Chapter 40: Pier 16 (Part 7)

"And cross that chore off the list. Definitely one of the uglier ones, too."

Rolling his neck to get rid of the stiffness Cayman gave one last glance to the warehouse's freezer room, more specifically to a blocked and concealed part of it.

While most of the room was empty and stocked with only a few food items the various residents had bought from markets the less obvious portion of it was now half full of the remaining corpses he'd pilfered from Hoestia's base, all still in their battered and beat up state but still perhaps worth something in the future.

…He briefly toyed with the amusing mental image of his companion's various reactions if he'd kept the corpses right alongside the frozen pizzas and bread loaves.

Shrugging off the random bit of speculation he breathed out a final, misted huff of air before turning to leave-

-and almost jumped to the ceiling as none other than Shirone was standing right beside him, the Yokai lazily offering him a wave as she said, "What's up?"

"You mean aside from my heart rate and adrenaline levels? Not much, really. Anyone ever tell you you're a very stealthy kitty?"

"Thanks for the compliment. Comes with the job."

She pointed towards the corpse freezer, seemingly unbothered with the cold air before bluntly asking, "That where you keep your backup food?"

"Hey, even Cerb gets hungry sometimes. And you seem pretty chill about this whole situation."

Giving him a look that made it clear his pun hadn't gone unnoticed and it had been even less appreciated the Yokai settled for a shrug, replying, "Not the worst thing I've seen. Besides, those were the people and things Hoestia had created and hired, right? Probably not losing any karma points for offing them. Did some of em' a favor, I bet."

"Yikes. Real fridge logic, that."

He received a hard poke in the side for his comment, the Surveyor smirking even as he rubbed the sore spot.

"But I appreciate that kind of candor. I think you'll fit right in on the team."

Electing to go for broke he gently pet the spot between her ears, inwardly squealing at how soft and silky the sensation was as Shirone thankfully didn't snap his wrist or bite his arm as most cats would when you went for the belly rub.

+5 REP with Shirone [30/100]

"So not that I'm complaining but you and your sister seem pretty easygoing and willing to cut me some slack when it's ostensibly your job to keep an eye on me. Make sure I'm not a psychopathic killer or manipulator or whatever."

They made their way out of the freezer, Cayman shutting the door behind them as Shirone tilted her head at his question, ears flicking in a gesture he found unfairly cute.

"You and Kuroka could have just as easily kept your distance and not gotten too involved with me, done your jobs without fitting right in with this little band of misfits. If my job was to observe and maybe one day put down a colleague of dubious loyalty I know I'd rather not get too chummy with them. Definitely not let them pamper me or sleep in their bed for cuddles."

The Nekoshou just shrugged, distantly replying, "You seem like a pretty chill and easygoing guy, able to work with all sorts of weirdos. We don't always get that when we work."

The girl briefly averted her gaze to the side, more forlornly stating, "I have big sis and she's got me so it doesn't matter that often, but it can be kinda rough now and again."

Unsure at the suddenly serious turn the conversation was taking things only got worse as the Yokai physically turned her head, sounding genuinely apologetic before putting some distance between them as she said, "Sorry, we're kind of acting like jerks that way, being all friendly when we might have to pull the trigger."

While a bit weirded out by the sudden burst of earnestness Cayman elected to take it in stride, simply chuckling as Shirone gave him a confused look.

"I'd like to think we're both adults here, I'm not gonna get all butt hurt just because you and your sister are saddled with a mission you have to complete. If you want to be pals or whatever until you figure things out? Well I'd rather be stabbed in the back by a pair of lovely ladies whose company I got to enjoy than a pair of lovely ladies who were just creeping about in the distance."

He allowed a smirk to tilt his lips.

"Besides, I'm a totally nice guy and your investigation is going to reveal that, so why worry?"

Shirone's mouth quirked for a moment before she quickly schooled herself back into impassivity, remarking, "You're weird."

"And you're weird for not seemingly minding that we just kinda decided that it was a given you're investigating me."

"We've never been much for subtlety. Just sneaking."

"That I wholeheartedly believe."

A comfortable silence descended, Cayman asking a moment later, "So can I go back to petting your head now? I miss my old cat."

"So I'm your pet, huh?"

"Pretty, sassy and more than capable of drawing blood? Sounds just like my old feline."

"Feels kinda demeaning."

She said that but nonetheless tilted her skull so that he could once again rub between her ears, lightly purring all the while as she pushed her head further into the motion.

