"Licht you're here. Where have you been all this time?" Kranz
"I was kidnapped by Tsubaki." Licht
"This Tsubaki fellow must be one immensely strong Vampire." Kranz
After Kranz and Licht have finished their discussion their focus shifts back to their current problem. Kranz mentions the holy water he carries around for when Lawless gets unreasonable. He hands the bottle to Tohru who says.
"I didn't know stuff like this existed. Where did you even find it?" Tohru
"There's a travelling antique dealer who sells this kind of thing." Kranz
"Antique dealer!" Tohru
"Yes, he's a peculiar little fellow." Kranz
They're all sitting around looking at his website when Tohru gets a very angry look on her face. Licht notices this, and says.
"What happened? Why are you so angry?" Licht
"That guy had the nerve to tell me that I should throw Kuro out of my life." Tohru
"But didn't you say that your life got better after getting Kuro?" Licht
"Yes it got a lot better." Tohru
"It's ok. Knowing you you have forgiven him already haven't you?" Licht
"Yes, but the memory of the incident still makes me angry." Tohru
"It'll be alright just give it some time." Licht
Tohru nods, and settles down in Licht's arms. Tetsu looks at the site, and says.
"You know this guy?" Tetsu
"It's got to be him. I guess I'll stop by his shop, and see what he has." Tohru
"That man is bad news." Misono
"Why do you say that?" Tohru
"He just is don't trust him." Misono
Tohru briefly makes eye contact with Licht who sees that the last remnant of anger toward that man is gone now. Licht smiles at this, and Tohru focuses back on the task at hand. She looks at Misono, and says.
"But..." Tohru
"Now Misono it's not like we have much of a choice at a time like this." Lilly
"I guess we'll go our separate ways for the time being." Misono
Tohru turns to Lilac, and says.
"Now Lilac I need you to stay here, and help Tetsu out around the Inn. Do you think you can handle that?" Tohru
"No problem Tohru; You guys have been so nice to me I'd be happy to help." Lilac
Tohru smiles the happiest smile that Lilac has ever seen making him happy he has chosen to stay.
Tohru is ridding on the train with Kuro in her bag. Kuro yawns, and says.
"I'm so sleepy from all that sawing earlier. Time to take a nap." Kuro
After Tsubaki shows up looking for his subclass Tohru exits the train, and Kuro says.
"Hey what's going on? That was a really bouncy wake up call." Kuro
"Kuro, you ok?" Tohru
"Yeah of course I am. I'm a Vampire I'm immortal you worry about yourself; You're way to kill-able." Kuro
"It's hard to take you seriously when you're so tiny, but I'm glad you're ok and you still have your sense of humour despite everything." Tohru
"Tsubaki is on the move so we should be too." Tohru
With that Tohru starts running in the direction of the antique dealers shop.
When they get there a weirdo opens the door pushing Tohru down on her backside. After said weirdo realizes his mistake he brings Tohru into the shop, and says.
"So the reason I'm here..." Tohru
"Mikuni isn't in right now." ?
"Mikuni?" Tohru
"Uh, right so what are you doing here? Are you one of Mikuni's employees, or just a friend?" Tohru
"A friend of that guy! I'd rather die. What about you? Are you one of Mikuni's servants?" ?
"I'm no servant. I'm just an acquaintance of his named Tohru Honda." Tohru
The strange man mispronounces her name, and says.
"Welcome to my research laboratory. Now have a seat. Why don't you let the good doctor examine you while you wait. Have some ah...tea." ?
"Wait what is this?" Tohru
"Just a welcome drink for the Eve of Sloth. Cheers." ?
He mispronounces Tohru's name again, and Tohru says.
"Who is that?" Tohru
"I guess I should admit I'm not very good at catching peoples names. There are more important things to remember." ?
The man writes Tohru's name on her forehead, and says.
"That should help. Welcome Tohru Honda." ?
"Uh, so who are you again?" Tohru
"I'm part scholar, and part researcher Vampires are my specialty." ?
"Huh?" Tohru
"Johanas Mi-Mir Faust is here. That's technically my name. The letters that denote my individuality, but you can call me doctor, or Hans, Johanas, Faust, or Mi-Mir. Whatever you like really. The more important thing really is..." Faust
"Johan, Johan." ?
