A/N: Here you all go, you get a second 'chapter 1.' This doesn't actually count as the second chapter of the arc, so expect that and an epilogue chapter still! Hope you all like the extra build up, don't expect this to happen all the time for future arcs though. As for the poll, well, look to A/N 2 at the bottom of the chapter. As always, like, hate, see something that you think could change or that you thought was cool, leave a review! I read them all! Also thanks to everyone who favourites and follows this story! In a related note to the reviews, yes I know Cera isn't the translation the manga is going with these days, but I started following the series back when chapter 2 and 3 were brand new and there are a lot of translation oddities I picked up from way back then.

Lime Warning: This chapter contains a heavy dose of Lime toward its end, though clothes stay on so we don't reach Lemon territory just yet.

Disclaimer: As always, don't own daily life with monster girl, but if Crabman ever comes around and reads this hope he'll like what I write and cut me in!

Arc 3, Chapter 2: Dearest Delinquent's Daring Draw

Days passed. The competition got tougher. Cera and Kimihito trained even harder. While Cera was going up against some cat girl that had danced her way this close to the finals. Kimihito had been matched against the minotaur girl who had crushed all the human competitors that had gone against her, much to the growing displeasure of much of the human half of the audience. As their options to cheer for were rapidly diminishing against a tide of monster people Kimihito had found himself slowly going from just a few spectators to a genuine crowd at each fight. He didn't particularly care at first, but as it grew larger and their cheers more hopeful, he had to admit it felt rather good to have the audience on his side for once.

Kimihito could have done without a few of his old friends stopping by and trying to give him more warnings about the minotaur girl though. Daki had been the most vocal, the thuggish looking half wimp talking up the minotaur girl every time he saw him. "Boss! She took out this guy in a single hit! You should have seen it." Or "Her axe is the size of you Boss! And she can swing it like it's a toothpick."

"Daki, shut up, you sound like you're in her fan club or something." Had been Kimihito's reply at the time, and he stood by it every time Daki started to bring up the minotaur girl again.

Really it was like she was the boogeyman or something. While he wasn't sure if he could actually win, he didn't need people thinking he was going to get kicked to the curb easily, so he'd send them away with a few chiding remarks and occasionally a bruised head when he reminded them just why he was the gang's old enforcer. Didn't keep them all from being there for his fights though, usually somewhere in the front row, disturbing everyone nearby by being even more brash and bawdy than usual as they cheered him on.

As a result, Kimihito was starting to feel a bit more weight settling onto his shoulders with each completed match as the number of humans in the competition dwindled to just one. Not being one to slack, the Kimihito home was filled with the sounds of training weapons striking dummies as the two trained in the yard, along with a large number of the local younger kids who had been brought out by the sight and were trying to emulate the two, occasionally forcing the centaur and delinquent to take a rest to break up fights that sprung out. The small army of the children had both rather embarrassed Cera, and had tapped directly into the girl's enthusiasm and her role model aspirations; soon enough, she was entirely overtaken with the thought of passing her skills onto the next generation. Kimihito couldn't help but grin at the sight of the gigantic woman leading an army of small kids in drills, though he did have to give a few of the older ones that were going through puberty a few baps. When Cera wasn't looking they let their gazes and whispered words wander, with only a sharp, if harmless smack, to keep them in line.

It wasn't that they were always training though, and that all their training happened in the yard. Balance in all things, Cera advised; Kimihito simply didn't want to work too hard. The two continued to explore the town, with Kimihito leading Centorea to a variety of locations around the city. With each passing day he was able to narrow down her interests better. He had helped her find a favourite vegetarian restaurant downtown that they now frequently visited. Enough that the elderly female owner was starting to make some odd comments to the both of them about their respective love lives when the other was away from the table. Much to Kimihito's amusement and to Cera's literal steam inducing embarrassment. There was her love of general exercise, which had lead him to engaging in many more morning runs then he had expected to go on. Thankfully Cera was forgiving and didn't make him follow her for a 50km run on the first day. The centaur was also quite enamoured with plays and films, devouring as many samurai and historical fiction media she could get her hands on.

Cera meanwhile would occasionally break them off whatever planned route they were doing to try to get Kimihito to adopt more 'noble' hobbies, of which he really had none. She had even managed to succeed to her 'hidden' delight as she convinced Kimihito to start up a small herb and vegetable garden in the backyard. None of these were officially dates, so Kimihito couldn't take her out to some of the places he wanted to, at least not till after he won their battle, and Cera couldn't push him too hard in her attempts to nobilify him.

As for other methods of training? That idea came about when they started training one day. A black haired man in a police uniform on a bicycle rolled up and stopped by them. With a nervous air hanging over him, he was a bit older than Kimihito. Kimihito greeting him before he could speak. "Daizaburo, what brings you around here?"

"Bit of a problem, Kimihito. We got some lowlifes that are skirting the law. You know how it can be." The cop said with a sigh. The japanese-american man and Kimihito were long-time friends from back in highschool. Both were part of the same group, but Daizaburo had become a cop after highschool had finally came to an end. "We can't do anything about them; if only we were so lucky for a random vigilante to teach them a lesson... Or an anonymous source perhaps coming across something the cops could prosecute as well. That'd be nice, wouldn't it?"