+10 REP with Shirone [40/100]

"This isn't exactly what I expected from the pair, in all honesty. I figured since Kuroka had managed to keep Shirone at her side they'd be happy together, completely content with their lot in life."

Instead they seemed almost eager to hang out and work with the 'team', Shirone's little conversation from earlier painting an image of the pair that didn't jive with what he'd expected of them. They seemed almost lonely.

"Sure, you could argue that as Zelretch's investigators it's all just a big act to get in my good graces but why go that route when we all just kind of agreed that I know they're here to make sure I'm staying above the table? And Shirone seemed a little too honest back there. Never mind that they like to occasionally take up residency on my bed and just relax. If they were trying to seduce me you'd think they would just fondle my balls or something to set the mood. Again, really doubt they're playing THAT deep of a con."

He resisted the urge to sigh, even as he continued to pet Shirone's head.

"How old are they in this universe anyway? I mean Yumi's a bit younger along with Vali but Shirone seems pretty close to her canon age…regardless, I sincerely doubt Kuroka is older than her early twenties at the maximum and it sounds as if they've been in this line of work for awhile-"

He almost tripped, a sudden thought forcefully intruding.

"Did Zelretch send them to 'investigate' me knowing that I would probably be sympathetic to their plight? He would have reason to believe that I know their backstory and could run with it since I managed to work with Yukikaze, Jinglei, Caren and Asia. Never mind Lavinia, Vali and a whole bunch of other people."

The Surveyor frowned, wondering if the old Vampire had assigned the cats to him as a sort of reward and roundabout break, that he would be able to give them some measure of peace and quiet. Cayman didn't believe for a second that if Zelretch REALLY wanted to know how genuine and upfront he was there weren't more efficient or expedient ways of doing so other than sending a pair of worn out Nekoshou to observe him.

Shit, it even made a twisted sort of sense to do it this way. Since Kuroka and Shirone would be looking for signs of his depravity and wouldn't find any they'd probably be even more relaxed around him, a personal verification bias or whatever the term was.

"Maybe this is jumping the gun a little but I wouldn't put it past the old fuck to do something nice for people in this sort of circuitous way. He and Dumbledore would have gotten along great."

Shaking that thought off and giving the purring Shirone a closer look he found himself wondering what life had been like for her and her sister thus far. Back in his youth he'd always had a soft spot for the siblings - not just because they were hot as hell - and that feeling had never entirely gone away when he grew up, mostly because he'd gained newfound appreciation for what they would have gone through.

Also that some of the tragic or supposedly tragic circumstances some characters went through were a hell of a lot more meaningful than the story implied or spent time on. Rias having an arranged marriage with a dude who was kind of a dick? Unfortunate, but with further story context Riser wouldn't have been able to do anything untoward to her without Sirzechs caving his face in. Akeno and Gasper? More tragic and sympathetic but their trials were at least partly because of their own stubbornness and cowardness, or a refusal to move past childish or shortsighted decisions.

Shirone, Kuroka and Yumi? That was a case of life just taking a shit all over them and their past traumas being completely justified in the grand scheme of things. It was why he'd been so invested in their stories compared to the rest of the characters as a teenager. And if current circumstances meant he had the opportunity to change things for the better?

Well, hey. He was doing that only partly because they were insanely hot. It was what he'd told Zelretch in the first place. That he wanted to live and thrive in this world and in order to do that he needed a bevy of interesting and slightly crazy people around him at all times.

"Stop staring at my butt."

"It's a really nice butt. Factor in the suit, your tail and its downright hypnotic."

"Uh huh."

She may have pulled away from his hand and sounded pretty apathetic about the whole deal but Cayman didn't miss the way she had a small smile on her lips the whole time.

"Thank you, Sybaritic. You are amazing."

"Why haven't you gotten a bigger car yet? Aren't you rich or something now?"

"It's number 47 on my list of millions of things to do, alright? Shit, if it's bothering you so much I'm sure you can handle a little automobile purchasing, right?"

"Of course I could-"

"And then ensure that it has proper registration, licensing and insurance as well as finding someone who can make sure those records are a little bit skewed so that if anyone tries to track us by a proper license plate or other bit of bureaucracy we aren't screwed over by it."

Rin fell into a grumpy silence, Cayman smirking to himself with no shortage of smugness to the action.

But setting aside her annoyed attitude the Magus did have a point, his car 'liberated' from Hoestia's goons did have to go sooner rather than later, especially if he was going to be transporting lots of people back and forth across the city.

