Walking down the street arm-in-arm with a disguised Fallen Angel was not something I ever imagined would happen to me, but there'd been quite a lot of changes in my life, like going to school with a bunch of literal Devils. The way her boob pressed against my arm was nice, though. "Hope you don't mind if we don't end up going somewhere fancy," I said to 'Amai Kozuki,' spotting a ramen shop a little ways down the road and pointing towards it, "Does that work?"
She shrugged, neutral expression unchanging. "Sure, sounds good."
The place wasn't too busy, so we found a decent spot quickly and had our orders placed and drinks in hand within a minute. "So, Amai-san-"
"Kozuki, please," she interjected with a small smile, "I know how ridiculous it sounds, believe me."
"Alright, Kozuki-san," I nodded in agreement, taking a sip of my tea, "I've got a couple of questions for you. Firstly, what classes do you take? And where do you go to school? And finally…why me?"
"Lemme answer but not in order," she started, flicking long blue tresses away from her eyes, "I go to Kuoh College, first year. That's why we haven't run into each other before. As for classes, I'm majoring in Computer Sciences, programming mostly." She grinned as I nodded in appreciation, "Thought you'd like that. As for you, well…I said it before, you're new and interesting and there really isn't that much to do around here after awhile."
"I can't be that interesting, I've been here for a week," I replied, "And as far as I can tell, this place isn't too far from some decent destinations. You could hop on a train and find several someone's just as new and interesting."
"Uh, on a college student's allowance? Yeah right," Kozuki scoffed, idly playing with her glass of soda, "...To be entirely honest, it's not just because you're cute, though that's a big part of it. Computer Sciences, remember? When your company replaced all our old computers and we realized how cutting edge they were, the whole class had to relearn everything we'd been taught about programming." She giggled at my wince, "We were kinda mad at first, but it turned out to be really easy to learn. When I realized the heir of the company was coming here, I had to see what you were like for myself."
I narrowed my eyes at her. "…I hope that doesn't mean you were stalking me."
Kozuki waved it off. "No, but I did watch you for a bit before I left you the note, nothing stalker-y," she answered, lightly flicking some of her drink at me, "Though I gotta wonder why you came to see me, you seem to hang around girls quite a bit. Thought maybe one of them might've sunk their fangs into you already."
"Besides my bodyguard, you mean?" I shrugged and sat back in my chair, "Most guys in the former all-girl school are kinda territorial, so they generally don't talk to me. Or I don't want to talk to them. What was with the whole 'blushing schoolgirl' act, by the way?"
The disguised Fallen offered a casual shrug. "Most guys seem to like-" She paused as the waiter brought our bowls of ramen over, snapping he chopsticks and digging in, "Most guys seem to like the blushing schoolgirl act, and I figured you'd like it as well."
Chewing a cut of tender pork, I swallowed my bite. "Would like it more if it was real," I commented, twirling noodles into a ball, "What about your family?"
Kozuki's eyes followed the waiter as he passed, eyes fixed on the cans of beer he was serving to another table. "Huh? Oh," she snapped back and took a bite of her chicken, "Well, most of my family lives outside of the country, I think my…cousin lives somewhere in Kyushu. Right now I'm sharing a house with a couple other girls. It's not in the best shape, but it's livable. What about you? Why'd you come here when you've got enough money to never need a higher-education job and obviously smart enough that school's optional."
"'Obviously smart enough?'" I echoed with an arched eyebrow.
"Come on, Saul-kun," the blue-haired rolled her eyes, "You're the heir to a tech company, and there are a lot of rumors about how easy class is for you and how you made your own motorcycle. Not to mention the tabloid rumors that you're the brains behind all the new stuff SOS is putting out." She swallowed a bite of her ramen and added, "Plus, the biggest rumor around is that you're gonna open a new office in Japan."
I shrugged noncommittally, then sat back, tapping my fingers on the table. "…You aren't trying to seduce me into giving you a job, are you?"
She tilted her head in thought. "…Wouldn't I be the one giving you the 'job?'" Kozuki asked with a dry smile.
"I believe in fair play," I rejoined, getting a big bundle of noodles into my mouth. "I noticed you didn't say 'no.'"
"I'm not trying to seduce you for a job," she replied wryly, "You know, you're a pretty suspicious person."
I gave her a flat look. "Right, like a beautiful woman has never seduced anyone for any purpose whatsoever."
Kozuki twirled a long strand of blue hair around her finger with a smile. "Oh, you think I'm beautiful, do you?"
It was my turn to scoff. "You're gorgeous, Kozuki-san, and you know it."
"It's still nice to hear," she shrugged, "But let me assure you, I'm not trying to seduce you, and the fact that you're questioning that proves that I was right: you're new, interesting and mature, Saul-kun. Most boys your age wouldn't even think about it, they'd be looking at my tits trying not to drool."
"Well you can rest assured that I won't do either of those," I didn't need my eyes to see, after all.
Kozuki pouted slightly, pressing her arms forward to make the pale valley of her milky cleavage even deeper. "You can take a peek, you know? I didn't undo the top button because I'm running a fever." At my questioning eyebrow, she nodded seriously. "Come on, take a look."
Shrugging I dropped my eyes from her face to chest and took in what I could see of her breasts. Pale, round and straining slightly against the confines of her blazer, with a quick scan confirming an earlier theory of mine: she was just a bit bigger than Akeno. "You have some very nice breasts, Kozuki-chan," I nodded, returning my attention to my food.
"Thanks!" She chirped, plumping them slightly and sounding genuinely pleased, "I grew them myself." With that, she lifted the bowl and drained it in one go, throat bobbing as a drop escaped her mouth.
Chuckling as the woman across from me licked her lips of remaining broth, I did the same and drank the last of my soup with a sigh. "Man, I love ramen. I know it's bad for us with all the salt, but damn, it's too good."
"You could say it's almost sinful," the disguised Fallen Angel agreed with a grin, polishing off her soda.
"You could, yes," I waved the waiter over to get the check, "That's one of things I like about Japan, not just the street food, but the fact that it's mostly unpretentious. In any big city in America, you can walk down a block and find four different places with 'The Best Cup of Coffee In The World!' or 'Original Pizza' or 'Authentic' or 'Terrific' or 'Authentic Original' and it's just stupid. Here it's pretty much, 'hey, we've got noodles, we make 'em good, pay us and eat 'em.'" I paid the check and drained the rest of my tea. "So, Kozuki-san, want to walk off the noodles in the park?"
"Sure!" She agreed, taking my offered arm as we walked out of the restaurant.
Making sure we kept to paths with other people nearby, we spent the next hour or so simply chatting as we walked, occasionally taking a break on the benches.
Apparently Kozuki's Computer Science teacher was a big fan of mine. "Seriously, if you see a thirty-year old woman with terrible taste in dresses who calls you 'Tech-kun,' run. The whole class has heard her muttering to herself about babies and in this case, I don't think it means gadgets," she warned, her expression deadly serious, "I mean, she's kinda cute if you're into that, but totally crazy."
"Good to know," I muttered, filing that away for later. My eyes found a small, wheeled stall where an older gentleman was handing out ice cream cones and I couldn't resist the urge to lick my lips. "You want some ice cream?"
Kozuki looked over at the stall, desire plain in her eyes. "I'm a girl, we always want ice cream," she nodded, and we approached the stall. He only had a few flavors on offer, vanilla, chocolate, green tea and red bean. I naturally went for the vanilla and she ordered the chocolate, biting her lip with indecision. "…Alright, my friends say you should make the man pay for everything on a date, but you bought dinner and it feels wrong to let you buy dessert, too. I'll cover it."
I'll admit, seeing a college woman struggle over the desire to be a good date while equally not wanting to spend money was rather endearing. If I hadn't known it was all an act, I would've fallen for it hook, line and sinker. "You sure? It's not exactly a bank-breaker for me," I pointed out bluntly.
Kozuki puffed up imperiously and nodded, chin set. "Yes, I got it." She handed over some yen and we took our cones to a nearby bench, sitting down to enjoy the cold, sweet treat. After a few minutes of licking, she turned to face me. "So, Saul-kun…is this a nice date? I'm not su-I mean, I've totally gone on a lot of dates, but from your perspective of someone who hasn't, unlike me…what do you think?" She cleared her throat, blushing lightly.
"Well, I think so," I shrugged, taking a lick of my cone, "Good food, good conversation, and you're really good-looking-"
"-With great tits," she added.
"-Also true," I agreed, sitting back on the bench, "As far as dates go…not bad. But first dates are more like interviews, anyway."
"First date?" Kozuki asked with an arched eyebrow and a half-smile, "What makes you think there's gonna be a second?"