"You don't need to give me the description again." Kimihito sighed and waved him off. "Where are they? I'll go give them a stop by today."

One location later, plus a fistbump to send him off, and the cop was on his way again. Kimihito turned to see Cera had short circuited. "Cera? Earth to Cera, you there?" He said, snapping his fingers in front of her face.

"What!" Cera suddenly started after the snap. "That was a police officer! How could he resort to such unlawful methods!"

"Well, this wouldn't be the first time it's happened." Kimihito said with a shrug. "And the guys he asks help dealing with are pretty small time guys. Fresh starts that think they are too smart for the cops. The big names tend to just have agreements that keep many people from getting hurt."

Kimihito turned onto the street and just started walking, Cera pausing for a moment before saying. "Wait, thou cannot be planning to actually go through with this. 'Tis dangerous if nothing else!"

"Nothing I haven't done before. You don't have to come if you want, these ones tend to be a bit more dangerous than not." Kimihito continued down the street, not actually expecting Cera to catch up with him.

"No, I will not leave you to do something dangerous on your own, not until our match has been completed. Though," Cera grabbed Kimihito's shoulder to stop him. "You shouldn't do work like this. It is unbecoming of anyone, not to mention illegal."

"If I don't do it, they'll probably get killed by the local Yakuza." Kimihito shrugged, though his voice was firm. "So I like to think I'm doing these dumbasses a favour, and I'm not going to leave Daizaburo out to hang."

Cera bit on her lower lip, before sighing. There was a bit of a point in there, if she considered it saving the thugs from an even worse fate of falling further into evil. "Fine, I shall accompany you. I shall ensure you will not be harmed before our fight."

"Good, shouldn't take us too long to get there." Kimihito said with a grin, and together they were off again.

The place they needed to get too wasn't to far away, just a run down building with a few scrawny looking 'toughs' outside it. Cera caught another grin on Kimihito's face, this one a bit more...savage for lack of a better word, before the man took off, not even giving the guys a warning before he started to flatten them.

The ensuing fight could barely be called one, as Kimihito cut through most of them like butter. Cera following up and taking out the ones he missed after she recovered from the sight of that grin. It rather worried her, and after they were done dealing with these guys they would have to talk about it.

Soon enough the thugs, who barely had a knife between the dozen of them, were on the ground unconscious, and Kimihito whistled from one of the rooms in the building. "Well, this should be enough to get these guys put away."

Cera popped in and saw a fair bit of stolen merchandise in the room, even as Kimihito was calling up the police about a fight breaking out at the place. As soon as the call was done he grabbed Cera and they got away from the scene before they got caught.

Once they were well in the clear, Kimihito's pace was forced to a sudden halt, anchored down by the stone weight that was a concerned Centoria Shaimus. The centaur woman putting on the brakes and glaring at him. "Kimihito, what was that?"

"What was what?" The human said dismissively.

Cera's eyes narrowed and she said with a demanding tone. "That smile, Kimihito. It was not healthy."

"I like seeing people like that get what's coming to them, what's the problem?" Kimihito replied with a sigh, realizing this wasn't going to go well for him.

"That thou art taking pleasure in the pain of others. That this brutalising occurred is not cause to rejoice! Doing a job like that is one that should not be treated as anything further than just a task to do!" Beating up a bunch of weak thugs was not any real task of justice after all. She almost felt bad for how badly outclassed they had been. "This is the sort of thing only a true delinquent would relish. You should be ashamed!"

Kimihito sighed again, it wasn't the first time someone had scolded him like this, or even used the same logical line. Before he'd have just brushed it off out of hand, but when it came from the blonde centaur, he couldn't help but feel a bit ashamed of himself. Still, a part of him couldn't help but reply automatically as he folded immediately, his tone a bit flippant. "Well I will try to correct my ways, that sound fine? Assuming you beat me that is."

Cera grit her teeth, it wasn't a good answer, Kimihito obviously didn't mean it for now. Though she couldn't really take it further unless she beat him. It very much did grate on her though. She tried to come up with something, before with a sigh of her own she said. "Fine, I'll accept that for now. Just wait though, I shall drill that out of you once you have lost to me!"

-ISoaN-

Because beating up someone was a-okay provided it happened in an arena.

Kimihito's fight came soon enough. Just a few days after filing Daizaburo's request he was back at the arena, his sword casually over his shoulder as he waited for his opponent to step into the ring. Around him the seats were packed, both with human and liminal. It was almost deafening. Especially with Ryuko, Daizaburo and others were parked right behind him and were shouting loud enough to practically drown out the rest.

"You got this boss, smash her ass!" The former shouted. While the latter called out. "Go Kimihito, show this Minotaur that humans can put up a fight!"

He didn't have to wait long before the minotaur girl put in her appearance. Easily dwarfing him by a good few feet, the woman definitely had a reach advantage on him, and the massive and thankfully padded axe she had would certainly do a number on him if it connected.