Yumi had Mai nestled on her lap in the passenger seat, Shirone was plopped in Kuroka's in the back while the Demon trio were squished right alongside them, Rin straddling Cayman's leg as he awkwardly tried to drive while she did her best to ensure there was as little physical contact between them.

Till had the best seat in the house, perched on the Surveyor's shoulder as she watched the hilarity with clear glee.

"Couldn't you two have taken to the rooftops or something, freed up a bit more room?"

Kuroka merely smirked at Cayman's exasperated inquiry, the black cat chirping, "And miss out on the chance to arrive in style? Not a chance~!"

"About as much style as a beached whale…"

"Yeah, can't you turn up the air back here? It's hot!"

"I already told you the AC is broken, that's why the sunroof is open. The city is nice and cool, stick your head out the car and deal with it that way."

"Yeah, but then everyone is going to be able to look and see how dumb we look!"

Cayman shrugged at Lilim's complaints, bluntly retorting, "It's your sweat, not mine."

As if to prove the point that the car was a piece of garbage they drove over a rather significant pothole, the vehicle's already bottomed out shocks groaning in protest as they all grimaced at the noise and jolting motion.

"What are my odds of making a weight loss joke and living to tell the tale?"

A lightly spinning Gandr curse pointed directly at his face courtesy of a stony-faced Rin answered that question, Cayman not bothering to hide his smile at the bevy of upset glares directed his way.

"Point taken."

Turning to Yumi - the girl seeming equal parts nervous and confused at the whole operation so far - he asked, "This anything like what you expected it to be, Yumi?"

"It's…unconventional?"

Mai just quietly sighed, lightly remarking, "It's like I never left the Academy."

"Oh thank god that's over with!"

"I never thought a parking garage would be so beautiful…"

Giving the Yatagarusu sisters an exasperated look Cayman nonetheless rolled his neck free of what few kinks had formed, Kuroka dropping the illusion she'd cast that made the car full of people of all races and creeds a little less conspicuous. Tokyo may have been a massive gathering of every Extranatural under the sun but it still wasn't a good idea to wander around advertising the fact.

Instead he gave the team one last glance, immediately reflecting that he needed to visit a military surplus or black market as soon as possible, or double check if Sanctuary had access to the arms market. While Mai and the cats had perfectly functional and high quality gear everyone else was…debatable. Yumi and himself had simply settled for jackets, jeans and boots while the Demons were as one step away from naked as they normally were, Rin a bit of an open question.

While her crimson coat, pantyhose and lace up boots were an improvement over the school uniform he wasn't sure if it was laced with any kind of protective warding or magecraft or whatever.

"Oh well. If she wants to be stylish while in the thick of combat who am I to judge? She managed to survive Heaven's Feel in a miniskirt, she's probably got this under lockdown."

"Alright, everyone got their assignments and ready to begin?"

"Just say the word~! We've been doing this song and dance for awhile, after all."

Shirone just added a thumbs up to her sister's confident words, the rest of the group nodding as Cerb and Oct - now summoned and thankfully not having to ride in the car with them - adopted their shrunken forms rather than the full grown ones for the first part of the operation.

"Alright, then let's get started. Give us twenty minutes once we enter the antique shop before sending in the cavalry or make contact beforehand, sound good?"

"...We might need a watch or something?"

Giving Lilim and her two friends an unimpressed look that had the Succubus flushing in embarrassment Cayman tossed her his phone, warning, "I better find that the way I gave it to you," before checking to see if anyone else had any additions to add, finding none as he clapped his hands, announcing, "Then let's get to it. See everybody safe and sound before too long."

With that Kuroka used yet another bit of Youjutsu to mask her presence alongside the Demon trio, Mai and Rin as they strode off to take up watch positions, Shirone leading the way with everyone else following Cayman as they quickly made their way to the antique shop, spaced out slightly so as to not appear as a group to any casual observers.

Thus it was as Cayman walked inside the antique store - the place looking and feeling like an occultist's pawn shop wet dream - he found Shirone perched above a pair of softly snoring men, the Nekoshou swiftly stating, "No magic resistance or anything. Don't feel like Extranatural either, probably just normal Humans to act as a front."

"Nice work, leave em' be for now. That the door back there?"

Shirone nodded as the rest of their team entered shortly afterwards, Oct slithering out from beneath his shirt and assuming his full size as Cerb did the same.

"Got some kinda magic on it. I can get around it, but it might take a moment-"

"No need, get ready to move in."