"Do you want one?" I replied.
"Will it be more interesting?" She returned.
"Depends on your answer," I rejoined, taking a bite of my cone.
Kozuki smiled softly, flicking her blue hair away from her face. "…Yeah, I'd like a second date. As long as it's more interesting!" She demanded with a flush in her cheeks.
"Sure, I can think of a few fun things to do," I added, gesturing at her with my mostly-eaten cone, "Your ice cream's dripping, by the way."
"Ah shit!"
…
If You Ain't Got the GUTS…
In a stunning move only a month after the release of the widely-praised SOS Smartphone, the Caliburn Electric Luxury Vehicle and the SOS Smart Entertainment System, Solana White, 41, CEO of Solaire Optimal Solutions, has announced a new and controversial breakthrough in medical technology known as the GUTS Program.
"It is an unfortunate fact of life that accidents happen," Solana said at a press release this morning, "Or that genetic degradation through disease or other factors can damage and destroy once-healthy organs. It is unfortunate as well that acquiring replacements and the surgeries necessary are extremely expensive, and even if a replacement is secured, that it requires costly medication to ensure the organ is not rejected. With the success of our breakthroughs in medical technology, such as MRIs that are three times as powerful at a fraction of the cost and energy expenditure, computer scanning systems that can identify cancerous tumors with 98% accuracy and new medications that have saved thousands of lives already, we at Solaire Optimal Solutions have invested further into the health and well-being of the people! Today, I am proud to announce The GUTS Program! Using DNA from the injured party, or the DNA of their relatives, we have devised a method to successfully synthesize and clone new, healthy organs that can be surgically replaced without the need for anti-rejections drugs!"
In response to this bold claim, the crowd at the press release went wild with speculation. Solana further explained that the new program is still in the testing phase, and that trials on mice had seen great success.
One concern was loudly raised: Would such a no doubt expensive procedure be exclusively for the rich or extremely lucky?
Solana had this to say: "The truth is, the surgery itself is the most expensive part of organ replacement. Our Science Division is hard at work creating new technologies and methods everyday, and it is our understanding that soon, we will develop a way to grow healthy organs inside of those who need them, no surgery required. In the meanwhile, we are working with various insurances to work out our pricing, but we expect that the GUTS Program will soon be available to all-and it won't cost an arm and a leg!"
Despite assurances, several questions remain. One such question was posed by a concerned citizen: "How could these people possibly have the technology to clone things?! What are they really cloning and why do they want our DNA?! You can't trust these big corporations, they'll buy your genes and sell them to the lizard people!"
SOS has promised that the intricacies of the program will be made available when it becomes public. In the meantime, we are left to wonder, will the various governments of the world allow such a game-changing program?
…
No Man's Trash
The mysterious disappearance of the world's trash continues. Over a year ago, it was reported that several landfills in America had begun to shrink with no evidence as to where the garbage has been taken. Now, new reports say that the Great Pacific Trash Island has disappeared.
Several conspiracy enthusiasts have been keeping an eye on the island since the first disappearance, and yet they were stumped to realize Trash Island had vanished under their noses.
Noted environmental activist Greg Torbjorn had this to say: "Why the **** do so many people care where all the garbage is going? We've checked satellites and telescopes all over the world, and it hasn't been moved to the Arctics or shot into space. It just vanished into thin air as far as we can tell. Trash has started disappearing in India, too. My thoughts? Good. And who cares who's taking it? What would they even be able to do with it? It's TRASH."
A concerned citizen has also said: "DON'T YOU GET IT?! THE GARBAGE IS DISAPPEARING BECAUSE IT'S INSIDE OF US! THE TRASH IS HUMANITY! HUMANITY IS TRASH-"
…
"-It's been two weeks," Kiba muttered audibly, staring out of the ORC window. Rias looked up from the article she was reading at the blonde swordswoman and rolled her eyes. "This Fallen has done nothing. What could she possibly be planning?"
"For someone who denies having a crush, you sure do seem quite put out whenever Saul-kun and this Fallen are mentioned," the Gremory Heiress pointed out.
"Because there's obviously some nefarious plot that involves him, he's my friend and I'd rather he not get caught up in it!" Yumi blustered, cheeks darkening. "…Right?"
Akeno scoffed next to her, also peering out of the window. "They're Fallen," she sneered, getting a concerned look from Rias, "They're always up to something."
The redhead sighed, setting her phone on the desk with a click, "I don't like it either, but we can't do anything until they actually do something. My familiar has been following them on their dates and nothing nefarious has happened so far, all we can do is wait. We're alert and ready to act, and should the worst come to pass, I can always reincarnate him as part of my Peerage," she said, summoning a red Bishop piece and spinning it on her finger…for all of a second. She barely avoided dropping it to the floor by dismissing it back, quickly checking to see if anyone had noticed.
"I don't like this," Kiba repeated the four words she'd said about ten times a day for the past two weeks, her blue eyes narrowing as she spied the object of her ire walking arm-in-arm with the other object of her (des)ire, watching as they stopped at the gate and traded words. Her hands clenched into fists as that blue-haired bitch laughed at something he said, then blushed as he kissed the back of her hand. Then she had the gall to swoop in and kiss him on the cheek before waving him goodbye.
As Solomon was waylaid by the (less-openly) Perverted Trio, the Fallen looked up and met Kiba's eyes through the window, smirking victoriously before strutting off.
"…Cunt," Koneko grunted from Kiba's side, watching the by-play with a miniscule frown. Akeno remained silent, though a subtle crackle and the smell of ozone permeated the air around her.
"If you want your morning hand kiss, you should probably hurry, Yumi-chan," Rias said, clapping her hands, "And we all have classes to get to. Come on, ladies."
…
"Aniki!" The Trio greeted me after saying goodbye to Kozuki, all bowing, and I wished they wouldn't do that. Kuoh just loved rumors and with the three of them treating me like a boss/big brother for some stupid reason, the current gossip making the rounds was that I was attempting to create my own Yakuza, and also that I had a Dragon tattoo and would be calling myself 'The Dragon of Kuoh' soon enough.
…I mean, they weren't right, but they weren't entirely wrong either.
Although I would look bitchin' with a dragon tattoo, and I could even pull my clothes off by grabbing the shoulder, too. Something to think of later.
"Boys," I sighed, wishing I could smoke openly, "Stop bowing."
"No!" Issei cried, still facing the ground, though his head was turned to watch Kozuki walk away, "A man who can land a babe wi-like that…deserves our respect!"
"Knock it off before I slap you again," I barked, making the three stand up straight and a passing group of girls whisper to themselves, the muttered words of 'boss,' 'Yakuza' and 'slap me instead' reaching my ears. I resisted the urge to pinch my nose. "Report."
"Homework done and ready to turn in, Aniki!" They replied, holding out bundles of paper towards me, which I took and quickly scanned.
"Matsuda, the date on this battle is wrong, Motohama the people involved in this event were 'The Jewish' and not 'juicy thighs,' Issei…every 'oo' in your English essay are little boobs, though your handwriting has gotten a lot better," I listed off, handing their papers back and rolling my eyes as they slapped themselves in the face in recrimination, "How goes your search for clubs? Remember what I said?"
"'Channel all of your perverted power into becoming the best, and you'll all get girlfriends in no time!'" They chanted, holding a hand up as if they were swearing a solemn oath.
"Aniki, I've done my best to join the Track Team!" Matsuda reported, saluting, "They were cautious of me at first, but I posted the best time in the trial! I should be getting notice soon!"
"Excellent, your dedication to physically improving yourself will not only make you more attractive to the ladies, but also improve your stamina in all fields. Just don't forget to find time to train your strength in other ways," I nodded, patting him on the shoulder, "And remember to always shower, it's important to be physically fit and well-groomed. Don't forget to always have time to wind down and relax, either. The rest is just as important as the exercise."
"Yes, Aniki!"
Motohama was the next to step up, adjusting his new, more modern glasses. "Aniki, I've taken your advice and studied up on computer programming, and I'll be applying to the Computer Club later today."
"Good, remember to keep up with the morning runs," I nodded, turning to a nervous-looking Issei. "Issei?"
"I-well, I di-I was-I…" The boob-loving pervert hung his head, "I can't think of anything! None of the clubs are interesting! I can't run, I'm no good at tennis, I'm only good for getting beat with shinai so kendo's out, computers aren't my thing…I'm sorry, Aniki, I can't think of anything."
I tapped my chin in thought, pacing before the Trio. "…Issei, describe the perfect pair of breasts for me," I said aloud.
The three of them traded surprised looks. "Uh, you mean it?" He asked nervously.