What he had though, or at least what he hoped he'd have, was the ability to out maneuver her and a willingness to resort to less than completely fair play. Taking the time the announcer was going on to prepare himself mentally, he took deep breaths, watching the woman over for any other obvious weakspots.

The most glaring was that one of the last fighters must have done something to her leg, as the woman had a very slight limp. Her Achilles' heel. He'd have to try to get her to put extra weight on it to trip, that'd give him an easy win.

Then he heard the fight start call and found he had to spring back almost immediately as the large axe crashed to the ground in front of him. The minotaur was fast for her size. Her strikes coming lightning fast, forcing Kimihito back with each narrowly-missing blow.

If he kept going like this then he'd be finished before he began. Nearing his own corner as quickly as he'd left it, he had to make a jump. Kimihito launched himself away to avoid another cleaving attack that certainly would have shattered every bone in his shoulder had he not gotten clear. The sudden, unexpected dodge let him slip by, close enough to hit the minotaur in the shin. The strike did not accomplish much at all, spare getting him a point and an even-angrier minotaur. She huffed with fury as he slipped away again before wheeling around and renewing her assault.

It went like that time and again. Kimihito doing his best to avoid getting struck. When the opportunity arose he'd dart in to occasionally score a point or two. His opponent getting angrier, and angrier, and her axe closer and closer with each scything cleave that didn't connect. It was desperate. Almost cowardly compared to his past form. But it was the best he could manage. He had to admit, it probably wasn't the most interesting thing to watch, just given how few straight up blows there were. But with how much was on the line in the eyes of the human spectators, they awaited each pointed with bated breath.

Kimihito probably shouldn't have been thinking about that though. A lapse in concentration caused him to catch a strike to the side of the chest. He landed with a heavy thump after sailing a few feet in the air, the distinct ringing in his ear and screaming from his side telling him he was, in fact, hurt. It was only through his stubbornness that he could pull himself back onto his feet after that. Even if it was an extremely heavy hit, it wasn't worth more points if it didn't knock him out. Looking up her saw the timer was slowly counting down. A minute more of not getting knocked out and he'd have the win. So he'd just need to lead the bull by the nose. Now if only he had a red cape.

Unfortunately the minotaur was no fool and knew that as well as he did. Her attacks gave him no chance to recover! Strike after strike that he only managed to dodge by a hair, punctuated by fresh and surging pain when another strike sent him flying. The sudden flight followed by more, increasingly desperate and ragged dodging. The man trying his hardest to avoid failing, and only just accomplishing it. When the last whistle rang out, he didn't hear it at first. But there it was. And he had a stellar points lead.

"And the winner is Kimihito Kurusu!" The announcer said, and the raven haired boy couldn't help but grin. A moment before he fell backward and started to take in deep breaths, he wasn't in need of medical attention, but damn was he tired.

The minotaur towered over him with a pout on her face as she said. "Well damn. I don't know why you didn't stay down." She was hard to hear about the cheering crowd, and the incessant ringing in his ears. The woman didn't say anything further before heading off in a huff. Maybe she'd be better after walking it off. Picking himself up and heading toward the stands, Kimihito threw a fist in the air.

"Nice one, boss! Real nice!" Ryuko cheered.

"Is there any one of these people who can even make you sweat?" Daki wrapped his arm around the boss' shoulder.

"Well," Kimihitio brushed his arm off before he realised he was tired, "probably whoever makes it to the end."

"After that, boss? The centaur, easily. Goldilocks was looking scary in her last win; the catgirl tried sniping for her life, like what you did with that oversized cow, but the horse was just too firm! I wish I could tell you what to do there, but it looks hard. You probably know better than me anyway, right? You've been scouting her out since she got here. Well, what's your verdict? Had a good time? She got any soft spots?"

Before the boss could give him an evil eye, Ryuko yanked Daki back by wrapping an arm around his neck. "What he means to say is 'good luck!'"

Kimihito winked at the two. "I'm going to talk with her now, as a matter of fact. It should make for good RnR."

Once the boss was out of earshot, Ryuko tightened her chokehold on Daki as he squirmed in her grip. "You idiot! Are you oblivious or something?!"

"Aren't you? You think a babe being part-horse makes the boss less likely to ride her!?"

-ISoaN-

The next day, both Cera and Kimihito were wandering downtown. She was nibbling on a vegetarian sandwich, while Kimihito was pointing out interesting places. Currently they were in a less wealthy part of town. For its looks, he knew a few great places to hang out in. Despite the grime on the streets and graffiti on the walls, Cera found it easy to see, and easier still to believe him..

They were just turning the corner onto the next street when they heard a woman cry out. "Stop that thief!" A moment before a moped nearly crashed into them both, Centorea reacting faster than Kimihito and pulling Kimihito away from the speeding bike. "Watch out!"

