AN: Wow, a day-early update? I mean, it's not much, but I'm surprised that I didn't push back the date again. Anyway, TCOGK should be published on time. I digress. Now that I'm done writing, I guess it's back to grading papers and studying for college entrance tests for me...

Disclaimer still in effect

Enjoy!

Chapter Thirty-Six: Me, Shouko, and Foreshadowing

"So what now?" asked Haqua, slumped back in the sofa chair. She was being tended to by Elsie, who was pressing an ice pack to the more mature devil's arm, which was bruised in the encounter. She wasn't the only one injured, though. Kanon took a good beating too. Speaking of Kanon, she was dozing off on the couch, with Shiori silently fixing up her tattered stun guns. "Our plan was to find the Archaic, knock them out of their hosts, and have Keima over here fill in the gaps. It'll be a little hard to talk to them if the school's collapsed."

Yes, the school was collapsed. The four Corrupted Hosts only served as distractions, with Ares busting down the place without using blunt force. Keima conjectured that she had used a contraption devised by Athena, whose powers were still unknown, but that didn't really matter. What DID matter was what course the group was going to take. One route entailed them to be aggressive: walking up to the Hosts' houses, luring the Archaic out, beating them up one by one, and asking the Hosts out on dates. It was the longest route, and it still came with risk, though it had the least danger compared to the other choices. Another route was to play a defensive game and wait out the perfect chance to strike. Since Archaic was bound to attack them again soon, it would be a pretty quick route, though it came with the most risks, since they'd have to hold their own against the entire force of the Archaic. The last one was to power up Diana and Mercury, so that they would be able to cut down their Sisters with more ease. It was the hardest route to accomplish, but once the Sisters were powered up, it would be a walk in the park. "Maybe-"

"B-Before we talk a-about that," interjected Shiori, surprising everyone, "we should p-probably figure out who the m-mystery Host is. S-Since Archaic is composed of f-four members - p-probably! - there should only be f-four Hosts... r-right? If one supervised the d-destruction, and f-four assaulted Haqua and K-Kanon-"

"Then we have five Hosts? But that wouldn't make sense..." said Haqua. Once she said those words, Keima instantly knew the truth. Standing up abruptly, the Capturing God whipped out his phone, calling someone.

"Shouko, hello? Sorry to disturb you, but I really have to talk to you-know-who. Eh, you want to meet up first? Um, I guess the crêpe shop would be a good place, but your parents must be worried about you getting hit by an... 'aftershock' outside your household- so they aren't? I guess that's great. Okay, I'll meet you there in half an hour. Bye."

Keima closed his phone, gritting his teeth. Shouko was trying to win him over. Why else would she try to meet up with him almost right after a 'natural' disaster? Even if he wasn't allowed to show favoritism, lest he lower Miharu's Affection Levels even more, he had to bite. He really needed to ask a question to a Goddess, and Mercury wasn't going to be talking to him anytime soon if her attitude was anything to go by, so Diana was who he needed. Still, he really didn't like playing into others' hands. "I'll be leaving now, girls. If Kanon doesn't wake up in time for dinner, just order take-out. Bye-"

"What do you want with Shouko?" asked Elsie, causing everyone's heads to swerve towards her. It was rare for her to actually catch on to subtext, and that moment was one of those times. "Anyway, good luck, Kami Nii-sama!"

"Heh, choosing to be an observer already," said Keima, a knowing smirk on his face. "I leave the house to you, Elsie."

"I won't disappoint, Keima-sama!"

"...Can we get the conversation started already?" asked Keima, who was biting into his crêpe with minimal amount of gusto. Of course, if Keima was a turtle in a race, Shouko was a rock. She hadn't even touched her food, preferring to just stare into Keima's brown orbs. Speaking about Shouko, she pulled out a thick stack of paper, handing it to Keima. Looking it over a little, he noticed that it was a contract; a contract to pledge his undying faithfulness to her, lest death befall him by her hand. Keima grit his teeth. She was reverting to her old dependent self. Moving the contract to the side, he sighed and said, "Why are you back to your old self, Shouko? You were so independent, so unique, so... free. Why are you back to... this?"

"...This is simply the quickest and simplest way for my Patron to regain her strength," said Shouko, her stare unwavering. "I also wish for the quickest and simplest way for my own reasons. Now, please accomplish the document so that I can have it legalized by Friday-"

"No," replied Keima, receiving an ominous glare and aura in return. He stood his ground, and continued to press his point. "You way may be the 'quickest' or the 'simplest', but is it the best conclusion? We can't just think of ourselves, Shouko. What about the other girls-"

Keima, sensing danger, tilted his head to the left, a taser stabbing through the air next to him. Getting up, Keima slowly backed away from the Yandere in front of him, who had twin stun guns in hand. It was a scary sight; Shouko Kirishima, hair afloat midair with dark, ominous miasma behind her with electricity jumping in tendrils off of her chosen weapons. Keima did what was wisest.

He bolted.

"Be mine, Akihisa Yoshii!"

"Everything is going according to plan, Onee-san," said a cloaked figure, holding up a crystal orb. Clairvoyance must have been applied to it, because it showed Keima running away from Shouko at the speed of light. "At this pitiful rate, he'll never be able to catch on to our plan, much less onto your more esoteric ability, and as long as there's one Archaic in the game, our objectives will be completed."

"This 'Keima' person is not to be underestimated!" berated the leader. "Always keep an eye on him: don't let him out of your sight! He's smarter than he looks..."

"So when will we execute the plan, Athena Nee-san?"

"When the time is right."