Considering I'd been slapping them every time they mentioned anything even remotely NSFW, they were right to be cautious. "I'm allowing it, this time," I replied, pointing at him, "Do it, Issei. The perfect pair of breasts. Tell me. But contain yourself."
Over the next five minutes, Issei proceeded to rant about titties in, frankly, the most poetic way I'd ever seen him speak, including a lengthy section about how there was no such thing as 'the perfect pair of breasts' because to him, in his words: "-big oppai, small oppai, medium oppai or little oppai, all oppai are perfect because they are oppai! The only bad oppai are no oppai at all! Or a trap wearing a stuffed bra, but that's just plain evil!"
He was panting slightly by the end of it, looking like he'd just run a mile. "…That was a very vivid image you just painted with words, Issei," I said, patting him on the shoulder, "Tell me, when you think of breasts, can you see them in your head? Visualize them with crystal clarity?"
"Well yeah," he shrugged, "I've got access to the internet, I've seen thousands of pairs, real and drawn. There's this one pair of oppai that stuck with me that had a big mole on one of them but it was the same skin shade as the nipples so I thought there was a third nipple but-"
I lightly slapped him across the face. "Enough of that now. You can see these images, right? Perhaps you could…recreate them with your own hands?" Issei bobbed his head in thought and withdrew a notebook from his backpack, flipping it open to reveal…tits. Many, many tits.
"I've been trying to use my energy on other things, but my arm gets tired and sometimes…I get bored of looking at oppai, so I draw sometimes…" He scratched the back of his neck, ducking his head slightly, "I know they aren't very good-"
"Shut up, Issei," I muttered, flicking through the drawings, "These are excellent. I mean, it's all breasts, but if you turned your attention to detail away from just tits, you could really have something when it comes to drawing. Maybe there's a mangaka club?"
"There isn't," Beth said as she emerged from the bushes with a quiet rustle, startling the three boys, "There is, however, a 'Doujinshi Club' mentioned on the roster who's sole member is Kiryuu Aika."
I bobbed my head in thought. "She likes drawing guys, you like drawing girls…maybe working together you two could come up with something good, with fanservice for both kinds," I shrugged and handed him the notebook back. "Something to think about. Good job, boys, I sense the winds of change a-blowin'. It won't be long before one of you gets a date, I'm sure. Head off to class and correct the mistakes in your homework."
"Yes, Aniki!" They chanted before jogging off.
I sighed. "…They're not gonna stop calling me that, are they?"
Beth pulled open the front door for me with a miniscule smirk on her lips. "As long as you keep ordering them around and disciplining them like a 'big brother'…then no, they won't."
As soon as I stepped inside, I found Kiba there waiting for me. "Good morning, Saul-kun," she offered both a welcoming nod and her hand, which I duly kissed the back of as she smirked, "Or should I say…Oyabun?"
I dropped her hand and strode off. "That's it, if everyone's gonna call me that, I might as well own it. Beth, make me an appointment with a tattoo artist and a tailor, my wardrobe needs an update! Also, order an eye patch."
"On it," Beth answered immediately.
Kiba stuttered, I could almost feel her missing a step before following me. "Wait, what? Er, no, don't do that! I was just joking! Saul-kun!"
…
The rest of the day was pretty normal. I went to class, pretended to be involved while checking my projects, including one that was very close to being done, and then had lunch.
"Er, Aniki…" The Trio looked nervous as they approached the table I was sharing with Kiba and Koneko, Issei holding his phone to me, "There's something you might…not want to see…"
As soon as I had taken his phone, he clasped his hands and ducked his head along Matsuda and Motohama, each looking like they'd come to deliver terrible news. My eyes took in the article he'd apparently been reading and I almost slapped my palm to my face.
SOLANA WHITE WINS MILF OF THE YEAR!
Oh for fuck's sake. The picture heading the article was of my 'mother' standing in the center of a group of surprised looking people, proudly holding a trophy that said 'Hottest MILF' and bearing a pleased expression. God. Dammit.
I sighed and handed the phone back. "Issei, were you looking at 'Marvelous MILF's'...at school?"
"…Hentai," Koneko muttered, giving him a flat glare.
"Y-yes, Aniki," he muttered shamefully, "But I thought you'd want to see this! Because of…you know…"
"We were looking, too," the bald teen admitted, with Motohama nodding in agreement.
"Boys…" I said, shaking my head in disappointment, "You know what the punishment is."
"Yes, Aniki!" They nodded, then dutifully slapped each other in the face three times before bowing, "We're sorry!" Then they turned and ran off towards the track, where they would run a mile.
Sighing, I turned back to the girls sharing my table. Kiba was smiling as she sipped her tea, sapphire eyes sparkling with humor; while Koneko gazed at me with almost-indecipherable hazel eyes, munching on one of the hamantashen I'd brought. "…What?"
She chewed, swallowed and licked her lips, then pointed a finger at me. "…Oyabun." Kiba snorted into her cup.
"I am not!" I denied, "Those boys just needed someone to teach them to rein in their impulses, punish them when they step out of line, and instill them with a little discipline!"
Koneko nodded. "You're right," she said, before turning to me and giving a short, sharp, stiff bow. "…Aniki."
I frowned at them and that was apparently the last straw as Kiba covered her mouth to smother her giggles. "It's-hehehe, it's not a bad thing, Saul-kun!" She tried to point out, though her laughter sort of ruined it, "If anything, it's a compliment. It's been maybe a month and you've reined in the Perverted Trio which everybody thought was pretty much impossible, to the point that their grades have gone up and the clubs are starting to relax. And you're right, they just needed someone to boss them around-"
I'd been a bit surprised by how quickly the Perverted Trio had latched onto me as an authority figure; honestly, I had expected that I'd probably never really talk to them again except when 'Yuma' asked Issei out, but apparently they'd all wanted a big brother. But I was starting to think it wasn't worth it if they kept calling me 'Aniki.'
My phone rang and thankful for the distraction, I snatched it up without checking the screen and answered. "Oh thank God a distraction, hello?"
"Hey Solo-kun," Kozuki's voice answered, sounding amused, "This a bad time?"
"It's never a bad time to hear your voice, Kozuki-chan," I replied, and out of the corner of my eye I could see the two Devils trying to hide their frowns. "What's up?"
I'm not sure what the Fallen Angel was up to, truly. From my memories, 'Yuma' had impaled Issei at the end of their only date; Kozuki and I had been on about six dates all told and despite taking her to some private places (with a camouflaged Beth following, always) she hadn't tried to kill me yet. Not that I wanted her to try and kill me, hopefully my counter-seduction was working and this chick isn't just playing a long game.
I mean, we'd started holding hands, kissing cheeks and we even cuddled near a fountain; if she was playing the long game, she was good at it.
"I could be calling just to hear your voice, you know," she teased, before clearing her throat, "Though I'm calling this time because I saw something online-"
"If it's about my mother accepting an award, I already know," I replied with a sigh, "The Trio just showed the article to me, but I already knew about it…actually, let me just-" I took a screenshot of the text Solana had sent me last night, carefully avoiding the ones where she was naked and sending very lascivious texts. "There."
From Mother:
Lookee what I won sweetie! (Picture from the article) Aren't you lucky to have such an attractive mommy? ;)
"…"
Kiba and Koneko traded looks. "...Is she always like that?" The cat girl asked.
"Yeah," I replied, scrolling up to a message I'd gotten last week, where Solana had practically written a short novel about how much she missed me. "You could say she's 'over-affectionate' but it's better than the opposite…I think."
"Weird," Kozuki and Koneko said at the same time, the Devil scrunching her nose cutely at sharing the same opinion as a Fallen Angel.
"Amai-san," Kiba began, eyeing my phone suspiciously, "Can I ask why you were looking at a website for MILFs?"
I could practically hear Kozuki arch an eyebrow. "Uh…I wasn't. I have an alert set up on my phone for articles featuring Solo-kun, his mom and SOS."
"…That's suspicious," Koneko voiced, also glaring at my phone like it'd done her personal injury.
"Your opinion means nothing to me," Kozuki sniped back, "For your information, I look up articles about SOS because, and I'm not sure if you're aware, but Solo-kun tends to talk a lot about things he's excited about. We talked for nearly three hours about cloned organs last night! Excuse me for liking hearing him talk so passionately about things I barely understand!"
I resisted the urge to look surprised. Kozuki sounded genuinely angry about being questioned, and not in a 'how dare you bitches try and blow my cover!' kinda way, either.
"Whatever. Sorry for interrupting your lunch, Solo-kun," she muttered, and I hurriedly switched off the speaker and pressed the phone to my ear.