Kimihito, having been caught by surprise was pulled into a rather...suffocating embrace. Centorea's massive airbags had proven quite soft and kept Kimihito from feeling even a modicum of pain at the sudden, jarring impact. He'd have been a lot more thankful for her massive mammaries if only he could breathe through them.

Centorea noticed the position when Kimihito reflexively squeezed his hand, which had been over the centaur's other breast in an attempt to get her attention. After a flush caused more by some lewd thoughts then outright embarrassment, Cera let him go and gave him a little push. "We must catch that thief!"

"Well, he's on a moped, so I'm not sure how you are expecting me to catch up!" Kimihito, matching the the urgent tone with a touch of helpless irritation.

Centorea's blush grew brighter for a moment. "G-Get on my back, I can keep up with that villain's vehicle."

"Er… Okay." Kimihito felt there was...something off about Centorea's demeanor when she said that. He attributed it though to the girl being embarrassed about being used like a normal horse, and hopped on, settling himself in like he was on a motorcycle. The only issue was that...he had absolutely no idea where to put his hands. Eventually he settled on Cera's shoulders.

This proved to be a very poor choice, as he drastically underestimated Centorea's speed. The woman easily reached the speed of the moped, and given the rough ride his hands ended up drifting toward somewhere a bit easier to grab.

"Unhand me Kimihito! That is not an acceptable place to put your hands!" Cera shouted as they closed on the snatcher, thundering down the pavement as she charged full gait around a wide corner to follow her mark. With a tick of realisation, Kimihito's mind having been on a desperate attempt not to be thrown to his almost certain death, he became aware of exactly what he was clinging onto for dear life with an unconscious squeeze that brought a fresh whine of protest from the centaur. On instinct, he tried to do as she'd asked, taking his palms from enormous chest for all of a millisecond before the neck up-buck of her gallop nearly threw him clear.

He let out a half-scream an octave higher than he'd ever admit, and grabbed back down, shaking his head vehemently as thrills of panic chased through his mind, mixing subtly with the reflection of just how soft she was to produce a myriad of fantasies, each one cut short by the fresh buck of her gait that nearly left him a stain on the pavement behind them..

"I don't have anywhere else to grab!" Kimihito shouted urgently as he instead gripped tighter. "You're going like twenty over the speed limit and I don't have a seatbelt." Perhaps, he reflected between moments of perverse fantasizing and bouts utter, primal terror, if his hands weren't so comfortable there, he might have been able to move them. But when else was he going to get a chance to feel these truly titillating tits?

Centorea just bit her lip and let it pass, focusing on the man they were now only a few feet behind, ready to overtake, thunder in front of, and force to a stop. Just as she was about to make her move, the man hit the gas on his moped and caught a hard turn. Centorea followed the turn through wide, making Kimihito's grip tighten from an equal-parts self-satisfactory and practical hold on her chest, to a death grip of purest fear, all lewd thoughts flushed his mind as he swung over her side with the force of the turn. He was nearly dragged along the ground beside her before another jump as she cleared a fallen rubbish-bin righted him, more lying than sitting on her back now. Just as he regained a mounted posture, hands, returning, much to her moaning chagrin, to her chest, the snatcher smashed through a waiting pallet of office-cooler tanks. The plastic containers of water soared through the air in a graceful parabola that she, in the narrow alley, was charging straight into. Certain the way was well and truly blocked, the thief turned back to shout at them. "Give up goody two shoes!"

"Curses, hold on Kimihito. This is about to get difficult." Cera said as she drew her sword and cleft her way through the rain of jugs as Kimihito clung to hers.. The poor plastic containers stood no chance, and as they were cut to ribbons, water sprayed over both Kimihito and Centorea in an artificial rain. They were blindsided, and when the pair of heros looked again they saw the purse thief crashing into a builder's scaffold being used to re-coat the outside of an warehouse. He thrown off in an explosion of paint cans that flew violently in every direction. Every colour of the rainbow slicking the pavement under her hooves, Centorea skittered and slid, her balance going a moment later as momentum carried her tripping, tumbling body, albeit much softer, into the wrecked scaffolds a moment later.

The reason for the thief's crash became apparent as Kimihito woke himself from the daze caused by the crash, namely that Cera's nipples were visible through her wet shirt, her breasts apparently as magnetic to the thief's eyes as they'd been to Kimihito's hands. His centaur companion was concussed by the impact, and wasn't able to react when the thief picked up her sword.

"That was my bike you just wrecked, horse bitch!"

But Kimihito was steady, and with bokken in hand he leapt in front of the man's swing. Easily blocking the strike and countering with a sharp blow to the man's leg hard enough to break it with a single impact. He followed up with a heavy swing that caught him in the wrist, shattering it as well and causing the thief to cry out in pain, drop the weapon, and stumble, about when the third bone-fracturing stroke caught him in the forehead,, sending him into the realms of unconsciousness.

Spitting beside the downed man, Kimihito growled. "Bastard." Then he turned to his companion and held out a hand to help her up. "You alright, Cera?"

Just as he asked that, the sun passed behind, catching the water still hanging in the air in a brilliant, radiant sheen of glowing, warm colours.

