself on any type of desserts he could find." Shax sighed. Kuro watched the two have some sort of silent chat, before Shax nodded, "Kuro, for the time being, we will have Abraxas teach you what you need to know for when you go undercover."
"Is being sneaky and having a knife not enough?" Kuro questioned.
Vale sighed, before standing straight, cracking his knuckles, "Throw a punch."
"...Heh?"
"You heard me." Vale said, raising his fists, "Throw a punch."
Kuro shrugged, a small grin on her face, "Okay."
She rushed him, faking a hit with her right, before throwing a hook with her left. Too her surprise, Vale blocked the right fist, before grabbing her left, "You're just like Nazun. You fight dirty."
"Guilty." Kuro growled, before kicking at his knee, only to have him step back at the last moment, throwing her to the side.
"Do mind the shelves and tables," Shax said, almost absentmindedly, "Someone has to pay for it if it breaks."
"Well, you'll be happy to know that it wasn't for nothing, Shax." Vale sighed, before walking over to Kuro, "She's not strong, but she is quick."
"Just like Nazun." Shax murmured, watching Kuro slap away Vale's offered hand, "Now, Kuro, if you'd be so kind as to go up the stairs, I'm sure that Abraxas is up there with nothing better to do."
"Oh, I get to deal with a…You know what, I don't know him at all to make some sort of stupid reference." Kuro grumbled, before marching up the steps.
Once she was gone, Vale sighed, "Is it really worth training her? There is no way to make sure that she doesn't bail once she learns how to do more than slip away."
"She'll get the job done, there is no need to worry." Shax said easily, as if he were pointing out the obvious.
"And how can you tell?" Vale asked, an eyebrow rose.
"Call it a hunch." Shax insisted, "She won't turn on us."
"That's all we got to work with?" Vale groaned, holding his forehead, "We're staking the rest of us against Kroni, Winter's own second hand man, on your hunch and a…a child?"
"Yes, that's exactly what I'm doing." Shax sighed, before giving Vale a look, "But, answer me this; when have I ever steered us wrong?"
"When have you ever been able to admit you're wrong?" Vale shot right back.
"...While I do respect you, Valefor, I will not stand if you decide to question me." Shax said, his voice dropping with his expression to a dead serious feel, "Let's not let our bridge burn due to some little girl, yes?"
"...I'm only agreeing to this because we both know what'll happen if we stand around and wait for someone else to drop from the sky." Vale sighed, rubbing his forehead, before something cold touched his elbow, a filled glass.
"I know the risk of playing my cards wrong," Shax insisted, cleaning another glass as Vale took a sip, "But, at the same time, I've yet to be wrong."
Walking up the stairs which were, for once, alit, Kuro pushed open the door at the very end of the hallway.
Inside, the demon in question sat, feet kicked up with a plate of what looked to be cake on his stomach, "Wait, what are you doing up here?" He asked, putting the plate onto the table as he got up.
"Whoever Zagan is isn't here, so smartass and decently hot bartender decided to make me your problem." Kuro deadpanned.
"Huh, I thought that Shax didn't like Sloth, but hey, whatever." Abraxas sighed, before looking her over, "Well, it's better you then some other random person."
"I'm sorry, were there auditions?" Kuro asked.
Abraxas grinned, "You've got something that the others didn't."
"Damn good looks?" Kuro asked, striking a stupid pose.
"A sense of humor." Abraxas laughed, slapping her shoulder, "Look, I normally don't say this right off the bat, but I know that you're a special one, a keeper for sure."
"Okay, I'm listening." Kuro said, amused as she waited for some sort of punchline.
Instead, Abraxas grabbed her by the collar, a same sort of dead serious look in his eye, "If you do anything to screw us over, I don't care if it was on accident, I will personally hunt you down and make sure you suffer and wish for God to reach down and save you."
"...Point taken." Kuro gulped.
Abraxas gave her one more look, before grinning, "Sorry about that, big bro Shax makes it a sort of unsaid requirement to make sure that whoever we're working with is to be trusted, but I'm sure that you won't even think to try and sneaky shit now, would you?"
"Not at all." Kuro said, grinning awkwardly. It wasn't till now Kuro could spot the similarity between the two.
They weren't half bad at threats and getting what they wanted.
"Good! Now, since you're my problem, I guess I'll have to just go and show you everything I know." Abraxas said, pulling something out of his back pocket, before tossing it her way, "Starting with this."
Catching the item, Kuro studied it, only to snicker, "What, did you steal this gun from up above? Won't kill, but it's sure to at least give one hell of a headache."
"The gun itself is the same, made down here or up there, there's no real difference." Abraxas said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, "It's the bullets that really make anything count."
"So, it has shards for bullets?" Kuro muttered, before grinning, giving him a look, "Isn't that far past illegal?"
"It's just as bad as the knife in your sleeve." Abraxas shot right back, "But since you'll be taking up on Nazun's role, you're gonna have to learn about Sneakery 101."
"Right." Kuro sighed, looking the gun over, "I thought that sneaking was more than half silence."
She'd never held a gun before, and to think that she'd have to shoot one worried her, just a tiny bit. She'd never killed before, and she'd seen what it did to the humans up there. The only huge difference between demons and humans was the life span and abilities.
"It's more like insurance then your main weapon." Abraxas insisted, before walking over to the wall, pulling what looked to be a hidden panel away to reveal a sort of worn-down target, "We'll have you stick to the knife and whatever you can find where you are, but the gun is when you're all out of other options. With that said, go ahead and give it a whirl."
Nodding, Kuro held the gun with both hands, the metal being a bit heavier then she'd thought it would be, before taking aim.
Once she pulled the trigger, Kuro jumped, the sudden bang from the gun making her drop it, squeaking as she held her hands over her ears.
She absolutely HATED loud sudden sounds.
Once the ringing was free from her ears, she could hear...No way, was he really…?
"That...was absolutely hilarious!" Abraxas cackled, falling over and rolling around on the ground, laughing as if he'd never get the chance once again.
"No, it wasn't!" Kuro scowled, giving him a look.
Abraxas finally stopped laughing, getting up, only to slap her back, "You know, if that's how you react to this, I can't wait to go ahead and teach you all the other things you'll have to learn. Let's start off with hide and seek with guns, shall we?"
"Something tells me that I won't like this." Kuro grumbled, rubbing the back of her neck.