Chapter XIV

Well, hello everyone, time for the next chapter of Chaos Pawn of the Gremory. Once again, hope the wait was not too bad. If it was I apologize but either way, here is the next chapter. Again, not much to say before the chapter begins aside from thanking my coauthors, Bakuto Masaki and seeker of true anime fan fic. Well, guess we will get on with the reviewer responses now.

corren316: Well I can tell you she will actually make several appearances throughout the story.

Jose19: Have you paid attention thus far? Kazuma used to be Abraxas Bael, a god slaying half-devil, so him ending up a badass at some point is kind of a given. That is not a problem, I understand being busy.

I know exactly which story you are referring to, and I liked that story too. It is a shame that the author just seemed to be spirited away.

Well, as I said, he is capable of quite a lot. I have not shown everything he can do yet.

Thanks, I think. I'm not sure what you mean. Do you mean pestering me for updates on the stories or bashing them?

TheLastNanaya: Yeah, I did. But that I believe is it for a while.

Yep, they did go on a sort of pseudo-date.

Archetype Earth. She acted like that.

I like to throw curve-balls.

Hey, even Thought Projections get tired.

I might. Many times. Who knows, he just might.

Yeah, Presa is here now. Yes, he did get a threesome. Issei would be jealous.

Yep, she is a teacher. That...I have not decided yet.

He probably should. But I have something up my sleeve, you will just have to wait.

Hopefully it was enjoyable.

DEYWOS: Cool, glad you do. I intend to keep it going for a while.

Hmm...that seems to be about it for the reviews this time. Well, time for the actual chapter now. Meanwhile I am going to try and fix my house since Kazuma tore it to pieces.

Yeah, and not because of what you said about Sheele and Mira either, but because you and seeker kicked his ass in that game.

Yeah...I know that Bakuto. But damn, I had just painted the kitchen too. Plus my head hurts since that bastard hit me. That is the last time I invite that guy to play any video games. Who knew he could be so vindictive.

Poseidon does.

That is different.

*KNOCK KNOCK CRASH*

Seriously? There goes my door. Kiba, Ichigo. Do I even want to know what you two are doing here?

"What the hell happened here?"

Kazuma happened, Ichigo.

"That's what I thought. It's pretty obvious. He leaves a very distinct impression everywhere he goes."

Right...good to see you too Kiba. But yes, Hurricane Kazuma happened, that bastard tore up my house because he lost to seeker and me at a video game. Either way, what do you two want?

"Well we heard Kazuma was here and we wanted to find him."

"Yeah, that is what friends are for."

Ichigo, why are you backing away from Kiba? Whatever, anyway, he is gone, he is chasing after seeker. Kazuma thinks he cheated. Anyway, what do you two think of him?

"Hmm...guess he's a good enough guy. Though it's kind of weird how shady he always acts. I've known the guy for three years already and still don't know anything about him."

Fair enough. Kiba?

"Kazuma is who he is. Nothing changes that. As for me, I'm glad I met him, he's been almost as good a friend as President Rias in some ways."

I...don't know how to respond to that. But for now, out, I need to fix this place up.

"You're too damn happy about this Kiba."

"You think?"

Kazuma returned to the Occult Research Club from his meeting with Chihiro and sighed.

"So, how did it go?" Rias asked.

Kazuma nodded and held up a small envelope. "She accepted the contract and gave a small amount of money for payment."

Rias nodded in understanding.

Kazuma then shrugged as well. "And as for the actual proceedings we just talked for a while. Anyway, is there anything else for me to do tonight?"

Rias shook her head. "No, that should be it for now."

"Good, then I'll be going."

As Kazuma made his way towards the front gate he noticed Arturia standing nearby looking around alertly.

She noticed him and nodded with a smile.

Kazuma returned the motion and then sighed. "I'm really going to have to do something about that."

As he walked away from the school he noticed a presence following behind him but paid it no mind.

He lost his pursuer after swiftly ducking down a corner and disappearing with Kamui.

Kazuma arrived at the entrance to his apartment complex and sighed in annoyance as he made his way to his actual apartment.

He was rather surprised when the first thing he saw when he walked in was Presa and Kuroka glaring at each other. He blinked curiously and then sighed. "Do I even want to know what's going on here?"

The two blinked curiously and turned to him.

Kuroka huffed and pointed at Presa angrily. "She called me lazy, nya!"

Presa sighed and adjusted her glasses annoyed. "I said it because you are. You even refuse to do your own laundry."

"Well I'm not used to wearing clothes, nya! And I don't even like to, nya!"

Kazuma sighed as he tapped a finger against his arm as he folded his arms.

Presa gulped in response.

"Don't make me enforce the argument rule."

Presa nodded weakly.

Kuroka blinked curiously. "What's he talking about, nya?"

Presa leaned over and whispered in her ear.

Kuroka's eyes widened and she shrieked, "That's horrible, nya!"

Presa nodded in agreement. "Tell me about it."

Kazuma shrugged in response. "I do what I have to. Regardless, I have to side with Presa on this one Kuroka."

"Whaaahhh, nyan!?" Kuroka shrieked.

Kazuma nodded, he then turned to Presa. "Though I do have to ask what it has to do with you, I'm the one who actually does the laundry, so it shouldn't matter. Well…I used to, Erza won't let me anymore."

Presa smirked playfully. "I can't imagine why. Very well, if you're fine with how this Cat acts then I will leave the matter be."

"Good. Now if you don't mind I have something to do so I need to get going." His clothing changed in a flash of light before went to Arcueid's room.

He knocked lightly on the door as he entered. "Hey, ready to go?"

Arcueid nodded with a smile as she stood up. "Yep."

Kazuma and Arcueid decided to walk to the Fuyuki District rather than use Kamui, on Arcueid's request.

As they made their way there Kazuma sighed in exacerbation. "Tell me again why you wanted to walk rather than use Kamui."

Arcueid giggled lightly in amusement. "Because, it feels more natural that way. If we just use Kamui to instantly warp there it'll feel hollow."

Kazuma shrugged in response. "I suppose I can't really argue with that logic. So, any specific place you want to go here?"

"I heard that there's a really big forest in the center of the district."

"Yes, Akeno told me at one point that the forest was right near the epicenter of the fire."

"Really? How would she know about that?"

Kazuma looked at her confused. "Didn't you know? She's from Fuyuki. Her parents were killed during the Fire and she was raised by someone else."

"Does she live there now?"

Kazuma nodded in response. "Yeah, she has a home on the border between the Kuoh District and the Fuyuki District where she lives."

Arcueid nodded in surprised understanding. "I didn't know that. So what caused the fire?"

Kazuma shrugged in response. "Can't say really. It wasn't until recently that I even found out it happened through Akeno."

"That's pretty interesting."

Kazuma sweat-dropped. "Only you would find an event that killed dozens of people interesting."

"Maybe. Did you hear about those wars that happened over two hundred years ago? I found those to be rather entertaining as well. Funnily enough, in one of them I didn't even have to kill Roa, he got blown up in this massive ball of fire."

Kazuma sweat-dropped in response. "That was…something else entirely…but…let's just get there already."

Arcueid nodded in agreement.

Soon enough the duo arrived in the westernmost district of Shinto Teito, the Fuyuki District.

As they looked around Arcueid frowned in disappointment. "The division between this and the other districts is almost visible."

Kazuma nodded as he looked around, noticing the buildings in the area swiftly becoming more rundown and unkempt as they advanced towards the park in the center of the district. "Yeah, I know. Akeno is lucky living in one of the areas of the district that wasn't affected too badly by the Fire."