Perhaps it was the light concussion she just got, but Cera felt strange. In that moment, after what he had done and was doing, the boy was now a rather dashing sight. Like a knight from the great stories, the ones she could fall into of a fantasy over.

A fantasy where she was bowing before a noble lord, pledging her services and eternal loyalty in the name of virtue. Pledging her body to a hero and…

"Earth to Cera? Hello? You alright? Or did that concussion do a bit more than expected?" Kimihito leaned in and checked Cera's eyes. He had seen more than enough injuries to know what to look for.

Cera shook her head and blushed. "Ahh, I'm fine. Thank you for the concern, however. We should get this man turned over to the police and head home. Neither of us would want to be too injured for tomorrow's clash."

Kimihito chuckled and helped Cera up. He was surprised by Cera's surprisingly soft hands, while at the same time Cera was surprised at just how rough Kimihito's were. The moment their hands linked, the centaur locked up, back in her dreamland, forcing Kimihito to have to stir her back to earth again. Returning the purse and carting the criminal to the police station were simple enough, though a few of the cops were surprised at Kimihito handing someone in.

-ISoaN-

Finals day, at long last. As expected, Kimihito and Centorea had both reached the last stage, leaving their duel still fully good to go. At that very moment, both were in their various change rooms, trying to center themselves, though Kimihito wasn't alone in his, as Daizaburo was there as well, psyching him up. Also in the room was Matthew Clement of all people. The latter had shown up out of nowhere, and sported a rather noticeable scowl even as he came in. "I cannot believe someone as uncouth as yourself is the last human in this competition." The frenchman held up a hand to try to forestall any return comments. "Despite that, you are the last.. Man." He paused to snicker, giving Kimihito a chance to sigh at man's humour. "standing." So on behalf of all the other competitors I am here to tell you to win. The fighting honour of the entire human race rests squarely on your barbaric shoulders. Understood, monsieur?"

"Heh, will do frenchie." A raised eyebrow told Kimihito that Matthew didn't care for the nickname, but he didn't interrupt. "Now get out of here before you say something smug and the floor gets a frog-shaped mosaic." Kimihito sniggered half-jokingly, and the frenchman took his leave.

Daizaburo chuckled. "Really didn't think he'd show up. Thought he'd have buggered off to France by now. Still," The cop turned his attention back to his friend. "guess he's right, there are a lot of people out there, and heard they are even televising this match. You think you can handle it?"

Kimihito pushed himself to his feet and started to head for the door. "I'll be fine, didn't care for anyone's opinions before so I'm not going to start now. They can have all the expectations they want and I'll be going into this like normal."

"Well good luck, and watch out for Ryuko on the way out, she's planning to shout in your ear." Daizaboro waved him off.

A feminine voice shouted from behind the door of the room. "Dammit Daiza, you ruined the surprise!"

Walking past the now 'disarmed' trap Ryuko set, he gave the girl a thumbs up and just kept walking. Heading out into the arena where he saw that the stands were indeed packed to the gunnels. The place must have been sold out with a mix of humans and monsterpeople, and the noise reinforced that. The general din was loud enough that it practically thrummed through him, and he could see Cera coming out from her own entrance looking at the crowds with mixed awe and trepidation. As the ref walked onto the arena himself Kimihito took a long, deep breath to focus himself and drown out the crowd, and saw his centaur counterpart do the same. It was a fight both of them wanted to win. Indeed, he wanted to win it before, but with the new bet they had laid down yesterday, that eagerness to prove her wrong had redoubled his determination.

"Good luck Cera." Kimihito gave the centaur a lazy salute as the judges got ready and the match was on the verge of starting.

"Good luck yourself, Kimihito." Centorea gave a half bow, not letting herself get embarrassed at the nickname. When she straightened back up the referee finally completed his walk forward and explained the rules, for the nth time for them both. There was an audible beat, and all the training in the world couldn't stop either of them tensing with anticipation.

The ref's hand dropped, and the fight was on.

Neither struck first. Instead the two began to circle. Both of them were defensive fighters, and both determined to win. The two were content to wait, poised for any advantage that would give them an opening to strike. The first to strike came to Kimihito, as the centaur's trotting gait exposed her side from the reach of her guard. Batting Centorea's sword to the side and striking her wrist. He quickly lost the advantage when she recovered with a fury. A masterful strike in what humans would call the German style as she reposted, hooked his blade with her handguard, and delivered a heavy stroke to the stomach that staggered him backwards.

They broke apart then, the centaur wary of being lured, and Kimihito couldn't help but grin despite the sting. The first two blows and they had both scored a single point. This would definitely be more interesting if nothing else. The two struck again, and again, and again. Each time Kimihito scored a hit, Cera would score one a moment later before he could retreat to a strong enough guard to stop a counterattack from leveling the points and visa versa.

They would keep like this for five minutes, then ten. The crowd that watched on their toes as they waited for either of the fighters to actually get a lead as the ring of clashing weapons and the shout of hits being counted stayed level. Just as the two seperated from yet another even skirmish, the referee blew his whistle and declared the time had run out. It only took the judges a moment to declare the fight a tie, and that a rematch would be needed.

