Almost immediately, the Kagenou parents asked if they could stay and watch what Shadow Garden was about to see. Seiichi immediately declined, since "There is no way you wanna see what they're about to see. It'd be tantamount to me outing ALL of your kinks in public- with evidence of said preferences. If you wanna see them still, then sure. I don't mind. Your choice…" THAT made everyone back off.

They decided to discuss what they had discovered while they could. Aethra dragged Seiichi by the ear and led them past a line in the room so that they could discuss in private. They all disappeared from sight before Aethra came back, radiating… Rage? A beaten up Seiichi followed, pouting all the way.

Minoru and the girls had obviously decided to move the relationship(?) along… Judging by the lack of marks of 'activity' that was evident on their bodies, they hadn't managed to get very far.

She then decided to let'em know what info they were going to watch. "Right! Now, I know you like burying your pasts, but look at what Minoru doing that led to! Since that won't do, we decided to show Minoru- and all of you- some background to your thought processes. Why Seiichi here said that it was tantamount to… what he said" here, she glared at an unamused Seiichi "was apparently to give you your privacy."

The girls looked like they were talking about the weather, though Minoru looked like he agreed with Seiichi. They had nothing to hide about themselves from Minoru. The other five, yes, a lot. Minoru is different. He helped them, saved them when no one else would, or even could. He gave them a purpose, where they lacked one. He gave them the flame of hope, when they were surrounded by darkness all over. Nothing could replace him, even if he thought he was deceiving them.

Seiichi talked again, his injuries healed. "While I'd love all seven thought processes and/or pasts to be shown, I'm afraid I'll have to limit it to 2- Beta and Delta in that order. The rest of you don't have much of it coming up for now in importance… It'll come up when I think it becomes relevant, but for now, it's only these three."

So the eight sat down- Beta taking Claire's place- and the screen rolled again. "This is set in the soon-to-come future- around 3 months hence-ish…" Seiichi says as the scene starts

She no longer fears killing others. Beta whips her inky katana, splattering congealed blood off her blade and onto the ashen ground in a clean line. She stands cloaked in the darkness of night and surrounded by a group of soldiers lying face down. "End him," orders Beta.

The girls in black bodysuits pierce their blades into the guard. One of their hands in particular shakes violently, but it doesn't stop the girl from thrusting her sword into his pressure point. "Guh... Gaaaah!" shrieks the soldier with his final breath, causing her blade to freeze in place. It's the type of cry that'll haunt her in her sleep until she becomes accustomed to killing.

Beta envelops the girl's hands on the helm with her own before giving the blade a sharp twist. Together, they feel the soldier's life leaving his body. "Ah, ahhh...!" gasps a voice. This time, the cries are the girl's.

"Huh. Should've figured that out earlier… Guess I was wrong about that." Minoru noted. Beta's head almost got whiplash as she turned to gape at him. The other girls are confused. He just nods to them to watch on.

They did notice that Beta looked slightly tense, though.

Beta wraps her arm around her subordinates trembling shoulders and issues her next instructions. "Secure the target."

The group makes its way to the carriage, boarding the loading deck. Following the shrill sounds of a chain snapping, the girls emerge from the wagon with a dark mound of rotting flesh. It's still breathing. "Return to Lady Alpha—fast." They haul the mound, carrying it tenderly, and start to pick up speed, followed by the member of their order previously nestled in Beta's bosom.

"More of the Cursed… Painting a bad picture of why they're handed to the Church here" Minoru notes.

Alpha nodded uneasily, the memories still left a bad taste on her mouth. Beta was never that ahead of the mutation, but most of the girls nodded. They were basically glorified pools of blob and acid.

Beta squints slightly, watching them go. She's raising them well. These girls used to know nothing about combat. They'd never held a sword, and it goes without saying that they'd never murdered anyone before meeting her. Beta is reminded of her own past, and old memories begin to resurface.