"Kozuki-chan, wait!" I turned away from the Devils to whisper into my phone, fully aware that they could hear me, "I'm sorry, I didn't expect they'd pull an Inquisition on you. You know that I know that you aren't after anything like that."
"I know you know, honey," Kozuki muttered tiredly, "I'm just done with people questioning it. I…I'll see you later, okay?"
"Okay. Can I come see you after class?" I asked hopefully.
"Sure. Bye Solo."
"Bye Kozu." I sighed and turned an aggravated look at the two Devils. "Thanks for interrogating my girlfriend, ladies. Real nice of you." I packed what remained of my lunch and made to leave, only for a hand to latch onto my wrist.
"Saul-kun, wait-" Kiba started.
"No," I did not, in fact, wait, "I don't know what kinda problem you have with Kozuki, but you need to get over it." I looked down at my wrist and her fingers holding me, arching an eyebrow.
She let go with a downcast look, and I walked away from them with Beth following. You know they'll be mad about this once events play out, my bodyguard said.
They're Devils, they should understand deception, I replied, though she wasn't wrong. I'll make it up to them afterwards. But I'm not wrong: things go right, Kozuki is gonna be around for a long time. Speaking of, I need to think of something nice to do for her. Opening my phone, I did a search for good places to go, and saw a giant moving crab sign. I was instantly sold. Sotenbori? Sounds familiar…and awesome.
…
"I can't believe you're dating a boy," some vapid human girl giggled, as if she hadn't been saying that for weeks now.
Inwardly gritting her teeth but outwardly chuckling, the Fallen Angel known as Kalawarner to her fellows but Amai Kozuki to the humans replied, "He's not that much younger than me, and more mature than a lot of the guys in our classes."
"Ooh?" Mittelt, or as she was known, 'Miki-chan,' hummed suggestively, waggling her eyebrows, "How much more mature, hmm?"
"Mature enough to be a gentleman," she sniffed, blushing lightly, "He always kisses my hand when we meet, and he hasn't pressured me into anything."
The short blonde flicked her hair. "Maybe he's waiting for you to pressure him, hmm? Though if you don't wanna, just let Miki-chan take him for a spin instead."
"Hands off, man-eater," Kozuki warned, wagging her finger, "Our relationship is nice and relaxing and…nice. Maybe it's a little slow, but people still think I'm after his money, I don't want to jump him and give them more ammo."
"Maybe it's love, Kozuki-chan?" Yuma, also known as Raynare, teased, her eyes subtly flashing, "Though the way you've talked and talked and talked about him, maybe Miki-chan is right. I wouldn't mind getting to know a mature boy myself."
"Ooh, maybe all three of us should take a shot at him!" Miki-chan chimed in, posing and fluttering her eyelashes, "No way he'd be able to resist all of our charms!"
Kozuki rolled her eyes as the gaggle of girls giggled gregariously, only to run into one of them as they pulled up short. Resisting the urge to punch the human in the back of the head, she stepped around and realized why she had stopped, as had the other girls.
"Speak and he shall appear," Mittelt muttered in English, licking her lips.
Before them, casually leaning against his bike, was Solomon White, his school jacket and neck ribbon discarded, leaving him clad in just the black vest and white button-up. His sleeves were rolled up to the elbow, displaying his toned forearms, the top few buttons of his shirt loosened to give a tantalizing peek of his defined clavicles and muscular chest. With the addition of his sunglasses, motorcycle, his pose and clothes, it was almost the picture-perfect definition of 'rebel.'
Then Miki-chan whistled suggestively and he jumped, nearly throwing his phone into the air as he scrambled to catch it, finally doing so before whipping his head around to look at them, his sunglasses dangling from one ear. "Kozuki!" he called, an adorably bright grin on his lips as he jogged over to her.
"Solo-kun?" she blinked, her hands grasping the strap of her bookbag, forgetting entirely the other girls with her, "W-what are you doing here?"
His smile dimmed and he looked down, rubbing his neck. "W-well, you said I could see you after class, so…" He shrugged, "I'm here."
"Y-yeah, but…I mean," Kozuki took a deep breath, and tried to focus, "Why?"
Solomon sighed, "Because my friends were being bitches to you," he admitted, reaching out to take her hands in his, "And I don't know why. Even the Student Council President tried to 'warn me about relationships with older women-'"
She smirked slightly. "-You mean the one you regularly thrash at chess?"
"Yeah," he nodded, before scoffing, "I was in the middle of thrashing her at chess, too. She still can't defend against the Bashkir Maneuver, I mean seriously I've used it on her three times…" He shook his head, refocusing, "Not important. What I'm trying to say is…I'm sorry. I'm sorry my friends said what they did and hurt your feelings."
She squeezed his hands, her heart thumping in her chest. "Hey, they didn't 'hurt my feelings,' I'm just tired of their bullshit is all," Kozuki denied, her eyes fixed on his, the rest of the world fading away.
"Still, I want to make it up to you," Solomon continued, "Because…I like you, Kozuki," he brought up her left hand and kissed the back, the heat in her cheeks making her feel light-headed, "I like you a lot," he kissed the other hand, "So, I was hoping we could go out tonight? Maybe somewhere a little more interesting than Kuoh?"
She blinked, caught flat-footed. "I, uh…"
"Girl, if you don't say yes, I will!" Miki-chan chimed in, making them both jump and turn to the short blonde woman who winked at Solomon, "Hey handsome."
"Oh, uh…" He blinked and blushed, realizing that they'd been unintentionally giving the group a show, "Hi there. You're uh, Mikado-san, righ-?"
"No!" The blonde shouted, stomping her foot and pouting outrageously, "It's Miki-chan! Miki-chan!" She grinned, projecting that her act was just that, sticking her hand out, "Nice to meetcha! You're just as handsome as Zuki-chan said…! And keeps saying."
He took her hand and kissed the back with a smile, "And you're just as adorable, gregarious and sociable as Kozuki-chan told me."
She'd actually called her a 'cock-hungry goblin' but Kozuki supposed he was trying to be polite.
"Pleasure to meet you as well," Yuma greeted him with a polite smile, offering her hand as well. It was only because of her senses that Kozuki saw what happened the instant they made skin contact: an almost-invisible pulse that raced through her body, briefly raising goosebumps on her skin, her pupils dilating as she involuntarily sucked in a soft breath. Less than a second later, her reaction was suppressed and hidden, outwardly appearing as if nothing had happened, "I'm glad you're treating Kozuki-chan nicely."
Kalawarner knew her fellow Fallen Angels had felt what she had felt: there was a power hidden inside of Solomon, though whether it was a Sacred Gear or simply very high magical potential was up for debate.
"She talks about you quite a bit, Yuma-san," he replied, kissing her knuckles, "Glad to finally meet you in person, though…" He turned his gaze back to the blue-haired woman, "If we're going to go, we should go soon…"
Kozuki cleared her throat, "I-"
"If she doesn't want to go, I'll take you for a ride," Miki-chan offered, once again waggling her eyebrows suggestively
"I was about to say…" she continued, giving the short blonde a glare, before smiling at Solomon, "I'd love to go, but uh…where, exactly?"
Clapping his hands, he jogged back over to his bike, waving her over with a grin. "No time! If we're gonna go, we gotta go!" He reached down and produced a pair of sleek black helmets, "Bye, ladies!"
Kozuki looked down at her bookbag, then at her friends, then chucked the former at the latter and sprinted over to his bike, slipping her leg over the seat, an arm around his waist and the helmet on her head. With her free hand, she gave them all the finger. "Later, bitches!" She cackled as Solomon revved the engine and took off on the back wheel, landing on the front a second later and speeding off, the roar of the engine reverberating with the sound of Kozuki's whoops.
As the girls giggled, Miki and Yuma watched them go. "…Seems she really likes him, huh?" The blonde muttered.
"Yes," Raynare said, smile soft but eyes sharp, "It seems so."
…
"So where are we going?!" Kozuki shouted to be heard over the rushing wind and through the helmet on her head.
"No need to shout," he replied, his voice sounding like he was speaking into her ear. "Noise canceling headphones and microphones built-in. And I'm not gonna tell you, it's a surprise."
She squeezed him tightly around the middle. "Then can you at least tell me how long it'll take to get there?"
"Sticking to the speed limit, it would take about two hours," he admitted with a bit of shrug, before twisting the throttle and increasing their speed, "But we aren't following the speed limit."
Kozuki laughed, already feeling the adrenaline pumping through her veins as the wind whipped at them. "What about the police?" She asked.