"I see. So how long will it be before we reach that old park?"

"Just a few more minutes of walking."

The two arrived on the edge of the park when Kazuma noticed something off in the distance.

Near the westernmost edge of the Fuyuki District was a small mountain, but what he noticed was a large series of buildings at the base of that mountain.

He raised an eyebrow curiously. 'I remember she said she went to a school in the Fuyuki District. Is that it?'

"Kazuma, is that it?" Arcueid asked as she pointed ahead at the small area in front of them filled with leafless, dilapidated trees.

Kazuma nodded in agreement. "Yeah, that's the place."

"Wow…it looks so much sadder than I expected."

Kazuma sighed incredulously. "What exactly did you expect?"

Arcueid raised an eyebrow and then stuck out her tongue playfully. "Guess I didn't really think about it."

"Obviously."

The two made their way into the actual park as Arcueid looked around.

"Wow, this place looks so strange. Everything's dead."

"Yeah, that's kinda what happens in situations like that. So, anywhere specific you're wanting to go from here?"

"No, I kind of like this place. I want to stay here for a little while."

Kazuma shrugged in response before turning to the side.

Arcueid turned around as well. "So you sense them too?"

Kazuma nodded. "I know you're there, come out!"

After a few moments two figures stepped out from behind a group of trees.

Kazuma raised an eyebrow as they approached.

The first figure was a tall, voluptuous woman with waist-length, golden blonde hair and matching, golden yellow eyes with fox ears and nine fox tails with golden fur wearing a shrine maiden outfit with geta sandals and white tabi socks.

Next to her was a young-looking girl that looked like an elementary school-aged girl with golden blonde hair tied in a ponytail and matching golden yellow eyes with bushy fox ears and nine matching tails wearing a shrine maiden outfit with a white haori that had giant, red, star-shaped pentagrams on the sleeves surrounded by smaller star-shaped pentagrams, a short red skirt, and tall geta sandals with white tabi socks.

Kazuma looked at the two curiously. "…Kitsune…? Who are the two of you?"

The woman smiled happily and reached into her shirt and pulled out a pendant with a golden mounting and round gem in it that shone a variety of colors.

Kazuma looked at the pendant confused before his eyes widened with shock.

Kazuma, in a set of silver armor, stood opposite a beautiful woman with glowing, golden fox tails. He handed her an extravagant pendant, the woman smiled happily as she held it close before Kazuma disappeared.

"That pendant…" Kazuma trailed off, "You must be…"

The woman nodded in response. "Yes. My name is Yasaka, and this is my daughter, Kunou."

The girl peeked out from behind her mother's long skirt and waved timidly.

"Now, now, Kunou, don't be so rude to your grandfather."

The girl, Kunou, looked up at Yasaka confused. "Grandpa?"

Kazuma knelt down and stuck out a hand with a smile.

Kunou shyly walked over to Kazuma before he picked her up and held her in the crook of his arm.

Yasaka walked over to Kazuma and bowed. "It is quite strange meeting you for the first time like this, Father."

"Yeah, last time I saw you, you were still in your mother's belly."

Arcueid leaned over curiously. "Someone want to explain exactly what's going on here?"

"Oh, sorry. This is Yasaka, and she's one of my daughters."

Arcueid blinked in thought and then widened her eyes. "Wait, what?!"

Yasaka giggled in amusement. "You seem quite surprised."

"Of course, how could Kazuma be the father of a Kitsune?"

Yasaka nodded in understanding. "Half-Kitsune technically. If you can believe it my mother is none other than the sun goddess Amaterasu."

Arcueid looked at Kazuma annoyed. "You didn't tell me about that."

Kazuma chuckled weakly. "Sorry about that, I'm still kind of surprised myself." He then turned to Yasaka. "You've grown up to be quite beautiful, just like your mother."

Yasaka chuckled happily before bowing lightly. "Thank you. As you can see that is my daughter, Kunou."

Kazuma turned to her with a smile. "You're quite cute yourself."

The girl smiled happily with a blush. "Thank you," she said shyly.

"It's surprising to see the first Kitsune born with just a mother."

Yasaka reached up a hand to correct him but was sternly interrupted.

"Just a mother," Kazuma said with a dangerous smile.

Yasaka sighed in defeat and then smiled in amusement. "You're just like Mother always said. Though you certainly seem to smile more than she told me about."

Kazuma nodded with a light frown. "Yeah…well let's just say things weren't exactly going my way back then. So, why are you here?"

Yasaka nodded. "This Fuyuki District as the humans call it is generally unpopulated. There are very few people who live here. As a result it's the perfect place for all of the Youkai in the area to live. And so from here I lead many of the Youkai, they have accepted me as a sort of queen to them. I do my best to lead them and keep them happy. Though it can sometimes be difficult to do so."

Kazuma nodded in response as he played with Kunou, before flinching when she bit his finger. Ignoring said pain he turned to Yasaka, "You really have your work cut out for you then, don't you? I imagine keeping that many Youkai in line isn't easy."

Yasaka nodded in agreement before lightly tapping Kunou on the back of the head, getting her to stop biting her grandfather's finger. "It was not easy at all. Though I have had help thanks an Inu who has served as a sort of advisor."

Kazuma set Kunou down and raised an eyebrow. "What's his name?"

"Sesshomaru. Before me Sesshomaru's father acted as a sort of leader to many of the Youkai but he was killed many centuries ago."

Arcueid stepped towards the two before turning to Kazuma. "I actually know Sesshomaru. He is Inuyasha's older brother."

"Inuyasha?" Kazuma asked.

"That's the white-haired Inu I told you about."

"Ah."

Arcueid then looked at Kunou and sniffed the air lightly. "Actually, you smell like that Kitsune that was with him, Shippo I think it was."

Kazuma twitched an eyebrow angrily.

Yasaka sweat lightly and added, "It's merely coincidental, I assure you."

Kazuma nodded with a deluded smile. "Good."

Yasaka sighed heavily as Arcueid walked over to her and whispered, "That's who the father is, isn't it?"

Yasaka nodded and whispered back, "Yes, but if Father found out he might kill him."

Arcueid nodded in understanding. "Kazuma certainly seems like he'd be the epitome of overprotective father."

Yasaka walked over to Kazuma and bowed. "It was good to finally meet you, Father. Unfortunately Kunou and I have business to attend to so we must be going."

Kazuma nodded in understanding as he hugged the golden-haired Kitsune. "It was good meeting you too. Perhaps we could meet again sometime when the two of you aren't quite so busy."

Yasaka nodded with a smile. "I would enjoy that, I'm sure Kunou would too."

"Good. Also, do you have any idea where your mother is?"

Yasaka shook her head. "No, I have not seen her in about ten or fifteen years at this point. Though it is likely she is at her temple. So you probably would not be able to see her easily."

Kazuma sighed in annoyance. "Shoot, well, thanks. You two should probably get going."

Yasaka nodded and bowed once more before leaving, Kunou bowing as well before chasing after her mother.

Kazuma watched the two leave with a smile before he turned to Arcueid.

Arcueid smiled as well. "It seems today was an advantageous event."

Kazuma nodded in agreement.

"Aww, how sweet," a new, condescending voice added from the shadows.

Kazuma looked around annoyed. "Who's there?!"

Arcueid looked around as well before narrowing her eyes. "That voice…Kagura!"

A figured walked out from behind one of the many trees and Kazuma turned to see who it was.

The person in question was a woman with short, dark brown hair tied in a small ponytail at the back with a pin that had two feathers on it, red, pupiless eyes with light-purple eye shadow, and fair skin with pointed ears wearing a white and crimson-striped kimono with floral patterns on it, with a blue robe worn underneath with a kosode underneath that, a yellow obi wrapped around her waist and tied in the front, earrings in both ears consisting of a series of five beads on a string with a small feather at the end of each.