Yumi swallowed nervously but seemed to take solace in the way Till settled on her head, Cerb and Oct merely eager to get underway as Shirone stoically nodded, Cayman not wasting a moment as he approached the entrance with spear in hand, murmuring, "[Esoteric Parry]," before a stab of the weapon shattered whatever wards or shields the door had been laced with.

Shirone was already moving, shoving aside the heavy wood as if it was no more durable than wet cardboard and revealing a pair of startled men that Cayman didn't even really have time to focus on as the tiny Yokai brought them to the ground, a short and wet CRUNCH noise emanating from one of the guys as Shirone literally snapped him like a twig, Cerb sprinting around Cayman's side and sinking his fangs into the other's throat before a far meatier but equally lethal squelch filled the room.

"Jesus that was fast."

But speed was the name of the game and he raced after his companions, pausing only long enough to make sure Yumi - a bit pale after the abrupt violence but still keeping pace - was with them as they rushed inside, Shirone shutting the door behind them before once again taking point, the Nekoshou moving at a breakneck pace until they reached an intersection where she held up a hand, halting them as he ears began rotating like sensor dishes, one passage leading further into dimly lit darkness and the other into what looked like a maintenance closet.

Cerb also began sniffing the air while Oct shuddered before shooting out his tentacles in a myriad of directions, the tendrils ricocheting off the ceiling and walls in a spiderweb pattern in what the Surveyor assumed was some kind of echolocation or infrared searching.

"This place is nasty."

Shirone's abrupt words were confirmed a moment later by Cerb unleashing a low, displeased growl as Yumi, Till and Cayman exchanged knowing looks, having figured that this place wasn't exactly a bushel of roses.

Even accounting for the thorns.

One of Oct's tentacles began to pulse with light, leading the way further into the base as the group quickly set off after it, Cayman now able to hear the echoing moans, screams, gags and hysterical giggles alongside wet slapping that he knew could only mean one thing in a universe as horny as this.

"Get ready."

While the words were more for Yumi's sake than anyone else's they nonetheless got everyone to focus, the group falling silent as they charged ahead, the echoes of insanity growing louder and louder-

-and a turned corner had Cayman grimacing as he came across the sight of what he knew was probably going to become a depressingly common occurrence in this universe.

A buxom woman bare as the day she was born held in the grasp of a far less appealing version of Oct, vacant gaze accompanying mindless exhalations and retches as her mouth and other orifices were filled with thrusting flesh, heavy stomach obscenely swaying in time with the motions as copious amounts of fluid - clear and otherwise - dripped in a steady patter to the floor below, a large drain no doubt working overtime.

And their presence was quickly noticed, the Injuu halting in its rape for a tender second…and then surged forward, holding the woman out in front it like a shield as countless thrashing tendrils streaked towards their formation, the whole scene playing out like some kind of horror movie since the creature was completely silent.

"This universe is so fucking weird."

As one their team moved, Cayman leaping in front of a petrified and frozen Yumi - not that he blamed her - and readied himself to deflect any kind of attack as the rest of the group handled the brunt of the assault, Shirone stepping around a lashing array of tentacles as white fire gathered around her fists, a clean knife hand severing the tendrils restraining the woman as Oct deployed his own means of restraint, the Yokai spared from any unwanted advances as his summon intertwined his own feelers with the other Injuu's, holding it on place as Cerb used the opening to latch his jaws around the Demon's main body, tearing open a ragged and bleeding hole before a torrent of flames that noticeably raised the temperature in the area poured into the hole, the Injuu rapidly thrashing for a few seconds as it raged against Oct's hold…and abruptly fell silent, collapsing on the ground as the woman followed suit, Shirone quickly approaching her and seeming unbothered by her ruined state.

"...She's dead. Has been for a couple hours."

"Great. Necrophiliac tentacle monsters. Guess that wasn't breathing but leftover puppetry."

Turning to a shakily breathing Yumi he snapped his fingers directly in front of her face, the blonde startling out of her trance as he pointedly said, "Stand guard by the entrance, we'll be back in a minute."

A variety of expressions flashed across her features in a split second. Revulsion, irritation, frustration and finally shame…before she clenched the handle of her longsword hard enough that he heard it creak, steel blue eyes flashing as she growled, "No, it's…I can fight. I can."

He didn't bother to argue, merely nodding and running further into the base as they moved on, leaving the bodies where they were.

+15 Rep with Yumi Kiba [70/100]

They rounded a corner, passing an empty cell-

-and all hell broke loose, wails and grunts accompanying a near solid mass of flesh as however remaining Injuu charged them as one.