In response, he tapped a button and a thin, almost transparent net blossomed out in front of them before snapping back, seemingly floating around and behind them. The gossamer threads of the net sparkled in the light, but apparently did nothing else. "Optical camouflage," Solomon explained, laughing as if he could sense her disbelief, "At this speed we're not invisible, but from the outside we look like a somewhat transparent blur. I wouldn't be surprised if there are rumors of a speedy ghost popping up later. And what can I say? We keep the best toys for ourselves!"
"If that's the case…" She resisted the urge to shrug and instead squeezed him around the middle, "Open it up! Show me how fast this baby can go!"
"Can do!" He weaved between cars as they sped down the highway, the other vehicles little more than blurs before they were passed. More than once, police sirens would ring out, but the flashing lights would fade within seconds.
She was sure how long they'd been driving, the sound and feel of her blood pounding in her ears somewhat ruining her sense of time. She noticed him slowing down and heading for an offramp, eagerly looking around at their destination. She was a bit disappointed when it looked like a completely normal suburb. "…Is this it?" Kozuki asked, not hiding her disbelief.
"Nope," Solomon replied, taking them down a hill towards the water, "But there is a shortcut!"
"Where?" She glanced around again, but nothing exactly screamed 'fun destination.' Then she realized they were still heading to the water, and had begun to speed up. "Um, Solo?"
"Yeah?" He sounded unconcerned.
"You're heading for the water."
"Yup."
"…Are we going to the beach?"
"Nope!" He revved the engine and sped up, racing downhill to the water, "Hold on!" He popped a wheelie just as they approached the guardrail, then the bike bounced and sent them flying over the edge.
Kozuki buried her head in his back and squeezed him tightly, debating on whether she should shed her form and fly away when they splashed down…but didn't sink. She looked and saw that the wheels of his bike had turned sideways, glowing blue as they hovered above the water, leaving a misty tail behind them. "This…it's a hoverbike?!" she squealed, feeling the spray on her hands.
"The best toys, Kozu-chan!" He called back, laughing, "The best toys!"
Laughing freely, she hugged his back as they sped out across the water.
…
After jumping back onto solid land, she could see lights off in the distance grow closer until Solomon finally parked, taking her by the hand and leading her to a large stone bridge. Below lay a canal, flanked by boardwalks with various shops and apartments lining it. "Alright, we're here now…" she started, "So will you finally tell me where 'here' is?"
"Yup!" He threw his arms out grandly as a wooden ship passed under the boat, "Welcome, Kozuki-chan…to Sotenbori!"
…
Three Hours Later…
The two walked into the karaoke booth they'd asked for and seeing the ice-cold drinks waiting on a tray, they grabbed the glasses and chugged. "Wait, this is beer," Kozuki noted, licking her lips.
"And this is a highball," Solomon replied, holding up his glass, "I picked this place 'cause it's got a reputation for not being too picky about who gets alcohol, and I remembered you looking pretty longingly at a beer being served at the restaurants we've gone to."
"Heh, I thought I was subtle," she grumbled, taking another drink, "I suppose, being the 'responsible adult' here, I should say this is a terrible idea and we should definitely stop."
He drained his glass and grabbed a nearby pitcher. "Refill?"
"Fuck yes."
Chuckling, they sat down on the couch to enjoy their drinks and flick through the selection of music on offer, before he stopped and slammed his hand down on one in particular. "This one!" he declared, making the selection.
Kozuki arched an eyebrow at him, sipping from her beer. "I don't get a choice?" He held the catalog out for her to see, her eyes widening slightly. "…Alright, that's a good one."
"And it's not like we can't do other songs, this booth is rented for an hour," he shrugged, grabbing the microphones and handing one of them to her. "Come on, I picked duet mode!"
She giggled as she stood up to join him in front of the screen, taking a mic. "You're oddly adorable when you're enthusiastic about something," she pointed out, brushing her blue hair back from her face.
"Bitch, I'm always adorable," he grinned as the sick guitar solo started playing, swiftly joined by a piano. Without hesitation, he began to bang his head and air guitar, despite how stupid it made him look. "You know, I'm glad we saved this for last. I wanted to do it first thing, but this feels like a good way to cap off the night."
Kozuki nodded as the first words came up on the screen and the music picked up. "It's been a night alright," she agreed, clearing her throat. As they began to sing, they couldn't help but think back to how the night had begun…
"The sirens are screaming and the fires are howling way down in the valley tonight," they sang, "There's a man in the shadows with a gun in his eye and a blade shinin' oh-so-bright!"
…
Hours Earlier…
"-Bori!" Solomon finished his grand proclamation and reached out to take her hand with a grin, "First, food! You know, I've been living on an island for over a month and I still don't eat that much seafo-"
He grunted as someone ran into his shoulder, making sure to roll with the impact. Despite doing so, the other person cried out in pain, and he spun around to find, well…a hoodlum. Baggy, garishly colored clothes and a hat, with four other boys in similar outfits. "Ahh! Oh god, my arm's busted!" The hoodlum cried with obviously fake pain.
"Alright, calm down," Solomon started, looking apologetic and amused. "I'm sorry for running into you and not looking where I was going-"
"Li'l Tsunori!" One of the other hoods, wearing a neon purple jacket called with overdramatic worry, before turning Solomon with a pointed finger, "You dislocated his shoulder, man!"
"Ooh, the pain!"
"He's poor! He ain't got no home! Medical bills will set him back for years!" The hood continued, "You gotta take responsibility for your actions, man! Li'l Tsunori's gonna end up homeless!"
The cyborg arched an eyebrow, no longer looking apologetic. "Yeah right, I didn't run into him that hard."
The hoods all gasped, the one in purple turning to Kozuki. "Miss! You really gonna let this guy be so heartless?"
Kozuki leaned against the railing. "Yeah," she said, crossing her arms and grinning.
"-There's evil in the air and there's thunder in the sky, and a killer's on the bloodshot streets-"
"Oh, what happened to honor and decency?!" The purple one called, even as the other hoods straightened up and slipped their hands in their jackets, withdrawing various low-quality weapons like a bike chain, a boxcutter and for the leader, a pair of cheap brass knuckles, "In these days when men won't take responsibility for their actions, then other men while have to make them!"
The other hoods, even the injured one, fanned out in front of them, trying to look threatening. "So extortion didn't work, you're going to mugging?" Solomon asked, crossing his arms, unimpressed.
"Gotta pay for my boy's medical bills somehow," the leader shrugged, before turning a leer on Kozuki, "You're girl's pretty heavenly though, maybe she comes with us and kisses our hurts better and we call it even, hm?"
"I thought it was just the one guy who got hurt?" He retorted, idly cracking his knuckles. "And while she is an angel-" her eyes widened briefly before she schooled her expression, "-that's up to her."
"We're sensitive souls, seeing our boy hurt made us hurt…spiritually, or some shit," the leader shrugged again, "How 'bout it, sweet cheeks?"
Kozuki uncrossed her arms. "I've seen better acting from toddlers," she shot back, flipping them the double-bird, "Fuck off, dipshits!"
"-Oh and down in the tunnel where the deadly are rising oh, I swear I saw a young boy down in the gutter, he was starting to foam in the heat-"
"That's it, time to-!" The leader darted forward to sucker punch Solomon, the hoods with the bike chain and box cutter joining him as the other two went to corral Kozuki.
Saul ducked his shoulder, the brass-knuckled fist brushing by his ear before he punched the hood in the sternum, sending him stumbling back. He dipped and wove as the hood with bike chain flailed at him at the same time as the one with boxcutter, waiting for an opening. He snatched the chain out of the air and yanked, pulling the hood towards him and straight into a clothesline, stripping the weapon away. Using the chain, he deflected wild strikes from the one with the boxcutter before wrapping the chain around their wrist, tugging the end to twist their wrist out of place with a crack.
The boxcutter hit the ground with a tinkle and Solomon flicked it away with his foot, sending the blade sliding under the hood leader's shoe just as he got back up, making him slip to the ground again. Twisting the disarmed hood around, he bound their wrists together with the bike chain before kicking their knee out to make them kneel, driving his elbow into their forehead while pincering the back with his kneecap, letting the man fall to the ground unconscious.
"-Oh baby you're the only thing in this whole world that's pure and good and right-"
Saul twisted around to check on Kozuki and found her in no need of help. She punched one hood in the throat to send him reeling, caught the arm of another to launch a palm thrust into his chin to snap his head back, then kicked him square in the balls before seizing him by the hair and slamming him face first into the bridge's railing.
"-and wherever you are and wherever you go, there's gonna be some light-"
Then she tripped the other to the ground and stomped on his crotch, making him squeal, before using his groin as a platform to kick him in the chin, bouncing the back of his head off of the concrete ground. Huffing, she flicked her hair from her eyes as their gazes met, an excited smile on her lips before she pointed behind him.