"Welcome back Miku Miku." Faust
The antique dealer jumps down from the balcony, and kicks Faust in the but before saying.
"I told not to come here without asking, and where exactly did my dear Violetta's head go huh?" ?
"Uh hi." Tohru
"Oh hi Tohru. Do you have some business at my store?" ?
"Uh well, maybe Miku is it?" Tohru
"Oh that's right I never told you my name. I'm Mikuni Arisuin nice to see you. Thanks so much for looking out for my little brother." Mikuni
"You're Misono's big brother. That can't be right, but why didn't Misono say anything? Is there bad blood between you two?" Tohru
"Enough chit chat I want to touch this Vampire of yours. He's a cat right the Servamp of Sloth. Where is he? Where are you hiding him? This powerful beast don't be shy bring him on out." Faust
Tohru presents the ball to them in the palms of her hands. Faust backs up, and says.
"No way!" Faust
"I'm trying to find a way to get him back to normal." Tohru
Faust clanks a glass beaker against the ball, and says.
"Ah, a problem in need of examination. Cheers to the unexpected. Oh if only we could freeze in this moment. It's just so beautiful that I think I might just cry. Thank you for bringing this oddity." Faust
Faust grabs Tohru by the head, and throws her into the wall saying.
"Now into my laboratory." Faust
The wall turned out to be a revolving door. Tohru groans saying.
"Ow." Tohru
Tohru sits up, and says.
"What? I didn't break the glass or anything. Must be some kind of revolving door, and that's a little weird." Tohru
"It's time for some fun experiments with the good doctor. Are you excited?" Faust
Meanwhile back at the Inn Misono, Tetsu, and Licht are planning their next move. They are looking for a way to bring this war to a decisive end before Tohru returns from the antique dealers shop. They know where Tsubaki's base is now all they have to do is figure out how to break all of his subclasses without getting themselves killed. The task is made even harder by the fact that they are down a man after the capture of Hugh. So their priority will probably be rescuing Hugh while doing all they can to beat Tsubaki. No matter how hard they try every plan they have come up with they need Tohru's help if they are to be successful. Back at the antique shop Faust is conducting experiments on Tohru. He writes on his clipboard, and says.
"165.2 centimetres. You're kinda short you know." Faust
"What's the point of all these measurements huh?" Tohru
"Quiet down. I'll need some hair. Any history of chronic illness?" Faust
"I'm fine. Kuro's the one you're supposed to be looking at not me. I want..." Tohru
"What do you plan to do if you manage to get Sloth back to normal? Are you going to go after Tsubaki?Do you have some kind of plan to stop him?" Mikuni
"Huh?" Tohru
"You are aware that Vampires are immortal, but do you really know how to break them?" Mikuni
"Break them? What are you talking about? Wait I get it are you saying you have a way to kill Vampires?" Tohru
"You're horribly uninformed. As an Eve you should really know how these things work. Vampires are essentially immortal true, but subclasses can be broken if a Servamp drinks their blood. You could call it a form of cannibalism. There's also a way to break a Servamp. Using their name and their item. The two things that connect an Eve and a Servamp together. You gave Sloth an object and a name to make a contract, and that's his weakness." Mikuni
"Huh? No I didn't give him anything. Yeah I did his little cat bell. I didn't think anything of it." Tohru
"Servamps are sins, and Eve's their salvation. In order to break their connection you must destroy the item an Eve gave to his Servamp. Do that, and the Servamp well..." Mikuni
"This is good to know, but all I want to do right now is get Kuro back to normal." Tohru
"There's no known method for doing so. Servamps cause all sorts of unexplained phenomena, but I never thought I'd get to witness something like this up close." Faust
"Tell me doctor you're not an eve or a subclass right. So why do you research Vampires?" Tohru
"Maybe I just enjoy a good challenge. I'm on a boat rowing against the current always fighting to get upstream. If you truly want knowledge you have to seek it out with every ounce of your will. Stop to rest and you'll fall behind. Humans have no time to catch their breath. There's only one way to get what ever you yearn for. Nothing begins without action. If you do nothing then you're sure to gain nothing. Satisfaction is stagnation which is death. I want to know, see, and feel to experience and understand to learn everything. This monster is amazing and we know next to nothing about him. He has such incredible strength. He's won every battle he's ever fought the ultimate soldier, and now there's a war between Vampires. Perhaps I should thank the Servamp of Melancholy for allowing me to see something so fascinating. In every era wars have forced us toward progress. I want Sloth to revert back so he can use his powers to do just that." Faust
"Sure, but it's not that I want his power." Tohru
"Hmm?" Faust
"I want to learn from Kuro, and become the kind of person that can face him as an equal." Tohru
"I have no interest in such sentimental motivations. Here have some tea." Faust
"Thank you." Tohru
Tohru drinks the tea that Faust gave her, and he says to her.