What's eating Beta? That's the big question floating through the Seven Shades' heads- minus Beta, of course.

She still remembers how it felt when she killed for the first time—her sword piercing their heart, their hand grabbing hers. Beta couldn't believe the strength of their grip even as they suffered a fatal wound.

"There's a short period of time when people can move after they've been stabbed through the heart. Don't let your guard down. Hey, Beta, are you listening?" Beta was listening to Alpha's calm voice but couldn't understand what she meant for the life of her. She was paralyzed with fear—incapable of moving or thinking.

"You're impossible." The head of her enemy soared through the air. Alpha had beheaded him. The corpse dropped to the floor, spurting blood that splatted Beta, and large teardrops fell from her eyes.

"Find a reason to fight."

Those words sounded so cold.

"Not everyone's going to get used to the idea of killing that easily… Everyone has their own coping mechanism- and it looks like Beta hadn't found hers yet. Though I can guess what it is now!" Minoru chides Alpha as he also takes the opportunity to teach the girls some humanity- they've all gone through the same issues- why shouldn't they form a brotherhood (of sorts), instead of an army. Certainly, the Assassins Brotherhood is a better example of the kind of syndicate Minoru likes.

Alpha hung her head in acceptance. She had also realized that she had been too heavy handed with Beta, especially with this watching.

Beta did assure her it was fine, but Epsilon shook her head in disapproval. Not everyone was a natural like Delta or cold headed like Alpha, she herself usually beforehand convinced herself they deserved it, but some screams still came up at times.

It was probably similar for some of them. Of course, Zeta was among the ones who assumed Minoru simply didn't care whether he killed people or not, but for others he had a likely moral compass. No innocents or something and if they got caught up, it was a casualty he brushed over. Nice to see that he had some morals himself.

Beta was a child who had trouble doing things on her own. After joining the Shadow Garden, she'd always followed Alpha around. After all, they were old acquaintances, and she knew she would go down the right path if she stuck by Alpha's side. But Beta couldn't find a reason to fight by following Alpha's footsteps— or understand the importance of finding said motivation. As a result, she couldn't get used to the idea of murder, vomiting violently after killing someone on a mission and shaking in fear every night as she tried to fall asleep. It wasn't unusual for her to wake up screaming in the middle of the night.

On one particular evening, Shadow approached the tormented girl. "Do you seek wisdom. ..?" "Y-yes?" Beta answered all jittery as she cocked her head to the side. In her eyes, he was enigmatic and extremely powerful. "If you seek wisdom… I shall give it to you." He might mean the knowledge of easing my emotional turmoil from murdering others, she thought. With great expectations, Beta nodded. "I—I want wisdom." Her voice trembled.

"Then I shall give it to you..." Shadow began telling a story. "Once upon a time, in a faraway place, there was an old man and an old woman..." It was an ordinary fairy tale—no smidgen of wisdom or anything else. What the heck?

"It was my way of distracting you- Not everyone has the acumen- or stomach, really- for fighting. The storytime was also meant for that." Minoru revealed. "Also, I'm neither enigmatic, nor am I all-knowing…"

They nodded, chuckling. Their past selves would be baffled. Eta blinked, "... Focus your mind… somewhere else…?"

Beta gave her a shrug. Gamma humming. Minoru nodded.

She wasn't sure how to respond—not that she was brave enough to oppose the one revered by Alpha—and shut her trap to listen to his story. It was more interesting than she'd initially imagined. In fact, she realized she'd been so absorbed in the tale that she'd forgotten the time. That evening, Beta had a deep, peaceful night's rest. And ever since then, Shadow recited a bedside story to Beta before she went to sleep. Beta had always been a bookworm, but she'd never heard any of his tales before. They were gripping and original to her ears. Time flew by as she listened to them, and she'd be fast asleep in no time—and stopped jolting awake in the middle of the night. Her favorites were "Cinderella" and "Snow White."