Saul ducked and sent an elbow backwards, jabbing the hood who formerly wielded the bike chain in the gut, jamming his fingers under their chin and pulling them over his shoulder to slam them into the ground, then driving a fist directly into their diaphragm to make them vomit. Hearing a ragged yell, he spun as the leader charged directly at him, forgoing any sort of strategy to swing wildly at him.
"-But I gotta get out, I gotta break out it now, before the final crack of dawn-"
Solomon agilely dipped, ducked, dodged and wove around the brass-clad fists swinging at him, speedily sending jabs into his opponent's ribs when they overcommitted. He grabbed their wrists and pulled them in for a headbutt, punching them in the stomach then landing a palm strike to the forehead and as they stumbled back, he stepped forward and kicked the hood in the chest.
"-So we gotta make the most of our one night together, when it's over you know, we'll both be so alone~!"
Kozuki grabbed the hood by the front of jacket before he could tumble over the railing, a look of naked relief on his face. "You wanted a kiss, didn't you?" She asked seductively, her hand stroking his jaw as her lips puckered.
Perhaps it was the blows to the head, but the hood leaned in and closed his eyes, only to meet empty air.
"Kiss this!" She executed a perfect roundhouse kick to his cheek, sending him spinning over the railing and to the water below with a yell that was cut off by a splash.
"-Like a bat outta hell, I'll be gone when the morning comes-"
Flipping her hair, she turned to find Saul staring at her, eyebrows arched. "…What?" She shrugged, panting slightly with her cheeks pink.
"…That was sexy," he answered, giving her a slow once-over with a grin.
"Not the only thing," she replied, smiling toothily before turning on the other hoods, who had slowly gathered themselves up in a moaning, limping pile. "You want some more, hm?"
"No, no, no!" The hoods whined, "We're sorry! Here, to show how sorry we are!"
'Li'l Tsunori' reached into his yellow jacket and produced a small plate of metal, sliding it across the concrete to Solomon. "We won't bother you again!" They cried before limping off.
"-Oh when the night is over like a bat outta hell I'll be gone, gone gone, like a bat outta hell I'll be gone when the morning comes!"
He picked the plate up and gave a quick scan, idly noting that foot traffic had parted around the fight but hadn't stopped. "Wait…this is pure silver…" He turned to Kozuki with an incredulous expression, "Why did they have this?"
She shrugged, opening her mouth to reply when her stomach audibly growled. "Ahem. Food?"
Tucking the plate in a pocket, he took her hand and led her onward. "Food!"
"-But when the day is done and the sun goes down and the moonlight's shining through~!"
Kozuki goggled at the giant moving crab sign above the restaurant doors, licking her lips as they stepped inside and the scent of freshly-cooked seafood washed over them like a wave. They were seated quickly, but Solomon whispered something to the waiter who nodded and scuttled away, only to return seconds later with glasses of water before vanishing again.
"What'd you order?" She asked, sipping her drink and trying to ignore the grumbling of her stomach at the sight of other customers digging into steaming dishes at nearby tables.
He winked, eyes twinkling. "You'll see."
Ten minutes later, she was starting to get impatient. Just as she opened her mouth to complain or at least ask for an appetizer, three waiters stepped up to their table and began laying down dishes. And more dishes. And more dishes.
Eventually, their whole table was covered in almost every kind of crab imaginable.
"-Then like a sinner before the gates of heaven I'll come crawling on back to you…"
"One of everything," he replied, grinning as her eyes sparkled, "That's what I ordered. I also called ahead to let them know we'd be coming."
Breathing in deeply, Kozuki licked her lips and met his gaze eagerly, the two clasping their hands together with a short bow. "Thank you for the food!" They chanted and quickly dug in.
"I'm gonna hit the highway like a battering ram on a silver black phantom bike-"
"Mm, this is so good!" Kozuki moaned around a mouthful of food, picking another portion up with her chopsticks and holding it out to Saul, "Here, try!"
He took the bite and groaned, nodding slowly, "Oh yeah," he mumbled, "That's good,"
"-When the metal is hot and the engine is hungry and we're all about to see the light-"
A few other customers and waiters watched in equal parts incredulity and fascination as the largest item on the menu was consumed at such a voracious pace that it would shame a black hole. If there had been a record for 'most food eaten in one sitting' or 'fastest meal eaten,' then the couple would've broken those records to itty-bitty pieces.
"-nothing ever grows in this rotting old hole, and everything is stunted and lost!"
After paying for the meal, the two headed back out into Sotenbori with full bellies and high spirits. "Ooh, an arcade!" Kozuki pointed out, nearly dragging Saul behind her in eagerness.
"The new Virtua Fighter is out, I heard," he commented, the two pausing at the doors as they saw a girl in an oversized coat staring at the UFO Machines through the window with an intense, mournful look on her face. "Bet I can beat you up, Kozu-chan!"
Ignoring the girl, the bluenette smirked and pulled him inside. "You're on, Solo-kun!"
"-and nothing really rocks and nothing really rolls, and nothing's ever worth the cost!"
"Dammit!" Kozuki cursed, slapping her hands on the machine as the Ninja Solomon was controlling hit the leggy blonde she was controlling with an Izuna Drop, knocking her out a second time and ending the fight in his favor. Again. "You gotta be cheating!"
Looking altogether smug, he winked at her and patted the machine like it was an eager puppy. "It's called 'being good,'" he snarked, grinning as she growled at him. "How about I make it up to you?" He motioned over to the UFO Machines with his head.
"Alright, if you can get something from one of those, I'll be impressed," she allowed, following as he approached the machine and inserted a few coins, "I spent three hours at one of these once, trying to get a weiner dog in a hot dog costume. I didn't even want the damn thing, but I spent all my money on it-" Her jaw dropped as he almost effortlessly aimed the claw at a small blue bird, picked it up and dropped it into the slot. "…How?"
Solomon hugged the blue bird to his chest, stroking the head like it was a cat as he shrugged. "I guess machines just like me," he said, before holding the stuffed animal out to her, "Here. I'm giving you the bird, Kozu-chan."
She took the bird and looked at it, then back up at him and sighed. "…Thanks, babe. Now come on, I'm gonna crush you at racing," Kozuki peered at him through her blue bangs with a small smile.
"You're gonna try," he retorted.
"-And I know that I'm damned if I never get out, and maybe I'm damned if I do,"
"I hate you," Kozuki growled, hugging her bird to her chest as they left the arcade.
"You won that last one!" Solomon pointed out, though failing to restrain a smile.
"Because you let me!" she practically snarled, "I saw you slow down on the final turn!"
"Yeah 'cause it looked like you were about to break some-" he paused, seeing the same little girl standing at the window of the arcade, staring at the UFO Machine. "Uh, excuse me…little…girl…are you okay? You've been standing there for some time."
"Huh?" She jumped a little and turned to them, her eyes landing on the bird and a morose expression crossing her face. "I'm fine…just, I really wanted the jumbo Bun-chan doll, but I couldn't get it out of the machine. I spent all my allowance on it, too…" She sighed and slumped.
The two traded looks. Kozuki shrugged. Solomon arched an eyebrow and nodded. She clutched her doll to her chest and shook her head. He gave her a flat look and rolled his eyes, then nodded at the little girl. She frowned at him before kneeling down by the girl. "Hey, sweetie, do you want mine?" She offered, holding the bird out.
"But with every other beat I've got left in my heart, you know I'd rather be damned with you…"
The girl perked up, reaching out to touch the doll before pushing it back. "Thank you, big sister, but that's not fair. Your boyfriend won that for you, so you should keep it."
Kozuki sighed, tucking the doll under her arm and reaching out to pet the child on the head. "Alright, I tried, Saul…" She looked around and realized her date was nowhere to be found. "Uh…"
The door to the arcade opened again as he emerged, proudly bearing a large blue bird toy that he presented to the little girl. "Here you go, sweetie!"
She gasped, stars in her eyes as she slowly reached out to grab the doll like it was made of spun glass, carefully taking it from his hands and hugging it to her chest. "Thank you!" She squealed, darting forward to hug his legs, then doing the same to Kozuki, "Thank you big bro, big sis! I'll love her forever!"
"But if I gotta be damned you know I wanna be damned, dancing through the night with you-"
The couple waved to the little girl as she skipped away, beaming. "That was sweet," Kozuki murmured, pressing a brief kiss to his cheek, "Though I do wonder why you got her the big one-"
They'd been standing near the arcade when she suddenly spun out of his embrace and he heard a squeal of pain. Turning, he saw her holding the wrist of a hood in her grip, eyes alight with anger.