Kazuma narrowed his eyes as he tensed.

Arcueid tensed as well. "Kagura, here I thought you were dead."

The woman, Kagura, smirked as she held up her fan, causing Arcueid to raise her hands defensively. "Heh, I was, actually. But it seems Naraku has decided to bring me back. Though of all people to run into, you're the last one I'd be interested in seeing, vampire girl." Kagura then stretched a hand out and waved her fan forward, shouting, "Dance of Blades!" A series of crescent-shaped, spinning blades of wind shot towards Kazuma and Arcueid.

The two jumped to the side, though Arcueid was grazed by several of the blades, slashing at her shirt.

"Arcueid!" Kazuma shouted angrily.

'Against someone like her, I don't think you can take the danger Clarent gives by burning you.'

Kazuma hissed in annoyance. 'Damn, you're probably right.' A Requip circle appeared over Kazuma's shoulder, a sword hilt appearing from it. Kazuma grabbed the hilt with his right hand and pulled the sword from the circle, it being a long katana with a black handle partially wrapped in bandages with purple markings on the black section, a black and off-white, U-shaped hand guard at the base of the blade, and a long blade that had a purple sheen to it.

Kagura narrowed her eyes as she sent another Dance of Blades at Kazuma.

Kazuma pulled the sword back and swept it forward, a powerful blast of blue energy surging forward, tearing straight through Kagura's Blades and headed straight for her.

Kagura sneered and pulled one of the feathers from her hairpiece, throwing it forward as smoke erupted from it.

The blast of energy hit the smoke and dissipated it as Kagura flew off, riding on a giant feather.

Kazuma narrowed his eyes as the Youkai flew away. He then sighed as his sword disappeared in a flash of light before turning to Arcueid. "Hey, you alright?"

The blonde vampire stood up, using a hand to prevent the left side of her tattered shirt from falling, and nodding. "Yes, I'm alright, though my clothes are torn up. And I really liked this shirt too."

Kazuma nodded in response and then sighed. "So, guess that puts an end to our date, huh?"

Arcueid nodded with a depressed sigh. "Yes, and it was going so well at first. So what will you do now?"

"Since we're here I'll stop by Akeno's house and see how she's doing before heading back to the apartment."

Arcueid nodded in understanding as she leapt up to the dilapidated buildings nearby.

Kazuma ran an annoyed hand through his hair before heading off towards Akeno's large home.

Akeno sat in her dining room eating a simple meal with Arturia sitting opposite her.

They sat quietly until Arturia suddenly perked up and looked towards the entrance of the house.

"Is something wrong?" Akeno asked. The busty ravenette blinked curiously when she heard her doorbell ring.

Akeno and Arturia made their way to the front door and smiled as they saw Kazuma standing at the entrance.

Kazuma waved lightly to the two. "Hey, I was in the area and thought I'd drop by."

"That's the most common excuse," Akeno remarked but then noticed the cuts on Kazuma's arms. "What happened to you?"

Kazuma looked at his arms and then chuckled weakly. "Oh, nothing really. Just got into a nasty fight with a Youkai, that's all."

Arturia sighed as she folded her arms. "That is hardly something to be so dismissive about."

Kazuma shrugged in response. "Probably, but I just wanted to see how you two were holding up, I also wanted to talk to you about something."

The two looked at each other confused and then turned to Kazuma and nodded.

As the three sat down in Akeno's dining room, Akeno giving tea to Kazuma before sitting next to Arturia, Akeno asked, "What is it you wanted to talk about?"

Kazuma nodded and then collected his thoughts for a moment. "I don't particularly like how you and Rias keep Arturia hiding in the shadows like that."

Akeno raised an eyebrow in confusion. "What do you mean?"

Arturia frowned in thought. "I do not see the issue. Akeno is my Master, and as such it is my job as her Servant to protect her. Keeping guard on the fringes of the school building as I do is a more than adequate method of doing so."

Kazuma sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "I don't believe this, you're getting a second chance and still you think that way."

Arturia narrowed her eyes in response. "What are you saying?"

Kazuma pressed two fingers against the side of his head in irritation and then looked at her. "You can ignore that for now, my point is I think it would be best for Arturia to become a student at the school like Medea and the others."

Arturia stood up in protest. "That is ludicrous! My skills function just fine this way!"

Akeno put up a hand. "Actually, I think that idea sounds wonderful."

Arturia looked at Akeno shocked.

Kazuma nodded in agreement. "It'd get you closer to Akeno, don't you think?"

Arturia frowned in defeat. "I see that I am outnumbered on this task."

"If you really want, I can use a Command Seal," Akeno offered.

Arturia shook her head. "No, that will not be necessary."

Akeno nodded happily. "That's good to hear. I'll see if I can get you into the second year classes."

Arturia blinked curiously. "What for?"

"So you can be close to Kazuma."

"Eh?!" Arturia rebutted with a reddened face.

Kazuma just sighed. "Well…regardless of where she ends up it'll be good for Arturia to be in a more stable setting like that. Don't you think?"

Arturia sighed in response. "I believe I would do better patrolling the school grounds but I suppose you probably have a solution for that worked out like always."

Kazuma merely grinned in response.

Akeno then clapped her hands together lightly. "Well, with all of that boring stuff out of the way, would you like to spend the night here Kazuma?"

Arturia turned to Akeno in shock with a bright red face.

Kazuma chuckled in amusement as he stood up. "While I appreciate the offer I need to get going. I'll see what I can do about getting you enrolled, alright, Arturia?"

Arturia nodded in understanding as Kazuma walked out the door.

Akeno lightly brought a hand to her face and giggled in amusement. "Ufufufu…you were blushing."

"Was not," Arturia argued weakly.

Kazuma made his way away from the house and then turned to walk back to the apartment.

Ddraig, confused, asked, 'Why are you walking home rather than using Kamui? Wouldn't that be faster?'

'Probably but…' Kazuma trailed off as he saw a figure moving along the rooftops above. He narrowed his eyes in suspicion. "This can't be good."

The figure stopped and turned around before tensing when Kazuma leapt up to the rooftops, running off at high speeds.

Kazuma smirked in amusement. "Wow, this one thinks he can escape." Kazuma took a single step forward and then vanished in a burst of speed. "Quick Step!"

Kazuma continued chasing the figure and almost caught his target when it burst with smoke, leaving behind a log. "Log?!" He tossed it aside and continued to pursue his target.

Kazuma continued the chase before ending up in a park. As he looked around he frowned in annoyance. "Great…I'm back here again." He looked around and then activated his Sharingan, not seeing another way to find his target. He then smirked, seeing the chakra of a figure hiding in a tree. Three kunai appeared in his hand in a burst of light which he then tossed into the tree.

"Gah!" a voice shouted before the figure he was chasing fell to the ground with a thud.

Kazuma walked over, a basic katana appearing in his hand from Requip, and then raised an eyebrow in confusion.

The figure Kazuma was chasing was a teenage girl with tanned skin, long, dark brown hair tied in a long ponytail with a white ribbon that stood up on the ends, and blue-grey eyes wearing the female Kuoh uniform without the shoulder cape, armored gauntlets with bandages underneath, and baggy white socks, though Kazuma also noticed seven katana swords strapped to her back, groups of three on either side and a single, longer one in the middle.

Kazuma walked over to the girl and pointed one his katana at her, his Sharingan still active. "Who are you?"