"Heh, well I can keep going if you are up for it Centorea." Kimihito said with a grin, and nodded to the centaur girl.

"Of course, a single battle would not be enough to tire a noble warrior such as myself." The blond replied, and the referee and judges agreed to have the rematch now if they were ready.

The next fight went much the same as the first, neither could get the upperhand. By minute ten they were both trying whatever they could to get even a single point advantage. Kimihito felt himself start to sweat, and tried to slide under Centorea's guard. When that earned him a smarting blow in the forehead, he tried to blow through it. The failure nearly netted her a lead as he barely got a counting hit in on her wrist before she recovered her stance

Centorea on the other hand started to try to throw her weight around a bit more, using her mass to force Kimihito back, with considerably more success, gaining ground slowly on him. She also didn't realize it, but she had a different bit that was helping her. Namely the sweat was causing her thin shirt to become transparent, much like it had during the chasing of the purse thief. The bouncing distractions being more than enough to cost Kimihito a hit or two, though the others watching on were too far away to get the same sight.

Not to say he didn't have much the same effect on Cera. As the fight wore on the sleeveless top he had decided to wear started to stick to him and the muscles along his arms bulged with exertion. The remainder of Kimihito's musculature started a very short lived fantasy in her mind about him being strong enough to carry her princess style. The only reason it had been cut short was that he got a tap on her stomach that shook her awake, costing her the single point lead she'd so desperately won.

In the end though despite their best efforts. The second round was coming to a close, they could practically feel the countdown in their head as they continued their attempts to pull ahead, the panting, desperate clashes growing longer and more aggressive. Then just as it came to '2', Centorea tripped. The horse woman spilled forward and caught Kimihito's bokken in the stomach, crashing onto the boy a moment later, just as the match was called to an end.

As the dust cleared though, it wasn't as clear cut as the cheering crowd thought; Centorea's sword was still in her grip, and had fallen against Kimihito's neck, pinning him to the floor.

"It is a tie once again." Said the announcer. "And as such, the judges declare that both fighters have fought to an honourable standstill, as they have both proven to be extremely skilled. A mutual victory."

"What?" A spectator cried out. "A tie!?"

"Do it again!" A monstergirl clamoured. "She almost had him!"

The crowd dissented into arguments from that. Strong fans of one contestant were looking for any opening to say they were winning. Moderates who cared to discuss it challenged back, for despite all the pride at stake in people's minds, the battle itself mattered most. Fans of Centorea defended Kimihito; fans of Kimihito defended Centorea. The air was anything but agitated, but an astonished appreciation. And this whole discussion was happening to everyone watching it on television too.

The combatants, however, were tied on the ground. Kimihito couldn't help but chuckle, even as he flushed out of a mix of exertion; he had dreamt of having Cera's bosom pressed against him, but not quite like this. "Well, does that mean we both lost the bet? Or did we both win?"

Cera couldn't help but blush a bit herself at how they were pressed together. "Well...I do not think I would mind going on a date with thineself."

"And I guess I can try to be more noble." Kimihito whispered back. "Afterall, wouldn't want to piss off my girlfriend would I?" The raven-haired boy going from snickering into much more noticeable laughter when Cera blushed so deeply that he could see what he swore was steam rising out of her ears.

Even as the crowd around them continued their argument, Cera pulled herself up and off Kimihito, offering a hand that was soon taken. A few would notice, but most didn't as the contestants walked off out of the arena hand in hand, not even stopping in the changing rooms on their way home.

-ISoaN-

Two days after the end of the tournament, Kimihito had picked for the date. He had had to deal with a day of teasing at Daizaburo's the day before, which was where the suit he was currently wearing was from, graciously donated by his policeman friend. His hair, tamed into something pretending to be looking proper was thanks to Ryuko. The black haired girl had produced a giant pair of scissors out of somewhere but he wasn't going to question it given she was the one with the scissors and he was the one sitting with her right behind him at the time.

Cera meanwhile didn't need to wear anything more formal than her normal clothing, though she couldn't help herself from making sure her outfit was perfect beforehand. Running over her skirt with a lint brush, making sure there wasn't even a bit of staining on her white top. Just as she was leaving the room to meet Kimihito in the hallway she even made a rather bold change for herself. She reached back and took off the band she used to tie her hair back into a ponytail, letting her blond locks fall around her in a waterfall.

Kimihito was stunned. The man let his mouth hang open and behold her in a wide eyed look as she stepped out of her room.

"I...guess you like it then?" Centorea laughed, flattered.

"'Like it' is an understatement." Kimihito spluttered after he shook himself back to his senses. "Though now I worry I'll have to deal with even more jealous looks then I was going to get before. For now, though," Kimihito grinned and gave a butler's bow. "After you, milady."

Even if it was obviously meant to be overdramatic, Cera couldn't help but flush again as she walked past. The blond haired woman having a small smile on her face as she did. "It's a start, Kimihito, but you will have to do more to be a good hero."