This may have been around the time Beta began chasing Shadow with her eyes. She noticed she was spending more and more time around him. At first, she observed him with a timid gaze. But after a year had passed, Beta was attached to him at the hip. Shadow was indispensable to the Shadow Garden—absolute strength, knowledge, and wisdom. His unconditionality comforted Beta. Soon enough, she found he'd become a necessity to her, too.

'Ok now I'm concerned… Hey, Seiichi, is Beta a yandere?' Minoru called out. The answer was prompt. 'I'm surprised that you noticed it this early. Then again, it's always the quiet ones…' He was left to ponder on that.

Beta on the other hand smiled, she did mostly use him as a focus, the stories helped, but having a clear goal was a safety gear.

Zeta gave her a gentle nudge while Epsilon glared at the screen. Delta nodded vigorously, boss man was a good storyteller, shame Beta didn't fight her often.

Eta grinned, "... I can… make a makeshift… killing count contest…?"

Alpha grimaced, but Gamma's eyes sparkled and Zeta seemed interested.

"I'm gonna go with a no. I really don't wanna be the one responsible for the death of innocents just so you can compare amongst yourselves" Minoru shut that down immediately. He KNEW that it was going to be used to argue for more time spent with him… classic harem issue, but he did have a solution for that

She realized her doubts had disappeared somewhere along the way. Without Shadow, Beta would have been killed for being possessed. She'd been disowned by her family, chased out of her home country, and this series of tragedies made Beta slow in processing her new situation. She'd lost too much to notice her gains. With her skepticism gone, Beta was able to realize something: Shadow had given her a new life and strength. She could feel this truth swelling in her heart.

"I wouldn't go that far, but a chance at one would be something I owe you, don't I?" Minoru asked. Beta simply blushed in response. He found it cute, and so decided to pat her head. She turned darker, while Alpha got even more jealous. Minoru, seeing that, also patted Alpha's head- calming and delighting the girl, who also blushed prettily..

Then Delta complained and he was forced to pat everyone (not that he minded), the girls gaining a slightly closer bond (and pink cheeks).

Beta had found a reason to fight. She began keeping a journal to write about him every day—for her to keep in touch with her memories and feelings, for her to never doubt anything again. Beta had found a reason to live. At first, she'd jotted down words and adjectives, but she noticed it had turned into sentences, and that flourished into a story somewhere along the way. The faint sound of movement brings Beta back to reality. She unsheathes her sword before approaching the loading deck and peers under the wagon. "Eek!"

She locks eyes with a young soldier about her age. He panics and drags himself out of the confines, trying desperately to escape. He didn't know a thing when he chose to guard the carriage hauling the possessed—and he will know nothing in death.

'Ahh… there he is! Jimina Seinen/Mundane Mann!" Seiichi thought to himself. It was really sad for him too.

Minoru touched his chin, 'What a spectacle of a mob!'

The others rolled their eyes while Alpha hummed, so that's why she was writing it over earlier.

'Er, it's also a kind of biography for possible recruits? Also, I work better writing stuff down anyway, it refreshes the memory.'

Eta gave her a pat on the back(?).

{N:I mean she probably also writes stuff down?}{S:I was wondering if Eta would give headpats or not… Comment below, guys!}

"S-stop...!" Beta swings her sword down without hesitation, and blood squirts out of his neck as he sprints for his life. He staggers a few more steps before collapsing to the ground. Swiping the blood spatter off her cheek, Beta gazes at the night sky, where a full moon peeks out from between the clouds. Under the moonlight, she smiles innocently—as if she's a lovely flower fraught with danger in the night. Beta has no doubts. If it would make him happy, she would even walk down the path of evil.

"Nope, we're not doing that, so you won't have to do that, Beta darling" Minoru teases, and reassures her at the same time. He even kissed her lightly.

She giggles while the others vehemently insist, "No evil! You want to be the leader of the next cult?!"