The girl rubbed her bottom weakly, moaning, "Ow, ow, ow…" She then turned and noticed Kazuma, blinking curiously before shooting up to a standing position. "You want to fight?" she asked with an excited smirk.

Kazuma responded, with a tired sigh, "Not particularly. I just want to know why you were jumping around on the rooftops. And why you wear the same uniform as me, I don't recognize you."

The girl looked at him puzzled. "Really…?" She looked at him thoughtfully. "I…don't recognize you either…though I get the feeling I should…"

"Probably. Now, answer, why were you in that tree and running on the roofs?"

The girl folded her arms in thought. "Exercise."

"That's a rather insane form of exercise you have."

She smirked in response. "You didn't seem particularly strained in keeping up."

"True. You're dodging my question."

The girl giggled weakly. "Alright, alright. I was just heading back home."

Kazuma narrowed his eyes in thought. After a few moments his sword vanished. "I'll accept that. My name's Kazuma."

"Homura."

Kazuma nodded. "Then I guess you ought to be going then, Homura?"

Homura nodded and then leapt off towards the nearby rooftops.

Kazuma narrowed his eyes and then sighed. "Geez…I really need to learn to stay away from this place." He then vanished into Kamui.

As Homura dashed away from the area she smirked in amusement. "Wait 'til I tell the others about this."

Kazuma arrived back at his apartment and sighed as he walked in, only to gulp when he saw Kazehana, Medea, and Sheele standing at the front door frowning. "Uh…hey…" he remarked weakly.

Sheele's annoyed frown changed to one of concern as she walked over to him. "We heard what happened from Arcueid."

Kazuma sighed in defeat as he smiled apologetically. "Sorry. Guess we did get into a mess back there, didn't we?"

"You certainly did," Kazehana added. "I wanted to come and help you but Medea wasn't here to teleport us so we wouldn't have made it. What happened to that…was it called a Youkai? What happened to it after it attacked you?"

"She simply flew off."

The others nodded in understanding.

Erza walked over to Kazuma curiously. "She also told us you encountered your daughter there, is that actually true?"

Kazuma raised an eyebrow and nodded. "Yeah, I did. Is that an issue?"

Erza folded her arms and sighed. "No, not necessarily. I simply did not expect you to have any children. Especially not someone like her."

Kazuma shrugged. "I have several."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah."

Erza sighed in response. "I see…well, it seems like everyone has had an energetic day, I will be heading to bed."

At that moment she also grabbed Sheele and Presa by the collars.

"I have no intention of being kept up by that racket again."

"Awww!" the two moaned in disappointment.

Kazuma stirred awake and sat up, scratching his head groggily. He then noticed something strange: he was the only one in his bed.

After looking around he discovered the reason: Erza had placed a barrier on his door. He twitched an eyebrow in annoyance and used Kamui to walk through it.

He then walked over to Erza, who was sitting at the table.

Erza looked at him happily and asked, "Sleep well?"

"No, I slept like shit. What'd you do to my room?"

Erza chuckled with a proud smile. "I have simply done my best to keep your late night activities to a minimum. With as much energy as they use up I am certain you get very tired."

"Quite the opposite. Now take the damn thing down."

"I refuse."

"Why?"

"B-because…" Erza argued weakly with a reddened face. "There is no reason for such activities to be going on."

Kazuma looked at her in disbelief. "That doesn't make any sense. Look, just take it down or I'll do it myself."

Erza sighed heavily and swept a hand in front of her body, the barrier in front of Kazuma's room dissipating. "There, it is gone," Erza answered with a disappointed frown.

Kazuma raised an eyebrow in confusion but began going about his usual routine.

After finishing his morning preparations Kazuma, Mavis, Erza, and Medea made their way to school, Kazuma holding Kon curiously.

Kon looked at the brunette annoyed. "What?! Is there something on my face?!"

Kazuma narrowed his eyes in annoyance. "No, getting that stupid Gikongan out of you has been getting harder and harder."

"Yeah, so?"

Kazuma, ignoring the stuffed toy, turned to Erza. "Can you think of a reason that would be happening?"

Erza put a hand to her chin in thought. "Only possibility I can come up with is that Kon's Gikongan is integrating with his current body, almost turning it into an actual soul."

Kazuma raised an eyebrow as he stuffed the flailing toy inside his book bag. "Is something like that actually possible?"

"It's extremely rare but has happened before at least three times. Once with a normal Gikongan and twice with a Mod-Soul. So while unlikely it is possible."

"Huh…you don't say…"

The group arrived at school a short time later, Kazuma being pulled to the side by Aika.

Kazuma groaned as he fixed his uniform then turned to her confused. "What do you need?"

Aika breathed heavily and looked at him, her face reddened. "I…really need a drink…"

Kazuma sighed and asked, "Arm again or neck?"

"L-let's just stick with the arm for now."

Kazuma nodded in understanding and rolled up his sleeve, Aika almost immediately taking hold of it with her fangs. "Ah, don't be so rough, the more damage you inflict the harder it is to heal."

"Fowwy," Aika weakly apologized.

Kazuma lightly rapped her on the head. "And don't talk with your mouth full."

Aika moaned weakly.

Kazuma rubbed his healed forearm in frustration as he walked into class.

As he walked to his seat he saw Sakura sitting at her desk looking down deep in thought.

He walked up behind her and tapped on her shoulder.

She flinched lightly before turning around to see him. "Oh, Soryu, what do you need?" she asked good-naturedly, though Kazuma saw the forcedness of the smile.

"You just seem a little bothered by something, everything alright?"

Sakura immediately stood up and nodded with a smile. "Yes, everything is just fine. Thank you though."

Kazuma nodded suspiciously as he sat down in his seat.

The majority of classes passed by simply enough, until history class came up.

Kazuma was planning, as usual, to sleep through the class as what had been occurring on Earth over the past thousand years held no interest for him.

He was planning to, but before he could fall asleep in the between class break Matsuda walked up to him. Kazuma sighed as he sat up. "What's up?"

"Do you have any more of those books?" Matsuda asked.

Kazuma raised an eyebrow in thought. "What do you…oh, you mean those ones?"

Matsuda nodded in agreement.

Kazuma nodded in and reached into his bag, flinched before crushing Kon's head because Kon bit his hand, and then pulled out two more books from the series he had given to Matsuda and Motohama before. "Here, go ahead and give one to Motohama too."

Matsuda nodded in agreement as he walked away giggling stupidly.

Kazuma sighed before turning towards the window. 'Well there goes my nap for this class.'

As he thought that an unfamiliar voice said, "Alright everyone, sit down."

Kazuma raised an eyebrow at the surprisingly sultry voice and turned to see its owner, a tall, buxom woman with long, wavy purple hair tied in a folded ponytail at the back with two long locks hanging down, framing her face, accentuating her dark red eyes, wearing a white, frilly blouse with long sleeves and a wide neck that revealed a large portion of her bust, including the mole on her right breast, along with a small portion of her black, lacy bra underneath, a short, form-hugging black skirt with a small slit up the right side, black high-heeled shoes, and long, thigh-high stockings with lacy black garters visible at the edges, along with frameless, square glasses.

Kazuma gaped slightly at the woman. 'Damn…since when has this academy had a teacher that hot?' He lightly poked Motohama in the shoulder.

Motohama adjusted his glasses as he looked at Kazuma and then followed his gaze to the teacher. "Ah, finally noticed her did you? You would've known about Ms. Suzune earlier if you didn't always fall asleep during class."

Kazuma looked at Motohama incredulously. "You say that like you pay attention."

"Only to her boobs."

"So…?"