Then she kicked the hood between the legs. "No one touches my ass but him!" She snarled, jerking her head at Saul.
"Yeah!" He agreed, decking the hood across the face, sending them stumbling to the ground, "What she said!"
"-Well if I gotta be damned you know I wanna be damned, gotta be damned you know I wanna be damned, gotta be damned you know I wanna be damned-"
Kozuki slammed her head into the hood's nose, then kneed him in the stomach before seizing him by the hair and pulling him around, putting boot to ass and sending him flipping into a bench.
Saul ducked and uncorked an uppercut into the chin of another, knocking the bike they'd been swinging around as a weapon out of their hands, catching it out of the air and flattening another with the bicycle. He hefted it over his head and slammed it down on top of them, breaking it into pieces.
"-Dancing through the night, dancing through the night, dancing through the night with you!"
She dipped away from the wild slashes of one hood wielding a pocket knife before kicking it out of his hand, planting her foot and spinning, her heel crashing into his temple.
He wove under a wild swing from a large thug, driving his fist into their stomach before hitting them with an uppercut, then landed a palm strike to the bridge of their nose, making them stumble back.
Then Saul and Kozuki stepped forward and kicked, sandwiching the thugs head between their shins with a crack. As he collapsed, they smiled at each other.
"Oh baby you're the only thing in this whole world that's pure and good and right-"
He knelt to grab the bundle of yen the thugs had left behind as an apology, bouncing it in his palm before turning to his date. "We beat up these guys and they give us money when we win?" He asked with an incredulous shrug, gesturing at the people walking by, "And no one seems to care? What a weird town…"
"Hey, cash is cash," Kozuki shrugged, reaching out to grab the money and whistling quietly. "Next time I need some pocket money I'm gonna come back here and circle the block a few times."
Saul shrugged and looked around. "So, where were we going…? Ah, right!" He clapped his hands and smiled. "Golf?"
She grinned. "Well, we already hit some balls, might as well continue the streak, right?"
"-and wherever you are and wherever you go, there's always gonna be some light-"
"Fore!" Kozuki called, hitting the ball a second later. Shading her eyes with her hand, she grinned as the little white ball sailed to the back of the range and bounced off of the green netting. "Heh, golfing is pretty easy…"
"You missed the hole…" Solomon commented, killing her smile, "...Again."
"I'm not trying to aim for the hole!" she seethed, watching him chip his ball into the farthest hole with a single bounce. "…Jerk."
"Maybe you'd be better at hitting a different kinda ball?" he offered, rolling another ball into the grass and casually chipping it down the range to the farthest hole again.
"-but I gotta get out, I gotta break it out now, before the final crack of dawn-"
There was a crack of metal meeting object followed by a whistle before an impact. "Eight-hundred points!" Kozuki cheered, giving her bat a twirl before resting it on her shoulder.
"One more! One more!" Saul clapped, watching her wind up before the machine launched another ball and she cracked it right into the 800 points part of the Home run Scoreboard, whooping as a bell rang.
"Unbelievable!" The owner of the batting cages said, unlocking a glass case and reaching in to grab a wooden bat covered in signatures, "For reaching the highest score and breaking the record, you won this bat signed by the champions-"
"-so we gotta make the most of our one night together 'cause when it's over you know, we'll both be so alone-"
Kozuki wound up and swung, knocking a thug off of his feet. Behind her, Saul's back hit a wall as another rained blows at his head; he waited for the thug to pull back for a punch, then ducked away, letting the other man punch the bricks behind him.
As the thug reeled back, clutching his bloody knuckles, Solomon punched them in the stomach then pulled them in, cracking their head against the wall.
"Like a bat outta hell, I'll be gone when the morning comes!"
Solomon squinted, drawing his arm back before flicking his wrist. The dart he'd thrown thunked into the target just a few millimeters off of the bullseye.
"Ooh, so close!" Kozuki teased, stepping up to take his place as he gathered his darts. Spinning a dart between her fingers, she stanced up and took aim. "Watch how a master does it!"
"When the night is over like a bat outta hell, I'll be gone, gone, gone! Like a bat outta hell I'll be gone when the morning comes!"
Kozuki shoved a man in a purple suit back, making him trip over the railing and plummet to the water below with a yell.
Saul swiftly jabbed at another man in a suit, though this one was much more thickly built and had his guard up to defend his face.
Growling, Solomon feinted a strike, instead reaching under the man's guard to grab him by the face, squeezing and twisting. The man howled into his palm and grabbed at his arm, and Saul used the opportunity to sweep their legs and drive them into the ground, then knocking them out with a punch.
"When the day is done and the sun goes down and the moonlight's shining through~!"
Solomon adjusted his cue, closed an eye and looked, adjusted again, then tapped the cue ball with his stick. The white orb bounced off of the side, then the back, the other side, the first side again before narrowly avoiding a striped yellow ball and pocketing a solid red.
"Oh come on!" Kozuki huffed, "How did you even do that?!"
"Genius," he teased, before putting his cue behind his back, "Now watch this!"
"Then like a SINNER-BEFORE-THE-GATES-OF HEAVEN I'll come crawling on BACK to you…!"
The couple were walking down the street when they heard a young girl crying and men jeering. Hurrying around the corner, they found several men in suits surrounding a little girl; the girl Saul had won the stuffed bird for. Said bird was being held by one of the men, along with a switchblade.
Neither of them bothered to ask questions.
The man holding the blade and the bird heard the sound of running footsteps, looking over his shoulder just as a pair of feet, one clad in sneakers the other in flats, collided with his face.
As the man went tumbling, Solomon caught the bird and Kozuki grabbed the child, the two darting away from the group of men. "Here you go, sweetie," he muttered, passing the stuffed toy back to the girl, an ice cold glare in his mismatched eyes.
"Hold on just a second, we'll be right back," she added, stroking the girls' hair before turning to the group, cracking her knuckles.
"...Then like a sinner, before the gates of heaven I'll come crawling on back to you…"
Kozuki jumped and spun, kicking the switchblade out of the thugs grasp before landing, ducking and spinning to sweep his feet out from under him. As his head cracked against the ground, she stomped on his sternum and kicked him in the stomach, sending him rolling away.
Something jabbed into her back and a weak current snapped against her body. Quickly spinning, she snatched the stun gun out of the thugs hand and hit him in the stomach, then brought it down on the back of his neck, watching him flop to the ground like a beached fish. Quickly glancing around, she found that no one had seen her ignoring what should've sent her to the ground in a twitching heap.
"Oh I can see myself, tearing up the road, faster than any other boy has ever gone!"
Solomon faced three men, one with a collapsible baton, another with brass knuckles, and the last with a wooden sword of all things. He ducked under a swing from the baton, leaned back to avoid a series of jabs from the knuckles, then stepped back as the man with the sword struck out, missing him entirely and clocking the guy with brass knuckles on the head.
Taking advantage, Saul kicked the guy with the knuckles away, ducked under a swing from the sword, countered a strike from the baton then grappled the man's arm, twisting and holding it up so that sword crashed down on their elbow, stripped the baton from their hand and struck them in the knee before spinning and hurling the baton at the man with knuckles, bouncing it off of his head. Stepping back and ducking, he avoided the wild sword strikes only to nearly trip over one of the downed thugs just as the sword began descending toward his head. And so, he did the only thing that came to mind.
He opened his mouth and bit down on the wooden sword.
"And my skin is raw but my soul is ripe, ain't no one gonna stop me now I'm gonna make my escape!"
There was a second of stunned silence and stillness, as Kozuki, the remaining thugs and the one holding the sword looked at Solomon halfway bent over, biting down on the wooden sword hard enough that it creaked between his teeth. Then he kicked the thug in the back of the head and nearly fell over, only barely spinning around in time to plant his hand on the concrete and turn himself around, spitting out the sword, snatching it from the air and rising to his feet to slam it into the thug's jaw.
Kozuki quickly dispatched the last one before running over to Saul, who was spitting splinters. "How the fuck did you do that?"
He shrugged, looking just as surprised as she felt. "I have no idea."
"Wow!"
"But I can't stop thinking of you! And I never see the sudden curve 'til it's way too late!"
Their heads snapped around to look at the little girl clutching her doll, gazing at them with wide, adoring eyes. They finally saw what the man with the switchblade had done to the bird: he'd cut one of its eyes out and had been carving a line across the stomach.
Eyes narrowing in fury, Solomon grasped the groaning man by the hair and dragged him to the little girl's feet and threw him down. "Apologize!" He barked, putting a foot to the thug's back.
"We're sorry! We're so sorry!" The thug emphatically apologized, joined in chorus by the others.