"I don't know any fool proof way of getting him out of there, but there is a radical solution that I thinks worth trying. Of course what I'm proposing is a human Eve entering the mind of a Servamp, and interacting with him directly." Faust
"Taking unnecessary risks as usual I see." Mikuni
"Luckily I've already concocted a way to get into a Servamps mind. I can't believe I'm getting to test it on the eldest brother Sloth." Faust
"Good luck to you Tohru Honda. How about a poem as you depart. -The Cat and the Unicorn, were fighting without the crown, the cat beat the Unicorn, all about the town, Some gave them no flower, And sent them out of town.-" Mikuni
Misono and Lilly along with Licht and Lawless are launching a mission to rescue Hugh before Tsubaki can do anything bad to him they are running out of time so they proceed with very little planning. They even have Kranz pose as a tourist to help them get onto the upper floors. Licht and Lawless take the stairs while Misono and Lilly take the elevator via the key card acquired by Kranz. Before he left Misono instructed Kranz to stay on the look out for anything suspicious in the lobby. At first Misono was afraid that something will go wrong in the elevator, but the ride to the 41st floor goes off with out a hitch. Then Misono and Lilly take the stairs the rest of the way up. This is where they begin to have problems. Tsubaki's subclasses start trying to slow them down, but fortunately they were unable to stop them completely. The two groups make it to the correct floors at the same time. Licht looks at Misono, and says.
"Higan is mine! You can handle the rest of them." Licht
"Licht's enemy is my enemy too." Lawless
"Fine. If handled correctly Lilly and I can handle the rest, and hopefully Tohru won't have to come save us." Misono
"It won't have to come to that." Licht
"Let's hope." Misono
When Misono gets to the 43rd floor he faces Belkia, Shamrock, and Otogiri. When Licht gets to the 44th floor he finds himself face to face with the old man who kidnapped him putting Tohru in a coma. Licht can't get those lifeless eyes out of his head. He is determined to make that old man pay for what happened to Tohru. With Lawless by his side he will kill that fire user, and keep Tohru form involving herself more than she already is. This time he will succeed in protecting the most important person in his life. The fight will be over by the time Tohru gets back from the antique shop.
Meanwhile Tohru is travelling into Kuro's mind. Once she arrives at her destination Tohru finds herself in an endless desert, and says.
"Hello. Hey I know you." Tohru
"Hello, Kuro doesn't want to see you at the moment." plush cat
"You're wrong." Tohru
"Look at the map there's nothing ahead. Good morning, good evening, Good morning." plush cat
Tohru trips, and falls flat on her face. When she listens closely Tohru can hear Kuro's cat bell ringing. Tohru comes up with an idea of how she's going to get below a desert. She draws a bow into the sand, and the bow turns into a trap door with submerged stairs leading down to the next level. Tohru takes a big breath, and begins to swim down. She makes it to the end of the water, and manages to regain her balance on the stairs. Tohru starts to walk down the seemingly endless flight of stairs. At the bottom of the stairs Tohru sees the plush cat standing in front of a door. The plush cat looks at her, and says.
"Wow. Now you've found him." plush cat
Tohru finds herself plopped right into one of Kuro's memories. The memory is of the tragedy that Lawless was telling her about in the concert hall. Tohru fallows Kuro out of the meeting room, and goes on watching the rest of the tragic story. Tohru can tell that Kuro doesn't want to do what he is going to do. She can see the tears pouring down his face as he attacks the man who is essentially his father. She can hear Kuro's voice say.
"Don't look, don't look I don't want to disappoint you. I want to become a hero too Tohru." Kuro
"Kuro stop it please?" Tohru