"Ninety-seven, fifty-seven, ninety."

Kazuma blinked in thought.

Suzune looked at Kazuma curiously and narrowed her eyes.

Kazuma gulped lightly before the teacher turned to the board, her barely covered bosom swaying as she did.

Kazuma found himself entranced by the teacher until the class ended, Kazuma sighing as she left. 'Looks like I need to pick a new class to sleep through.' He then stood up as the lunch bell rang.

As he made his way to the roof he was yet again pulled away by Aika, who bit into his arm and sucked some of his blood.

After that he made his way up to where the others were and began to eat his meal.

The rest of the day passed with Kazuma and Ichigo having to go deal with several Hollows, and Kazuma noticing Tier in the room again as she taught a lesson. Kazuma raised an eyebrow in thought as the class was performed.

'Hmm…'

'What's the hum about?' Ddraig asked.

'You can't tell? You should be able to read my thoughts.'

'It's always more fun to actually talk with you.'

'Right. I was just thinking that the faculty at this school is seeming much hotter. So far there's Shizuka, Tier, and Suzune. Two blondes and a purple. All we need now is something like blue to balance it out.'

His thoughts were interrupted when Rukia's Hollow Detector went off.

Ichigo frowned at Kazuma. Kazuma sighed as he stood up and left to go take care of the Hollow.

However, he ran into a slight issue when he prepared to leave.

He stood at the back of the school building with his arm plunged into Kon up to the elbow before sighing as he tossed the stuffed toy aside. "Alright, where's the damn pill?!" Kazuma shouted.

Kon shook his head and stood up angrily. "How should I know?! Can you tell me where your heart is right now?!"

Kazuma twitched an eyebrow.

"Exactly! I don't know where the stupid thing is and honestly I'm glad, I don't have to be your doppelganger all the time now!"

Kazuma scratched his head in annoyance. "Damn. Now what do I do? I can't use my Zanpakuto when I'm inside my body, and now I don't have an easy way to get out."

"Why don't you just ask Erza to use that glove thingy on you?"

Erza ran over to where Kazuma was right at that moment. "What is going on? You should have gone after the Hollow by now."

Kazuma nodded in understanding. "Yeah, but I can't find Kon's Gikongan inside his body, so I can't switch out."

Erza sighed in annoyance. "I see. I suppose we will figure it out later." She slipped a red glove with a flame-covered skull symbol on the back over hand and then slammed her hand into Kazuma's face, forcing his soul from his body. "For now you need to get moving."

Kazuma nodded and disappeared into Kamui once again.

As he did Erza frowned in concern. 'He should really cut back on using those powers. If does not…'

After easily dispatching the Hollow and returning to his body, Kazuma dealt with the rest of the day's classes and prepared to head for the Occult Research Club but was stopped by a familiar voice.

"Soryu, wait a moment."

Kazuma turned and saw Suzune walking up to him with a stack of papers. He turned fully to face her and raised an eyebrow. "What's up Ms. Suzune?"

The purple-haired beauty nodded and handed a stack of papers to Kazuma. "You seem the most able and willing to perform simplistic tasks for faculty, am I wrong?"

Kazuma tilted his head and blinked in curiosity. "Uhm…what are you talking about?"

"I was hoping you would help with an errand I have to run."

Kazuma raised an eyebrow. "Isn't this a little…out of the blue?"

"I would like you to take those papers to the home of your classmate Murasaki, she rarely comes to class and has missed many lessons, those are all of the homework and notes she has missed out on as a result."

"You're completely ignoring me."

"Can you do it?"

"Could you explain to me why you asked me?"

"Can you do it?"

"I suppose but-"

"Good," Suzune said simply before walking away.

Kazuma twitched an eyebrow in annoyance. He examined the hefty stack of papers in thought. "Geez, is this Murasaki person a hikkikkimori or something?" Shrugging he stuffed the papers into his bag and took off towards the address printed on the slip of paper on top of the stack, sending a Thought Projection to work and one to the Occult Research Club.

Kazuma arrived at the residence that was on the piece of paper and looked around. "Hmm…this place sure is far off. It's on the edge of the city on the border of Kuoh and Fuyuki. Geez, I imagine some weirdo lives out here in the sticks or something." He rang the doorbell and waited for a moment with no answer.

After a moment he heard the sounds of the door unlocking and opening, steeling himself for whatever was on the other side of the door. He was not at all prepared.

The door opened to reveal a pretty teenage girl with long, flowing, wavy, dark purple hair that reached past her knees, two strands framing her cute face and her matching, dark purple eyes, that wore a dark grey gothic dress with many light grey accents on the frills and the necktie, and a black ribbon in her hair like a hairband.

The girl peered through the door timidly and saw Kazuma standing at her and peeped in fright, ducking back inside her house, almost closing the door, though Kazuma put his hand on it, stopping it softly.

"Uhm, hold on," he requested kindly.

The girl peeked back through the crack in the door and looked at him timidly.

Kazuma gulped heavily. 'Holy crap…that's so cute.' He shook his head lightly. "Ah, ahem, you're Murasaki, right?"

The girl nodded slowly. "Y-yes, wh-why? What do you want?"

Kazuma reached into his bag and pulled out a stack of papers. "Here, Ms. Suzune told me to bring these to you."

"S-Suzune did?" she asked timidly.

Kazuma nodded with a smile. "Yeah, she was worried you'd fall further behind in class so she asked me to take these to you."

Murasaki looked at him thoughtfully for a moment and then opened the door fully, and when Kazuma got a good look at her his eyes widened. Not only was she wearing the gothic dress and had an adorable face, Kazuma couldn't believe that she had a bust that was even larger than Shizuka's. 'Th-that's got…got to be at least K-Cup…' He shook his head once more and looked her in the face instead.

Kazuma handed the papers to her. "Anyway, here, I was supposed to give these to you."

Murasaki nodded and accepted the papers, then looked at Kazuma with a blank expression and slightly empty eyes.

Kazuma frowned in thought. 'So weird. She looks so cute, and…those breasts…but her eyes look so…empty…' Well, I guess if there's nothing else I'll get going."

Murasaki nodded in understanding as he left.

As Kazuma turned to leave he heard a muffled thump and turned around swiftly, seeing Murasaki collapsed on the ground. "Ah crap!" he snarled as he ran over to her.

Kazuma knelt down beside her and lifted her head off the ground and put the back of his hand against her forehead. He gasped lightly. "She's burning up." He picked her with one arm supporting her neck and shoulders the other tucked under her knees as he used a foot to close her door and took over to the large couch to the right of the door.

After setting her down on the couch he frowned in thought. "Okay…what's the procedure for a fever?" He cupped his left hand on his right elbow, and curled all but his index and middle finger of his right hand as he pressed them against his temple, tilting his head slightly. "Right…first need to check and see where the problem's originating from."

His right hand was enveloped in a soft green light as he placed his hand over her forehead and slowly swept his hand over her body until he found where the problem was, her abdomen. He narrowed his eyes as he activated his Sharingan. 'How strange…the energy in her body is surging through her and backfiring at her abdomen. First I need to try and stop the overflowing energy, then I can help get rid of the excess that's left.' He looked over her body one more time to find the source and eventually located it, placing a hand on her head where the surge of energy was starting. After a few moments the surging stopped but her body was still overflowing with excess energy. He pressed two fingers against a spot on her right forearm and then again on her right upper arm, allowing the excess energy to dissipate around her.

He sighed in relief as her body seemed to normalize.

"Well, that was close."

He sat silently for a few more moments until Murasaki slightly winced and then slowly opened her eyes and looked around. Her eyes widened when she saw Kazuma and she sat up swiftly.