"Grown men, picking on a child," Kozuki sneered, kicking one in the ass to send him stumbling away. "Get out of here!"
"And I never see the sudden curve 'til it's way too late!"
"I'm sorry we didn't get here earlier, sweetie," Saul said soothingly, stroking the little girls hair, "And don't worry, I can get another Bun-chan for you-"
"That's okay!" The girl interrupted, smiling widely to their surprise, hugging her doll. "I've never had a big brother or sister to defend me before…so seeing Bun-chan like this, I'll always remember what it was like!" She squeezed the doll, a bit of stuffing leaking out through the cut on the stomach. "Though, she's leaking a bit…"
Saul gently took the bird doll from her grasp. "Well, I can at least fix that," he commented, reaching into his pocket to retrieve a portable sewing kit and a spare button, quickly and efficiently stitching up the cut on the belly and replacing the missing eye. "Here you go!"
"...Then I'm dyin' at the bottom of a pit in the blazin' sun…"
"Oh wow!" The little girl gasped, clutching the doll with renewed vigor, "Bun-chan's even cuter than before!"
Kozuki and Solomon traded looks. The button didn't nearly match the original eye, and there were scars on the doll's face and stomach. They shrugged.
"Thank you onii-chan, onee-chan! I'll remember this forever!" She squealed, hugging their legs.
"Torn and twisted at the foot of a burnin' bike…"
"Get home quick!" They waved as the little girl skipped away, clutching her doll. "...You know, we never got her name…" Kozuki realized as they began to walk, her arm around his waist.
Solomon shrugged. "I doubt we'll see her again…well, I would've said the same earlier and we did run into her again, so…we'll ask then."
"And I think somebody somewhere must be tollin' a bell!"
he couple leaned against each other They stood together on the bridge, Kozuki leaning back against his chest with his arms around her, watching the boats go by and mercifully unbothered. "I gotta admit," she muttered, stroking the hand resting on her stomach, "This is probably the best date I've ever been on."
"…Even with all twenty or so times some gang of assholes tried to mug us?" He asked, surprised.
"Especially with that," she sighed, a grin curling her lips as she looked back at him, "I didn't know you could fight, Solo-kun."
"Paranoia and a bored bodyguard lead to a lot of sparring," he noted dryly, before stiffening. "Wait a minute, we were going somewhere before we got interrupted…but I forgot where…"
"And the last thing I see is my heart, still beatin'..."
His watch chimed, making them both jump. As he checked it, he smacked himself on the forehead. "Right, karaoke." He gave her another squeeze before letting go, taking her hand to lead her on. "I reserved a room there, I hear this place has a pretty loose-" He just turned and ran right into another suited man.
They'd heard the diatribe that followed more than once that night, and the flick of a switchblade being drawn was also no surprise.
"You know," Solomon whispered out of the corner of his mouth, "With all the money we've gotten thrashing those other guys, we could pay them off pretty easily and have some left over."
Kozuki eyed the group of men in solid-colored suits pulling hidden weapons from their jackets and grinned. "Nah, I wanna hit up a souvenir shop before we go," she replied, cracking her knuckles. "And I hear they're expensive."
"A-breakin' outta my body, and flyin' away…like a BAT OUTTA HELL!"
Solomon dodged a stab from the switchblade, grabbing their wrist and using it as leverage to crash his head into their nose.
"Then I'm dyin' at the bottom of a pit in the blazin' SUN!"
Kozuki drove her knee into a man's crotch, wrapping her arm around his head and twisting, throwing him over her hip.
"Oh torn and twisted at the foot of a burnin' bike!"
Saul turned to avoid a punch before grabbing their arm and locking it with his, punching them twice in the chest before cocking his head back and launching it into their face.
"And I think somebody somewhere must be tollin' a bell…"
Kozuki slipped past their guard and landed a hook on their jaw, ducking and hitting them with an uppercut then a punch to the stomach, feinting a kick to their knee before striking her shin to the side of their head.
"AND THE LAST THING I SEE IS MY HEART…"
Solomon hefted a sandwich board sign and shattered it on the head of a thug before unleashing a flurry of blows straight to their gut before finishing with an uppercut that sent them to the ground.
"Still beatin'...still beatin'..."
Kozuki pulled another around and tripped them with her leg, sending them flipping into the railing of the bridge, where she stomped on their head non-fatally.
"A-breakin' outta my body, and flying AWAY~!"
They turned simultaneously to the last one, looking between the two of them and the beaten forms of his fellows with naked terror on his face, backing away until he bumped into the bridge's railing. The singular second he took to glance behind him was enough, and he heard two pairs of footsteps racing towards him…
…and shrieked like a little girl.
"LIKE A BAT OUTTA HELL!"
The couple lowered their shoulders and hit him like a freight train, picking him up and dumping him off of the side of the bridge.
"LIKE A BAT OUTTA HELL!"
He fell, but didn't hit the water.
Instead, he landed crotch-first on the prow of a passing boat.
"LIKE A BAT OUTTA HELL!"
It carried him some distance before he finally slipped off and fell into the water.
Kozuki and Solomon traded wild grins.
"OH LIKE A BAT OUTTA H~E~L~L!"
Presently…
As the last notes faded, the Cyborg and the Fallen Angel looked at each other, both breathing heavily and sweating, slight marks from the numerous fights they'd partaken in dotting their faces in cuts, bruises and rips in their clothes.
Solomon smiled at Kozuki, gesturing to the screen. "Your choice," he said.
Blood thundered in her ears as her heart pounded in her chest, heat suffusing her body while her blood burned in her veins. The microphone slipped from her fingers as she stepped forward and seized him by the lapels, pulling him to her and kissing him hard. His arms wrapped around her, his lips pressing against hers as he kissed her back.
She pulled away with a pop, gazing into his surprised eyes. "...Uh oh," she murmured, before pushing down on the couch and kissing him again.
…
…
…
…
A/N: And here it is. Took a bit longer to bring it all together, but I'm satisfied with how it all turned out…mostly.
I had to break my new rule…already. Was planning on it being 9k, and it would've covered the first date, the two week-timeskip, and then a karaoke date, which would've led to their first kiss.
But then I had an idea.
And I also didn't want to stop in the middle of the date, that just felt unfair to everyone, so I kept going until the end. Glad I did, though it took longer to finish.
Anywho, in this chapter: Solomon and Kozuki dated, got closer, went on a big date, kicked a lot of ass, and finally kissed. Kiba's jealous, the Devils are wary, and the Fallen might be getting suspicious. And in a strange turn of events, the Perverted Trio are sticking with their promise and have even started treating Solomon like their big brother/boss.
That's actually something that happens to me quite a lot. Months into a new job, somehow I go from being the new guy to being an authority figure/guy who everyone comes to with their problems, professional and personal. Not sure why, I usually just keep my head down, work hard and help out where I can.
And the final part…Sotenbori. And yes, I do mean Sotenbori. That Sotenbori. For people who get it, I bet you're surprised. For people who don't, I feel sad for you.
NS: Well, long as it's just a cameo played for some laughs and/or action and doesn't bog down the rest of the story with unnecessary crossovers, it should be fine.
I also tried to kinda 'montage' the final part of the chapter using them singing karaoke as a sort of diegetic reason for the music, as 'diegetic' as text can get, anyway. Lemme know how that read, will ya? And as for why 'Bat Outta Hell' by Meatloaf as the song…because it's good. And anyone who says otherwise is a heretic and must be shunned.
NS: Was a bunch of cute stuff as well. And I suspect that 'Kozuki's' 'uh oh' is one of 'shit, I think I actually really like this boy.'
If you liked this chapter and were glad to see me update this story, thank all my patrons on Pa treon who voted for this story in the monthly poll! If you want to win friends (me) and influence people(me)/stories, or if you want to tip a writer, you can find me there. As a bonus, being a patron means you get access to each chapter a week before anyone else and exclusive content.
If you wanna chat with some cool people, come join my discord! As a bonus, being part of it means you also get to read the newest chapters three days before publishing!
/ZagTc5vV
Big thanks as always to NSG! He published a new chapter of Shadow Monarch not too long ago, go give it a look and tell him Sol sent you!
NSG: Long as you're planning on playing nice, at least. I ain't got time for shit-talking.
And thank you for taking the time to read my story! I hope you enjoyed it, and if you did make sure to favorite, follow and review!
Stay Awesome!
~Soleneus
P.S.: Next chapter: things get saucy and serious. Time for the hidden beings to come out and play.
Also, sidenote: went and saw Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part 1. It was fucking awesome and I can't recommend it enough! And Halely Atwell is a total babe.
Stay Awesome Some More.
~still Soleneus