Shirone and Cerb quickly proved themselves to be the MVPs of the battle, the Hellhound and Yokai working in tandem to fill the halls with scorching flames, their natural bulk allowing them to shrug off or fight back against the incessantly grasping lengths of flesh.

Any feelers that came from the rear or slipped past the barrage were summarily handled by Till, Oct, Cayman and Yumi working in tandem. The Fairy either blunted the thrashing lengths with a shield, Oct would hold them down while Yumi and Cayman would slice them to ribbons, the former wielding her sword with newly reinvigorated ferocity while the latter had frozen his spear's business end into a lethal edge able to be reforged at a moment's notice.

…Cayman hoped no one saw his face right now because quite honestly his cheeks were starting to hurt with how much he was smiling.

No drawn out and messy pauses in battle, no long speeches and careful manipulation of the battlefield…just a fast-paced and cutthroat melee where a single second of inattentiveness could lead to disaster. It was a fucking thrill.

And unfortunately for their Injuu opponents they were simply outclassed in every respect. Either Shirone or Cerb would leap into cell after cell, freeing the captives within and murdering the creature with little in the way of wasted time, after what was probably only a minute but felt like an hour the base falling eerily silent aside from the ragged breathing and retching of those they'd freed. Seven women in total, ranging in age and race. One dead just like the previous and the other six in various stages of distress and catatonia.

He pretended not to notice the way Till looked decidedly pale at the sight or at how Yumi - now free to concentrate on either matters - appeared queasy.

"Well a mix between cum, blood, guts and who knows what else does make for a palette cleanser."

"Cerb, Oct, grab them and get them out of here. Yumi and Shirone, you run escort for them. Till, you're with me, we're going to do one more sweep of this place."

No one protested the orders, the Injuu Prince and Hellhound carefully loading up the poor women as Till flew next to her partner's head, whispering, "Are all places going to be this…awful? The emotions in this place are sick."

"You want an honest answer or a comforting one?"

The Fairy sent him a weak smile, lips parting to reply-

-and Cayman blinked as liquid splattered across his neck and face, vision going blurry as his will deserted him, fog descending in order to numb his senses.

"[Restorative Wave!]"

At least until he burst into sweat upon using his healing spell, Till shouting in alarm as she cast a bit of magic that blocked one last Injuu's surprise assault, Cayman staggering as the creature had gotten smart and flung the chick it was raping into him with enough force that he got flattened, a humanoid figure wielding a sharpened bit of stone also slipping past his Fairy's glowing shield and aiming to bring it down on his face.

"Well thank god that I'm good at crisis management."

Trusting Till to do her thing and pointing the spear he'd still held onto in the direction of his attacker - a mane of lilac hair and buxom figure all he had time to observe - he shouted, "[Volt Thrust!]"

A blinding lance of electricity impacted the figure and threw them into the wall with an audible thump, body violently convulsing as he pushed the female projectile off of him, commanding, "Drop the shield in three, two, one! [Flame Wheel!]"

Right on time Till shut down her glowing pane of energy that had held back a writhing mass of tentacles, the Injuu shooting forward only to be met with a jet of flame that - now that he wasn't worried about friendly fire - could burn hot enough that he felt the air begin to leave his lungs.

Holding the burst for a few seconds Cayman cut off only when he felt like he was about to crisp his skin, darting forward and ramming his spear into the charred mess before using [Frost Lance] to freeze whatever was left. Just to make sure the damn thing was actually dead.

"Cayman, are you alright?!"

"Yeah, I'm good. Killer fucking timing on that shield, Till. Thanks."

Curious about what he caused that weird spell of vertigo and loss of willpower he turned back to the collapsed female figures, crouching next to the one with a figure that was once lithe but was now bloated with semen, bright pink hair matted with all sorts of crap that was going to take a seriously deep clean to fix.

"Well I guess you aren't friends with the locals, are you, Felicia?"

The daughter of Edwin Black stared up at him with a confused and slightly glazed crimson eye, Cayman wondering just what the fuck they did to the Vampire if she was this out of it.

"Cayman, maybe I can heal her-"

"We've wasted enough time as is, we can fix her up once we're out of here. Let's check on who the other chick was and-"

Cayman stopped dead in his tracks, mouth hanging open and limbs frozen as he reached downwards to help up the Vampire.

Mostly because he was staring into the supposedly dead and not just stunned eyes of Natsume Amadare.

"What the fuck?"