"Hey, be careful, you just went through a serious energy backdraft."

Murasaki looked at him confused. "H-how do you…know…?"

Kazuma nodded with a friendly smile. "I'm the one that helped you. I'm surprised you had so much surging through you like that. Does that happen often?"

Murasaki frowned uncomfortably.

Kazuma sighed. "Look, I can't explain it in full detail but that kind of stuff I was trained for. If it's anything…er…personal, you can keep it to yourself if you want."

Murasaki thought for a moment and then nodded slowly. "Erm…it does happen sometimes…usually when I meet a new person or smell something new."

Kazuma raised an eyebrow as he put his hands in the thoughtful position they were in before. "Hmm…that doesn't make sense…does it happen at any other times?"

Murasaki thought for a moment and then shook her head. "Not really."

"Does that…have anything to do with why you're away from school so much…?"

Murasaki stayed silent for a moment and lightly sniffed the air. "…Sweet…but very…sour…and acrid…" she mumbled.

Kazuma tilted his head in thought. "Come again?"

Murasaki looked at him in thought and then covered her mouth with a deep blush. "I-I'm sorry…I didn't mean to say that out loud…"

Kazuma scratched his head in confusion. "You don't have to apologize, I don't even know what you're talking about."

"Oh…sorry…"

Kazuma laughed weakly. "Still don't need to apologize. But why were you talking about those smells?"

Murasaki frowned in thought and then shook her head. "It's…nothing…"

Kazuma shrugged in response and then looked around, sniffing the air. "You know, these flowers you've got everywhere…" As Kazuma looked around the room they were in, he took notice of its shape, a large square room with the front door in the back, left corner of the room, with a long wooden cabinet extending from the door to the right corner of the room, glass windows on the doors showing chinaware, multiple, multicolored flowers situated on top of the cabinet, a wide, tall window on the adjacent wall to the right of the entrance with long purple drapes drawn to block the sunlight, a short table under the window with more flowers on it, a long wooden chest on the wall opposite the door extending from the corner by the window to the hallway at the corner, with yet more flowers on it, and then the wall to the left of the door having two tables with more flowers on them flanking a wide entranceway to a kitchen.

Murasaki looked at him worriedly. "Wh-what is it…?"

"All of these flowers…even from this far away I can smell them, they fill the room with so many smells it's kind of distracting. Not knockin' it but…is there a reason for it? I'm just curious."

Murasaki lowered her head somewhat in embarrassment, burying it lightly in her plentiful bosom.

Kazuma twitched an eyebrow. 'That…so cute…'

"I…" she began slowly. "I just like…the smell. I like being surrounded by it…that's all…"

Kazuma folded his arms in thought and then shrugged. "That sounds reasonable. Different strokes for different folks I guess."

"Well…the other members of my club also gave them to me…"

Kazuma raised an eyebrow. "Club? Mind telling me what club?"

Murasaki nodded unsurely before cracking a light smile. "The Exotic Food Club. We try new foods from all over the country and all over the world," as she spoke her face brightened with a happy smile, "It's really fun too, eating all those new foods with everyone, especially the new smells of the food. We even take trips around the world to try new things." Murasaki, who was smiling quite brightly, compared to her previous expression at least, looked at Kazuma and then raised an eyebrow at his pleased smile.

"There, now you're smiling, it suits you much better."

Murasaki looked at him surprised and look to the side, her face reddening lightly.

Kazuma then noticed the small, blue and white teddy bear with a red stomach she kept beside her, holding tightly. "You seem to have been holding on tightly to that bear. Is it important?"

Murasaki looked at him worried and held it tightly. "Uh-uhm…"

Kazuma smiled and added, "That's nice. It's good you have something you hold onto as important like that."

After a moment he stood up and stretched his neck some. "I guess that's enough time here, you seem to be feeling better. You should start feeling well soon, that way you can go to school, who knows, I might even introduce you to a few of my friends."

As Kazuma left and closed the door behind him, Murasaki held her bear close with a warm smile.

Kazuma sighed as he reached the restaurant. "Geez, hope Ayame doesn't mind me sending a Thought Projection in my place."

"I hadn't even noticed," Ayame responded bluntly as Kazuma apologized, causing him to face-fault.

Kazuma answered with a twitching smile, "I…I see…guess that's okay…either way I'll go ahead and get busy."

Ayame nodded in agreement as Kazuma went into the kitchen.

As Kazuma arrived in the kitchen, the Thought Projections dispelled to give him the past few orders, Kazuma then creating more to continue working on the meals.

After a few minutes of working, Hikari poked her head in, the Thought Projections staying visible since she now knew, though she still looked at the display surprised. Shaking her head she turned to the real Kazuma. "Kazuma, your best customer is here."

Kazuma looked at her in thought and then sighed, removing his apron and nodding. "I'll be right out," he responded with a sigh.

After she left Kazuma Requipped into his butler uniform, black trousers, a six-button tailcoat with a chain on the bottom buttons, a grey vest underneath, a black tie, and white gloves.

In the main room of the restaurant, near the front entrance, stood two people.

The first was a teenage girl with long blonde hair that reached her knees adorned by a blue ribbon worn like a headband and blue-green eyes wearing a blue, button-down sailor shirt, that she kept partially unbuttoned to reveal a small amount of cleavage on her generous bust, with a white flap with red trim on her shoulders, long sleeves that reached her wrists, a red tie with several white lines near the bottom, a white, pleated skirt with a red border, knee-length dark blue socks, and brown shoes.

The second, standing next to the blonde, was a tall young woman with long, knee-length purple hair tied up in a side ponytail with a red ribbon, several strands hanging down in front past her neck and over her sizable bust, framing her face, and bangs swept to the side, and light blue eyes wearing the same uniform as the blonde except with a green tie and dark brown pantyhose.

Kazuma walked towards the front entrance and the dark-haired girl saw him and smiled.

"Hello, Kazu," she said happily as he approached the two and bowed.

"Please, right this way," he said with a motion of his hand.

The dark-haired girl nodded as the blonde grinned playfully.

After the two sat down Kazuma handed them menus with a small smile. "I will wait to hear your orders."

The two nodded as Kazuma walked away.

The blonde smirked in amusement. "I can see another reason you like coming to this place, Haruko."

The dark-haired girl, Haruko, looked at the blonde in thought and then blushed. "N-no, you're wrong Katsuragi! I've just known Kazuma since I was a kid, that's all!"

Katsuragi giggled in amusement. "I never said I was talking about Kazuma."

"Eh?" Haruko blurted out with a blush before dropping her head. "Ohhh…" she moaned.

Kazuma stood in the corner of the room waiting for Haruko and Katsuragi to order. He scratched his head with a sigh.

'Still can't figure it out, hmm?' Ddraig asked.

Kazuma shook his head. 'No, I can't. That girl claims to have known me when she was a kid, but that was five or six years ago, I was still sealed at that time. Still can't see how she thinks she knows me.' Kazuma's thoughts were interrupted when he saw Haruko waving to him.

He turned and walked towards the two, putting on his butler act once more. "What may I get for you two lovely ladies?"

Haruko chuckled weakly. "You don't need to put on this act Kazu, I do remember what you're actually like you know."

Kazuma smiled in response. "It is merely part of the job. Now, what would you two like?"

Haruko pointed to her dish of choice and Katsuragi did the same.

Kazuma nodded in understanding as he went to return to the kitchen.

"Oh, Kazu, have you met Katsuragi yet?" Haruko asked.

Kazuma turned to Katsuragi with a curiously raised eyebrow before smiling in response. "No, I have not."