That made them all burst into laughter, once they realized the irony of the scenario.

"All right! That was Beta! Next up, Delta! We'll keep this train going!" Seiichi hollered. "Though, there is an addendum I gotta make at the end to help you understand why Delta truly is the way she is." he added in a normal voice.

The weak are worthless.

Born and raised a therianthrope, she had this lesson drilled into her by her family. Her clan was large, even for canine therianthropes, and her father-the chief- had over a hundred children to his name. She was told she had been born to one of his lower-ranked mistresses, so no one expected much from her. At mealtimes, her portions were meagre, and she was always skinny and famished. When she turned three, they eventually stopped feeding her altogether.

"Alright then! When we come across anyone from that clan, we beat them down and make them serve us as slaves- That's their fate!" Minoru immediately smiled and said that cheerfully. Like there was nothing to it. Zeta seemed like she agreed.

Delta gave him a shrug, she didn't give two fucks about her family most of the time, she remembered killing a sibling once or twice.

Epsilon felt a weird shiver.

She was little more than skin and bones by the first time she staggered into the forest to hunt for herself. There, she slew a boar twice her size by bashing in its skull, then she drank its lifeblood and gorged herself on its organs. She realized then that not only could she sustain herself with her own two hands but doing so was surprisingly easy. Now she knew that was what it meant to live. Food handed to you was worthless. It only held value if you hunted it yourself.

Alpha wondered if all therianthropic people were the same… Judging by Zeta's expression- a mix of abject horror and regret- she'd have to go with a no. She felt absolutely disgusted by them herself.

'Eh, it depends on the clan, Mollycat here is just cheap,' Delta waved it off while Zeta got offended.

Gamma wanted to puke, too many organs.

After she returned to her village, drenched in her prey's blood, word began to spread. Even among therianthropes, a three-year-old girl killing a boar was hardly normal. Yet that was precisely what she had done. Her senses and physical strength were superlative, and she could even use magic despite never having had any formal training. If a child her age came picking a fight, she'd take them down in a single blow, and whenever she got hungry, she'd go off and hunt her own food. Her malnourished frame quickly filled out, and before long, she'd grown into a young girl with fair looks and supple muscles. By the time she turned twelve, the only person in her clan who could best her was the chief. It would only have taken a few more years or maybe even just one—and she might well have surpassed him, too.

"Huh, so Delta's abilities are strange for her race too. Still doesn't really change that the Black Wolves must be enslaved…" Minoru had a crazed grin on his face. Revenge was going to be sweet.

Alpha sighed, despite agreeing. Is there anyone normal in their group? Seiichi, sensing some hypocrisy, prodded her into self-reflection.

However, that never happened. Instead, black bruises spread all across her body. She was one of the possessed… and the possessed had to be driven from the pack. That was an ironclad rule. After fleeing with her disease-ridden body, she began hunting throughout the forest and prowling aimlessly. She loved hunting. Hunting had given her life. Every instinct in her body told her that hunting was what she had been born to do. Consequently, being driven from her pack didn't bother her much. As long as she could keep on living and hunting, she was fine with that. However, the illness ate away at her. Her body rotted, and she gradually grew so weak that it became impossible for her to hunt.

She collapsed by a woodland stream and looked up at the heavens. "I can...still...hunt..." She could smell the beasts, sense their footsteps, hear their cries. The forest was massive, but she could make out traces of distant prey like it was right in front of her. If her body would only move the way she wanted it to, she could hunt them all down with ease. "My prey...calling out...to me..."

Welp, there goes the temper of the entire syndicate. Minoru smiling at this traumatized Seiichi, since he also showed them Delta's father hunting her. That smile chilled.

Delta ears fell at the scene, she didn't like this memory.

