ALT-FLAG 05: Cure For The Itch

That night at the apartment, Suzaku has been deep in thought. But it's not of the kind that substitute teachers face, but of something deeper. He was expecting that at least the Goddess host he met hours earlier would tell him something on the matter of their mission, but apparently he never got the chance to interrogate Yui further.

And then there's Chihiro's story that got him thinking. "Now, how could someone completely unrelated to the issue regarding the Goddesses, suddenly get involved in all of this, to the point of seeing their winged form in plain view?"

"Even I'm surprised to see you so engrossed in one target since our heyday in capturing spirits," commented Sylvia who was sitting in the couch doing percussive maintenance on her scythe using bits of her Hagoromo. "What exactly is so special with that girl anyway? I mean, out of all of their capture targets, her back story is somewhat the most plain."

"Just because she's a mere ordinary high school girl doesn't mean there's not a single unique parameter. And her being in Katsuragi's previous captures list means that she has that one thing separating her from the rest."

"And that would be?"

Suzaku let off a sigh and uttered, "Her genuine love for him, of course."

"As absurd and corny as it sounds, I still don't get it."

"Bottom line is, since she already got involved in this Goddesses mess, she needs to be put on protective surveillance like the rest of the hosts. I'll try to handle that bit."

"Is it a bit too much for you, Suza-kun? We're talking about 7 girls here," she uttered as she inched closer to her human buddy from the other side of the table. He then bumped his knuckles lightly to her forehead.

"Hey, what was that for? I'm just joking."

"I know. But now's not the time," Suzaku replied. "Better get some sleep; I'll need you at your full capability for tomorrow."

As Sylvia left the room to rest for the night, her human buddy remained in constant thought for what may happen the next day. He knows that the threat may come earlier than expected, which would require a foolproof contingency plan.

And with that, he made a phone call.

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"Yanagi, is my bedtime milk ready?"

The call came from a man who was already well past his prime, yet still looked a lot like a 20-to-25 year old. The only thing giving his age away was probably his white hair, which was amusingly long for a man. Nonetheless, he still maintains his night-time routine of drinking a glass of warm milk mixed with half a teaspoon of honey.

In a matter of a few seconds, light footsteps can be heard from the hallway leading to his room. In came a relatively young woman, probably about 25-30 years of age.

"My apologies for being a few minutes late, Shiratori-sama. I had to answer an incoming phone call just as I was on my way here."

"I see. Who is it from?"

After giving the glass of milk to her master, she handed him a piece of paper which contained the person who called.

"Well, I'd be. Yanagi, please hand me my phone; I have to call him back now."

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"Hello? Shinozaki speaking…"

"It's been a long time, Suza-kun. I called as soon as I could."

"My apologies for the late-night intrusion Shoutarou-sama, but there's no better time than now to ask for your help."

"Well before that, Urara called me a few days ago; she seemed to miss you and your online lectures on astronomy so much. She's been bugging me as to when you will be back."

"Pardon my reticence, but please don't remind me. I've been trying to catch some necessary Z's after conducting those online tutorial sessions with her. And yes, my demon buddy has been continuously egging me on the matter."

"Well, when the time comes you will have to choose between the two. I won't take it against you if you decide not to marry my granddaughter."

"Shoutarou-sama…"

"Just kidding, Suza-kun. Anyways, what seems to be the problem this time?"

"About 2 weeks ago, me and my demon buddy Sylvia received a letter from her former superior from the Runaway Spirit Squad. The message spoke of an impending calamity involving fully-grown spirits of some sort."

"Well, I did expect that some un-captured spirits would still be present a full decade after being released. But are you sure about the mature ones?"

"So far, we have yet to encounter one. But I fear that the development may accelerate if left unchecked especially with the current situation."

"Which is the revival of the Goddesses, am I correct?"

"Yes. So far, I have already deduced the identity of the six Goddess hosts, and will be keeping a close eye on each of them until the situation is contained."

"What do you mean by 'situation is contained'?"

"Remember that story you told me about a young boy that you met years ago?"

"You mean Keima-kun?"

"Yes, and I managed to get some info about him as well. He seemed to have gone in a mental time travel in order to thwart the eventual rewriting of the past."

"You actually met him personally?"

"Unfortunately, no; seems that his present consciousness was swapped with his past self for that matter. And right now, he's unconscious and under the care of the Goddesses."

"This might serve as an opening for those with selfish intentions. What are you planning?"

"Essentially, find a way to keep Keima and the Goddesses away from danger when those Level-5 Weiss emerge, while Sylvia and I take care of them."

"You do understand that it may possibly be a one-way trip if all goes wrong."

"Shoutarou-sama, just who the hell do you think we are? We got this…"

"That's what I like about you and your partner, Suza-kun; always determined even in the face of improbability. Just send me the names and pictures of these Goddess hosts; I'll handle the rest."

"You have my utmost gratitude, Shoutarou-sama. I'll send them via e-mail immediately. Until next time…"

*CLICK*

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