Katsuragi gave a toothy grin with a victory sign. "Nice to meet'cha! I'm Haruko's senior!"

Kazuma nodded in return. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Katsuragi. Now, if you will excuse me."

Katsuragi snickered again. "Wow, he's such a gentleman."

Haruko sighed and then smiled in weak amusement. "Don't let it fool you too much. It's just how he acts on the job."

"Well, the fact that he can act like this at all is something. Don't ya think?"

Haruko just sighed in response.

Kazuma returned to the kitchen and had the Thought Projections begin preparing the requested meals.

As they did that, Kazuma continued probing his thoughts for possible reasons why Haruko would know him. After several moments of fruitless searching he sighed and stretched his neck some. "Guess there's no helping it. Just gotta wait for now."

After the food finished Kazuma made his way out to the dining room area with Haruko and Katsuragi's food.

Placing their plates down he asked, "Can I get you anything else?"

Haruko shook her head. "No, this should be enough. Thanks."

Katsuragi nodded in agreement.

Kazuma bowed once more and returned to the kitchen.

He returned to the dining room once more to bid Haruko and Katsuragi farewell before planning to return to the kitchen.

However, these plans were halted when he turned to leave but heard several new voices he didn't recognize walk into the restaurant, one in particular he liked.

The voices belonged to three people that had just walked in.

The first was a man with short, light brown hair that spiked up, green eyes, two scars on his cheek sweeping upwards, and light chin stubble wearing a white headband with cross symbols on it, a light blue shirt with a black-brown vest overtop that had lightning bolt designs on the collar, and beige pants with a thick, black leather belt with a large silver buckle and white shoes.

Next to the man however, was a tall woman with long, red-purple hair kept in a high ponytail with a black ribbon, dark red eyes, and a large bust, wearing an orange track suit with white stripes down the sides that she kept zipped far down, exposing a large portion of her bosom, and flip-flops.

Kazuma's eyes were fixated however, on the last of the three, a rather tall, mature woman with waist-length, flowing blue hair, some falling down in bangs just above her eyes and two long bangs framing her face, and light brown eyes with a giant bosom, only slightly smaller than Murasaki's, wearing a low-cut, strapless, pink blouse that was open far down the middle exposing a large portion of her bust and laced lightly in the center, a short, brown miniskirt, a necklace with a silver and green pendant, and white high-heeled shoes.

Kazuma dropped his jaw lightly. 'This is a good day to be me…'

The three walked into the restaurant and saw Kazuma standing before them.

Kazuma lightly shook his head and put on his normal act, bowing to the three. "Welcome, may I take you to your seat?"

The redhead raised an eyebrow with a smirk. "Look at this, he's just a kid."

Kazuma twitched an eyebrow. 'I guarantee I'm more than ten times your age lady.'

The man laughed weakly. "Now, now Minori, no need to be rude. Sorry about that, she doesn't know how to contain that mouth of hers."

The redhead, Minori, then put the man in a headlock with a maniacal, "Oh yeah?! Try this, Gen!"

The man, Gen, struggled to breathe as he writhed in her grip. "Gah! Minori! Can't…breathe…!"

The blue-haired woman giggled happily. "I think you should stop, Minori."

Minori looked at her curiously and then sighed, releasing Gen, who coughed harshly. "Geez, Aki, you're way too easy on him."

The bluenette, Aki, nodded in understanding. "But we wouldn't want to leave a problem for the restaurant."

Minori shrugged in response. "Fine."

Kazuma released a swift, momentary sigh and then led the group to their table.

As the three sat down, Kazuma handed them menus, Aki responding, "Thank you," with a smile.

Kazuma bowed before walking away.

Kazuma arrived back in the kitchen and smirked to himself before turning back to the new customers. "I have to say, today is turning out to be a very good…or possibly very bad, day for me. Regardless, time to get back to it."

Back in the dining room, Minori looked around curiously. "Why'd you want to come here anyway, Aki?"

Aki nodded in return. "It's one I'd heard about from a few people and wanted to check out. It might be good as our new meeting spot."

Gen rested his head on his hand in annoyance. "Yeah, since Roma's shut down."

Minori nodded in agreement.

After a mostly uneventful meal, the three left, satisfied with their meals, shortly before Ayame decided to close for the night.

Kazuma sighed as he Requipped into a more casual outfit and walked out of the kitchen. "Geez, I spent a lot more time out here than usual tonight."

Ayame grinned knowingly. "Yeah, but I'd say the clientele you served probably made up for that, hm?"

Kazuma smirked in response. "Pretty much."

Erza, Hibiki, and Hikari walked over to Kazuma tired.

"Is it finally over?" Hikari asked exhausted.

Kazuma nodded with a chuckle. "Yeah, that finishes things for the night, let's go on and head back."

The group all waved to Ayame as they left.

After arriving back at the apartment, Kazuma sighed as he flopped onto his bed.

However, he was not left to rest for long before he heard a knock at his window.

He sat up and raised an eyebrow and opened the window, only for Ciel to suddenly burst into his room frantically. "Whoa, whoa, where's the fire?" Kazuma asked.

Ciel turned to Kazuma distressed. "Kazuma, we need to move, now!"

Kazuma immediately keened his senses and asked, "Why?"

"It's Roa, I don't know what but he's planning something. A whole bunch of ghouls have started appearing in the Fuyuki District."

Kazuma nodded in understanding and created a Thought Projection. He turned to it and ordered, "Let Arcueid know. We'll go on ahead and see what we can do."

The Thought Projection nodded and ran out the door to the room as Ciel and Kazuma disappeared into Kamui.

Kazuma and Ciel appeared from Kamui back in the Fuyuki District, in the large forested area.

Kazuma clenched his fists as he saw the ghouls wandering around the area. "Guess we better get to it, huh?"

Ciel nodded in agreement as her Black Keys manifested in her hands.

However, at that moment the ghouls all fell to the ground.

Kazuma narrowed his eyes as the long katana appeared in his hands again. "This doesn't look good."

However, their attention was drawn to the side as a figure approached.

Kazuma tensed for a battle but widened his eyes in shock.

Aika was walking towards them, stumbling, an expression of agony on her face as a bright orange, flame-like chain pattern spread all over her body, originating from her left shoulder.

Kazuma looked at Aika in shock and confusion. "A-Aika…what's going on…?"

"K-K-Kazu-ma…" Aika begged weakly. "My whole body is…on fire…" she mumbled as she stumbled closer to him before her eyes dimmed and she raised a hand.

"Aika, wait!"

At that moment a snake burst from her sleeve and charged at Kazuma and Ciel.

Kazuma grit his teeth as he stomped on the ground, causing a stone pillar to rise out of the ground, the snake impacting it and then vanishing in a burst of smoke.

A new voice then chortled all around them. "Kukuku, you seem to be having fun with my puppet, Abraxas Bael."

Kazuma narrowed his eyes as he looked around. "Roa…you bastard…come out!"

"Kuku, you'll have to excuse me, but I'm rather shy, I'll let my welcoming party attend to your needs though."

Ciel tensed as Aika stumbled towards them as the black chain marks began glowing once more, covering her entire body in a bright orange glow before her fingernails elongated as claws, bat-like wings burst from her back, and her eyes changed to black sclera and pale green irises with no pupils, and her bust size increased dramatically before the orange glow receded to show her new, dark grey skin.

Kazuma's eyes widened before narrowing in anger. "You bastard!"

Ciel lowered herself to attack. "Kazuma, we must be prepared, there is only one way to end this."

Kazuma snarled in response. "No way! That's not happening!"