But even though she extended her blackened, rotting hand, all she caught was air. "But I...can still...hunt..." Eventually, her vision grew dim. Knowing she didn't have long to live, she smiled when she heard a wolf howling nearby. The wolf had come to hunt her. This was her chance. She couldn't move anymore, but she could lure her prey to her. The moment the wolf tried to bite her, she would tear out its throat with her teeth. She stifled her breathing and waited for the wolf to come. But it never did.

"Wh...y...?" The wolf's presence grew distant, and a blond elf appeared in its place. "It's progressed pretty far... You must have an incredible force of will to be able to stay conscious in that state," the elf observed. She offered her hand but was frantically forced to retract it a moment later.

Chomp.

"OK, so half of Delta's intelligence was taken by the Curse, and the other half was taken by the idiots in the pack" Epsilon concluded. She now practically salivated at the opportunity to strike them down.

Alpha smiled. Delta really needed her new family.

Gamma blinked, "Wait, you tried to bite Alpha-sama's hand?"

Delta gave her a flat stare. Zeta facepalmed.

The therianthrope girl's fangs met empty air. She turned her inflamed face toward the elf, glared at her, and smiled. "Looks like...I found...a big one..." With the last of her strength, she willed herself to her feet. Animals weren't the only prey she knew. Strife between therianthrope tribes was common, and hunting foes was something else she lived for. The moment she laid eyes on the elf, she knew: The girl standing before her was the kind of big game that really got her blood boiling.

"What...?! How can you still stand...?!" The elf girl started to back away. "Grah!" That's when the therianthrope girl pounced at her. No ailing person should have been able to move so elf dodged her fangs and retreated a good distance, but the therianthrope forced her unstable body to pursue. "Stop that! I'm trying to help! Seems like talking isn't getting me anywhere. I might end up hurting you, so it looks like I'll need to ask for his help...," she muttered, then turned around and left.

"W-wait...wai...t..." The therianthrope chased her for a few steps, then collapsed headfirst. She no longer had the strength to go after her. The fight had drained the last of her energy... just when she thought she'd have one last chance to hunt a big one… Despondent, she closed her eyes.

Delta sighed, but smiled. She was sad, but she got something much better because of that encounter, so she became happy. Life was simple that way!

Beta pouted, but let Minoru absently cuddle her.

For a little while, all she heard was the quiet ambiance of the forest until nearby footsteps caught her ears. She opened her eyes in surprise. Standing beside her was a dark-haired boy dressed all in black. She couldn't feel his presence at all.

"My name is Shadow..."

When she looked up into his eyes, her whole body trembled. She wouldn't win. She wouldn't be able to beat him, no matter how hard she tried. What told her that wasn't logic but instinct, and she comprehended it instantly. The only person stronger than her was her father, the chief of her clan, and even he didn't scare her. But this boy was different. His strength as a living creature was fundamentally beyond hers. When she saw his toned body, she could tell it was built for combat. When she sensed his sharpened magical skills, she could tell they were potent enough to blow the entire area to kingdom come. When she looked at his steely eyes, she knew he could tell exactly how strong she was. The gulf between their strengths was so vast, though, she couldn't even muster the will to fight. She feared his strength and, as a matter of course, obeyed what her instincts told her to do in the face of a mightier being.

" Ohhhhhhh… " Both Alpha and Minoru chorused. They finally figured out why she behaved as she did

In other words,

"Purr..."

she submitted. She flopped over, exposing her belly and wagging her tail. "She seems perfectly docile..." "When I tried to get close to her, she was rabid."The boy and the elf shared a puzzled exchange. "Eh, whatever. I'm gonna heal her now." "Allow me to help." With that, the boy surrounded the therianthrope with his purple magic. The elf awkwardly tried to assist.

"Purr..." As they did, the therianthrope just kept wagging her tail with her belly exposed. A little while later, after the first round of treatment was finished, they were joined by two more elves, one with silver hair and one with blue. The girl wasn't fully healed but had recovered enough to be able to walk around again.