"I'll take 'a start.'" Kimihito said as he stepped out behind her and closed the door.

-ISoaN-

The restaurant the two found themselves in had been re-arranged to allow larger breeds of monsterpeople to be clientele. Centorea wasn't even the largest liminal there, as there was a snake woman whose tail had to be the better part of twenty feet long. With their food and drinks ordered, Kimihito asked. "So, Cera, how long are you planning to stay here now that the tournament was done?"

"Well, I have clearance to stay here as long as I want actually...The rules of the visa say I am here to find my partner." Cera said, her voice trailing off as she spoke and her blush grew. The last words were so quiet that Kimihito wasn't able to catch them exactly though he got the gist.

"That's great." Kimihito let the mumbled words pass without comment. He could already guess about it, given Cera's blush. "Then as long as you are staying here you can use the room at my house then."

Centorea blushed harder. "That would be very helpful thank you Kimihito though...Well...By my visa's requirements. You are volunteering to be my permanent...host."

"Sounds like there is a bit more to it then that Cera." Kimihito said a bit confused. "Come on you can tell me. If I haven't done anything to yah yet, I'm not going to." His old highschool accent came out in the last line. Potentially to remind Centorea about how if he really was going to be a bastard, he probably would have done it long before now.

"Well...when you r-rode on my back chasing that thief...It is seen as…" She paused, and a horrible thought came into Kimihito's mind, the feeling of the pit of his stomach falling out punctuating her words."the equivalent of a marriage in centaur communities…" Cera's voice was practically a squeak.

Kimihito's own reaction wasn't much better, the man's jaw hanging open the second for that day as he thought it over, before his mind caught up and he turned as red as Cera was. "W-Well...then...I...You know what...I would be lying to say I would mind being married to a girl like you Cera…" He paused, chewing his lip, looking for the right words, "But it's only been a week since we got re-acquainted. Maybe we should just stick with dating for a bit?"

Cera locked up again at Kimihito's words, her face a tomato red until with a furious nod she returned to the world and said with a small smile "Yes...that sounds good. I look forward to the coming weeks Kimihito."

"Same, now though let's just enjoy the evening okay? We can talk about this more tomorrow or something." Kimihito's expression turned slowly back to his normal half cocky grin as food arrived, and the two settled back into a more comfortable mood for the rest of the evening.

Or they did for a time, until something visibly clicked in Cera's head, and she dropped the salt-shaker in her hand straight into her plate. "Ohh no, my mother is surely going to come when she hears!"

-ISoaN-

Luckily, it seemed that Cera's mother wasn't hearing of it any time soon, and Cera was not eager to tell her yet. Instead the new couple spent the weeks following doing as new couples do. Going on small tentative dates, even the small trips like those they had made before the final battle of the tournament were tainted with the awkwardness of being something more than friends now.

As it was Cera's prim and proper nature, and the vestiges of Kimihito's nice guy personality had kept that relation quite chaste so far. Not even a proper kiss yet, though the raven haired boy was planning to change that today. Today he was bringing Cera to the best place around here that he could think of for her.

Namely, a massive samurai museum exhibit that was opening today.

Needless to say, she was fangasming over it. As soon as they had gotten through the door stars had lit into her eyes and he had to hold her back from charging in and potentially doing some damage to something. "Let us start with the swords! I heard they were tempered very finely."

Kimihito chuckled a bit, significant effort was put into those blades of yore, but that was because the steel was terrible and they needed to make something functional. He didn't want to pop Cera's bubble though, so he let her keep gushing over the many blades the room had.

There were a few there that interested him though, swords with long lineages. Ones that went back centuries and were still preserved. Though he had to chuckle at one listed as a daemon slaying sword. Everyone always thought it was just fanciful language of history, but given daemons were real…

"I wish I could wield one of these blades." Cera said as her face was nearly pressed against the glass of one sword listed as the Hina Blade, and a large nodachi, the Monohoshizao sat in the large box as well. Kimihito half wondered if Cera could wield the latter like a regular sword instead of the massive blade it was.

"Same," Kimihito said from behind Cera, a bright grin on his face at seeing the centaur girl's happiness. "Would be pretty cool to have a sword that ended up in history."

"The only thing that could have been better would have been to carry King Arthur's blade or Odysseus' bow." Cera pulled back, and then grabbed Kimihito's hand once again, her fingers were both hard, calloused from years of wielding a sword constantly, and surprisingly soft, gliding along his own hands with almost cool grace backed up by firm muscles.

Though it wasn't the softest part of her he had felt, as her jerking came to a sudden halt and his forward motion was stopped by a quick bounce off two very soft airbags before a strong arm wrapped around his back and pressed him into them. Cera was gushing over something else at the moment, but he couldn't see or hear what she was saying given he was currently buried in the rather warm bosom of his girlfriend.

He was rather expecting Cera to push him away when she realized what his position was, but Kimihito didn't estimate just how engrossed the centaur was in the current exhibit. So soon enough he found himself with a new problem, namely a dire need for the intake of oxygen.