Aika emitted a mindless howl before charging at the two, her wings flapping to send her soaring at them.

Ciel raised her Keys to strike but Kazuma pushed her to the side, raising a hand at Aika. "Bind!" he shouted as a green, honeycomb pattern appeared at his feet and rushed towards, Aika's movements stopping completely when she touched it. Kazuma sighed in relief as a Thought Projection appeared and rushed over to knock Aika unconscious but was hit with an energy blast from her hand.

The Thought Projection vanished in a shimmer of light at is dispelled.

Ciel rushed forward towards Aika.

"Ciel, stop!" Kazuma shouted.

Ciel came up behind Aika and swatted her in the back of the head with the butts of her Black Keys, the out of her mind teen falling to the ground unconscious.

Kazuma sighed in relief as he deactivated his spell. "Thanks, for not killing her I mean."

Ciel nodded with a small smile. "I still owe you an apology of sorts for my first attack on you. This should do."

Kazuma nodded in agreement. "Now we just need to find Roa."

"No need, I have a simple way to find him, provided you can fly that is."

Kazuma raised an eyebrow in thought.

Roa stood in a dark corner, holding a small red sphere in his hand with a smirk, but narrowed his eyes and then jumped to the side as a Black Key embedded itself near where he stood. He looked up and sneered as he saw Kazuma flying in the air holding Ciel with one arm.

"Down we go," Kazuma said plainly.

Ciel looked at him worriedly. "W-wait, you don't mean…?!"

Kazuma then dropped Ciel, causing her to land in a trash dumpster hard enough to misshape it. Kazuma landed on the ground himself softly. "Oops, you alright?"

Ciel reached out of the dumpster with an obscene gesture before standing up and shaking her head free of the dizziness. Wiping the filth from her outfit she remarked, "I'd comment about how that could've killed me but we both know how laughable that is."

Roa folded his arms in amusement. "Hmph, you two seem rather relaxed. Accepted your deaths have you?"

Ciel frowned as she readied her Black Keys. "No, we both intend on killing you."

Kazuma slammed his fists together, shouting, "Boosted Gear!" as the red gauntlets appeared on his forearms.

"Dragon Booster!" they bellowed as the green gem lit up.

"Yeah, we intend to beat you into a bloody pulp, and then make sure you can't come back again, Roa. Or whatever you call yourself at this point."

Roa smirked fiendishly. "I don't care what you call me. Your deaths are imminent!" He crossed his arms and then threw his head back as the hilt of a sword emerged from his mouth, before he grabbed the blade and fully withdrew it. The blade glowed a bright blue as he swayed it around lightly. "Now…do me a favor and die."

Ciel tensed as she raised one arm in defense.

Kazuma narrowed his eyes and extended a hand. "Zanmato!" The long silver katana from before appeared in his right hand with a flash of golden light.

Boosted Gear then bellowed, "Boost!" as the gem lit up bright green.

Roa grinned and then shot his hand forward. "Striking Shadow Snake!" Three snakes shot from his sleeve and charged at the duo.

Kazuma inhaled a deep breath and then exhaled forcefully, sending a blast of flames rushing towards Roa's snakes, roasting them.

Ciel then dashed forward and slashed at Roa, but the bandaged man bent to the side impossibly before kneeing Ciel in the gut and sending her flying into a wall.

Kazuma burst forward with a blast of speed and appeared over Roa's head, slashing downward.

Roa blocked his strike with his sword, though he flinched slightly when the power of Kazuma's strike caused him to sink into the pavement minutely. He managed to throw Kazuma off, the latter correcting himself as he landed.

Roa then turned, slammed his sword into the ground, and put his hands together in a series of signs before curling his right index finger and thumb together in a circle, placing it over his mouth, inhaling and then shouting, "Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!" as a stream of fire shot from his mouth.

Kazuma smirked as he took in a big breath of his own, gulping down all of Roa's flames.

Roa flinched in annoyance. "Shit! I forgot he's a Dragon Slayer."

Ciel came up behind Roa and horizontally slashed where he stood, but Roa back flipped over her and slammed a fist into her back, sending her flying forward.

Kazuma caught her before Boosted Gear doubled his power once more, allowing him to dash forward at even higher rates of speed.

Roa burst forward in response, the two swinging at each other, their swords clashing.

Kazuma snarled as he swung up at Roa, Roa leveling his sword and waving it down to block Kazuma's blade. Kazuma smirked and transformed his eyes into their Sharingan and then Mangekyo Sharingan form.

Roa hissed and jumped back, sending several kunai flying at Kazuma.

Kazuma swung his free hand to the side, sending a burst of air out that knocked Roa's kunai away. He winced as tags wrapped around the kunai's hilts exploded.

Roa smirked and then frowned when Kazuma was uninjured.

Kazuma sighed and then spat in annoyance. "Kamui makes moves like that useless. Moreover…" He then took a deep breath, swallowing the flames from the explosion in the process before giving a confident, toothy grin. "It'll just give me more fuel."

Roa snarled in annoyance. "Tch, I had forgotten, he's almost as annoying as that Fairy Tail brat."

Kazuma smirked and slashed Zanmato in front of him, sending a blast wave of wind tearing towards Roa.

Roa flashed through more signs and then slammed his hands on the ground. "Earth Style: Mud Wall!" A wall of mud and stone rose up in front of Roa, blocking the blast of wind from hitting Roa.

Roa then appeared out of the ground behind Ciel, stabbing her through the chest.

"Ciel!" Kazuma shouted as Roa vanished once more.

Ciel fell to the ground but got up moments later. "Do not worry about me, any damage dealt is at most an inconvenience."

Kazuma nodded in understanding as he looked around. "Damn, he's more annoying than when he was Honest. At least that fat bastard was easy to spot." Kazuma sighed before closing his eyes and sending energy pulses out. His eyes snapped open as he turned around and swept his sword forward, shouting, "Demon Fang!"

A blast of blue energy shot from his sword and raced forwards, Roa bursting from the ground to dodge it, before turning to Kazuma, going through several hand signs, inhaling, and then spitting out shots of air, shouting, "Wind Style: Wind Bullets!"

Kazuma smirked and performed a waving motion with his hand, causing the Wind Bullets to go around him and then redirect back at Roa.

Roa hissed and jumped to the side before clapping his hands together and slamming them on the ground, large chunks of stone bursting from the ground and soaring towards Kazuma and Ciel.

Ciel threw numerous Black Keys at the stones, the pieces of earth exploding as they were hit.

Roa snickered as he stood up but then was hit from the side by a roundhouse kick, getting slammed through a nearby wall.

Arcueid lowered her leg with a sigh. "Hmph, hopefully you two haven't been waiting too long."

Kazuma shook his head with a smirk as a Requip circle appeared beside him before he pulled out a long red lance with a massive blade and multiple panels acting as a hand guard, a small tuft of fur hanging off the bottom of the lance. Kazuma chuckled and held the lance to his side as he pointed the sword forward. "Not at all. The fun's just starting."

Well there you have it. Hopefully everyone enjoyed the chapter, if so write a review. If not...go do something else maybe? Anyway, if you are confused about anything in the story feel free to ask about it in a review and I would be happy to answer it as best I can. Either way, until next time.

And my place is back to normal too.

*KNOCK KNOCK CRASH*

Oh come on, I just fixed that!

"Sorry, but we have another question."

What now Kiba?

"This."

*FLOP*

Wow, seeker looks beat to hell.

"I assume he's a friend of yours."

Yeah, thanks Ichigo...I think. Great, now I need to fix him too. Kiba, could you hand a few buckets of glue? This could take a while.