'Huh, so that's how she was recruited. Go Delta' Zeta could finally see how Delta was recruited. She resolved to try being nicer to her in the future. She clearly doesn't know the love of a true family.

'Urk,' Delta blinked as Minoru coughed.

'Boss?'

'Ah, I miss my dog, why couldn't he have reincarnated with me?!' Everyone was confused.

Though Delta loved the extra headpats.

"I'm Alpha. I'm sorry for springing this on you, but I'd like to explain a few things about our syndicate and your body-" As the elf named Alpha began droning on about some incomprehensible nonsense, the therianthrope girl examined her body. Thanks to the Shadow boy's magic, she'd recovered remarkably. She would never forget the strength and warmth of his magic. Now, she could hunt again.

"—and because of that, we fight against the Cult."She didn't fully follow but understood this was to be her new pack. She had no objections to that. After all, its chief, Shadow, was the strongest being she knew. To serve the strong was her pride. As long as it had Shadow, this pack would become the strongest in the world.

'On to world domination!' That thought glistened in her mind. "Delta. From now on, that will be your name." "Del-tuh... My new name, given by the Boss man..."

"Ahh, the infamous naming. I always wondered how you had delivered that." Minoru smiled. It was sad, since they literally took up those code names as their new identities. HE knew that and decided to remedy that by learning more about their pasts… Especially Alpha's- she's his second-in-command, after all.

'What's your original name by the way? I keep forgetting mine,' Epsilon asked, Gamma nodding.

'Sara, Delta thinks.'

'Ah, okay.'

She liked it far better than her old name. After all, it was something Boss man had given her. Boss man was amazing! He was the strongest. As far as she was concerned, he was the best in all the world! Which was why there was something she needed to do. She glanced at the three elves standing around her. The blue one wasn't even in contention. The silver one was so-so. The blond one, though, was strong. Shadow was the pack's undisputed top dog, which meant Alpha was surely his number two. In other words, Delta needed to—

"Hey, Blondie!" Glaring, Delta pointed at Alpha. "From now on, I'm number two!" Fighting to determine pack hierarchy was extremely important to therianthropes. "Submit and show me your belly!"

"Excuse me? " Hearing that, Alpha's magic started to flare.

"I hereby nickname you Alpha the Fearsome" Minoru jokingly says. This, as he soon came to realize, was a mistake.

Of course, you, the reader may wonder why that's the case, but there is one factor that you don't consider- You don't have a Delta cowering behind you as Alpha glares at you.. He smiles, as he pats her head again. She really seems to like those. Of course, she is pouting. Cute.

"I'll have to add that the chief was brutal. I dunno why, but he had Delta's mother killed post-birth… She, of course never knew that- having an aunt of the relatively high ranks in that same harem does help, but Delta never really knew her real mother." Seiichi revealed, only to be brutalizedby Aethra for the insensitive way the info was disseminated. She took over.

"Sorry about him," she apologised as the others shrugged, already thinking of different and creative ways to enslave them, "anyway, we still have more to go, but it's better to proceed only if you're comfortable with it."

They nodded, clearly scared of her for the way she brutalized him.

"Very well, next on-ah, wait, I forgot our other guests."

They tilted their heads and a portal opened, Aethra putting her hand inside.

OK! Seiichi here, to explain why we have a chapter so early. Things go easy on your timeline when you have an accident that renders you immobile. This happened to me, and thankfully, I don't have any broken bones (that I know of). My right knee, though, was a bitch. I decided that was worth some comedy, and basically had Neutral's OC maul me. Twice. Not sure how she feels about that, though I did give valid reasons to get mauled. I'm not sure about the prognosis, but that's why you see this chapter here so early. On which note, please check the doc, Neutral. I've explained why it's this early, since I believe we had agreed on Tuesdays to publish.

TL;DR, had some free time open up, decided to type this out. I'm so sorry to jump this on Neutral. (No, really.)

Seiichi and Neutral are waiting at the Insanity Races!