So he did what he could to free himself, namely by clamping his hands around those airbags, squeezing them even as he tried to push himself away. Managing to get just enough space to breath, and saw that Cera was now bright red, and her skin was getting hotter by the moment against his hands even through her clothes.

"S-So bold, in public even!" Cera sputtered, her usual reaction gone for reasons unknown to Kimihito. "T-Though I guess there is nobody else here right now…"

Indeed, Kimihito saw the room was empty, not surprising as there were not that many here even at the entrance. Though he was surprised to turn back and see Cera's face just inches from his own.

That shock faded fast though, and he quickly moved forward and captured those tantalizingly close lips in a kiss out of the blue. Though given how Cera responded in kind he was fairly sure it wasn't as out of the blue as one might have thought.

He was a bit caught off guard by one thing though, her lips were even softer than her breasts. So soft that he could hardly let them go whenever their lips locked. Or when he did let go, it was only to quickly kiss them again. But holding that kiss was even sweeter. He'd hold her for longer and longer until they heard a rather to the point cough behind them, and the two separated in a flash to see a curator standing there.

They promptly left the building because of Cera's blush and worry at being caught like that, with Kimihito literally flying behind her as he was pulled along, the two coming to a rather rapid stop once more when they got to the front door of Kimihito's house.

"H-haa, to think someone saw me doing that...I apologize for embarrassing you, Kimihito. I did not expect for someone to walk in on us like that."

Kimihito's cocky grin was only matched by his posture. "But you are not embarrassed about the kiss?"

"...Noitwasnice…" Cera's words came in a rapid barrage and rather quietly, but it wasn't garbled enough for Kimihito to not hear it.

"Heh," Kimihito opened the door and ushered them both inside as soon as the door was closed he asked he said. "Sooo, want to continue?"

"...Yes." Cera squeaked out, and with that threw her sheepishness to the wind. She grabbed Kimihito in an instant and pulled him back into the kiss.

Responding in kind, Kimihito would start to to try to edge them both toward Cera's room. A rather difficult task given he was currently being held a few inches off the ground by his amorous liminal housemate. Still he managed through some serious nudging, especially when they were up for air, to get them where they wanted.

Plopping down onto her bedding, Cera was panting hard. The centaur's breath was coming out so hot that she was making small puffs of steam. Sweat causing her top to become quite seethrough, much to Kimihito's viewing pleasure.

Not to say the black haired man was doing much better, his own breath was coming in ragged breath and he felt himself straining against the suit pants. He started to shed his overwear at the very least before it could get further ruffled then it already was. Actually taking the time to put the suit jacket on a hook that Cera normally used for her sword, though before he could turn around he felt two very soft mounds pressing against the back of his shoulder and his head.

"Kimihito...w-would you m-mind if we took it a bit further than kissing?" Cera asked in a quiet tone as she rubbed against him a bit. "I...I don't think I am up to take it all the way...but…"

Kimihito replied by turning and putting himself to his tippytoes, kissing the girl again for a moment. "Heh, not going to say no Cera. Just tell me when you've had enough."

Cera nodded, and a moment later grabbed Kimihito's hands and pulled him back toward her futon, pulling him down to his knees while she laid down. The position putting their upper bodies more or less on the same level. A moment later she'd use that same grip to bring Kimihito's hands to her breasts, pushing him against the clothing clad skin. Not wanting to disappoint, Kimihito started to squeeze and rub the girl's gigantic globes of flesh, marveling in their softness and elasticity.

The effects on Cera were instantly noticeable, a moan slipping past her lips and her skin heated up another few degrees, practically burning his hands through her shirt, but he definitely wasn't going to complain. The centaur didn't seem to really know how to respond in kind though, and her hands squeezed against his side and back with confusion while the kiss deepened.

Like that, as a tangle of tongues and limbs, they'd continue their rather heavy makeout session for the rest of the hour. By the end they were both still fully clothed, Kimihito having chickened out a bit and avoided undoing Cera's top and feeling her directly, and Cera was still too nervous herself to ask. The room though had a rather heavy scent in it, pheremones and musk that tempted them both to go just a step further...

But as the night closed they both found themselves in separate rooms, though how long that would last...well... probably not that much longer.

A/N 2: Ranger: Wow I can't believe everyone's voting for Ms. Smith.

Ms. Smith: They have all these lovely monster girls to pick and they are voting for little old me. My, maybe I should be worried about your audience.

Cathyl: Damn, and here I was hoping my lead would keep going, I wanted to make an appearance before I had to go up against obvious wins like Polt and Miia.

Smith: Mmm, I can't wait to get my hands on Darling-kun.

Ranger: Well we still have another chapter and the epilogue before the poll closes. So who knows what could happen! Maybe Smith's lead will widen, maybe Cathyl will make a come back, maybe poor old Luz will get more then one vote. Stay tuned, and to all you 209 people who have followed this story, you should vote! The future of the arcs rests on your shoulders!

Oct: Three times in the polls and I keep getting stuck in third place, maybe I'm cursed?