Aethra pressed the button, but Seiichi pressed it again. "I forgot we have to bring in our last member" With that, he went ahead and summoned a beautiful young woman with dark brown hair and eyes with matching color, fair skin with a clean skin complexion. Her hair parted to give her face full view, her long hair ending roughly around her waistline, with two locks of hair partitioned beside her cheeks ending at breast length, and decorative choker around her throat.
She wore the standard Slime Bodysuit with golden decorations and adornments to denote high rank. Her torso carries the standard unitard center connecting to the top with a jacket shouldering, with parallel gold trims descending the center of her torso from her breasts to her pelvis, her sleeves having gold decoration circling under her deltoid, with violet gem coloring, with a thin gold trimming on the back that formed a T on the upper back.
She had on matching cesti with gold accents, a small harness under her breasts with golden clasps that connect to the back of her attire, and her belt is a suit standard with gold hip guards and violet centers. She has symmetrical detailing of three belts across both her thighs, and boots with gold trims along the joints and gold decoration at the pull loop just before the collar, and golden leg guards forward of each of her boots.
She looked confused, before Seiichi transferred the required information to her, eyes widening. "Wanna introduce yourself?" He asked, as she nodded in response. "I am known as Nu, one of Shadow Garden's more powerful members, and a Named Number. I serve Lady Gamma in her endeavours." Feeling that that was enough, she went ahead and placed herself in a yelping Minoru's lap, feeling comfort in doing so… until she remembered that they weren't alone.
"Er, not that I'm complaining or anything, but," Minoru started, Nu's entire face reddening as the others stared, suddenly very conscious of herself, "... I can't see the screen," he figured the girls would protest more, yet Nu was already making up several apologies, so it was probably good enough a hint?
Nu ashamedly went to another seat, Beta giving her a mixed gaze while Gamma sighed, Zeta snorted while Epsilon kept Delta by her side, less she attempted it too. Eta hides an offended Claire's view.
Alpha coughed and turned to the still red Nu, Minoru's cheeks tinted slightly, Aurora chuckling at him while Beatrix blinked, Sherry was still staring while Rose turned away, Alexia and Iris felt second hand embarrassment at that, Aethra facepalming, "... Maybe, next time, ask properly?"
Nu nodded.
After a few moments of awkward silence, Seiichi pressed the button again…
We open to a night shot of the city, zooming into a street next to a dark alley, in which a man is running from a hooded and masked person. Cue slasher film clichè as the man is killed. The hood announced himself as a member of Shadow Garden, though something is off- the hood disappears to a wanted poster with a skull on it. Cue opening, though the final image in it is of a burning city.
While Nu and the Royals listened to and watched the opening in awe, given that it showed off the awesomeness of her master and their ally respectively, the Shades and Minoru discussed the matter. "So there are imposters now… Why do I get the feeling that the Cult is gonna target the school now?" Gamma asked
"More importantly, how statistically possible is it for a Possessed to appear among men?" Minoru countered, since he already figured that was the ultimate plan. Sherry was curious regarding that too.
Alpha delivered the devastating news to him. "Men who are possessed usually die from it. We suspect that the reason has to do with elevated magic control in women to counter the possession, although you are an exception with your control…"
Beatrix popped in here, innocently revealing, "They usually explode in a shower of blood" and was immediately responsible for a ton of screaming, as the Shades and Claire had another panic attack, remembering that Minoru ignored the fact that he was on the verge of explosion… He had to pat all of their heads to calm them down. The royals wincing still.
Aurora scolded her gently for that.
At the school cafeteria, [Cid], [Hyoro] and [Jaga] interrogate the guy who'd been in a fake relationship about it… disgustingly. They then talk about going to get chocolate at the rumoured {Mitsugoshi} that is popular with everyone. [Hyoro] knows about it, but [Jaga] has a one track mind. [Cid] is interested in the chocolate of this world… Oh, the irony!
This time, Claire decides that these two have no right to be with her beloved brother.
"I will not accept you being with the two idiots on screen in the future- It will reflect poorly on the Kagenou Family and thus MY reputation will fall!" she manages to give a decent reason to avoid the creeps… Much to Minoru's chagrin.
The Seven Shades plus Nu plan on murdering the two of them again, and their master is powerless to stop them, MUAHHAHAHAHAHAHA!
Meanwhile Alexia is terribly disgusted by them- having been relieved of her issues, she's commenting rather disdainfully… Not that Rose, Iris or Sherry disagree. Klaus understands why he associates with them, but is saddened that someone like Shadow is hiding themselves so easily…
Minoru is also interested in the chocolate of this world, briefly distracted from their murmurs, which seems odd, since chocolate isn't supposed to exist in this world… or his research is outdated.
He turns to Gamma, stunned, "Was chocolate one of the stuff I taught you?" Since they apparently used a plethora of those… he forgot most of it to be honest.
Gamma just gives him a sheepish grin while Alpha nods awkwardly.
Meanwhile, [Iris] shows [Sherry Barnett] of the Scholar's Division of the {Royal Midgar Academy} an artifact… and after explaining that it was confiscated from the {Cult}, she requested [Sherry], as the finest mind in the Kingdom to figure out its purpose. [Sherry] is adorably hesitant, forcing the school's vice-principal, and her adoptive father, [Lutheran Barnett] to encourage her, though something's off about the lighting around him. [Alexia], having a case of muscle-headedness and being present at the time, asks to help, as [Iris]'s {Order of Crimson Knights} is offered as security. Given her own muscle-headedness, she allows it
Minoru can only laugh, as Alexia muscles her way into an investigation. The Shades and Nu follow, as they know how research is done and see Alexia's attempt to help as somewhat unnecessary
"Y'know, you can only help where muscle is needed, and even then, you're gonna have to start working out~~" Minoru teased.
Alexia glared at him, but understood the point, they understandably won't tell her anything if she makes it obvious that she's interested. Iris also notices that.
"But something's off about Lutheran… No offence, Sherry" Minoru also notices what's off about Lutheran… which makes Sherry pout… Her Otou-sama wouldn't do anything against the Academy!
"To be honest, Sherry-san, I also thought his interest in my country's library odd the one time we had tea," Rose tells her sadly.
Sherry's face fell.
Back to the two stooges and the boss pretending to be a stooge. They're lined up at {Mitsugoshi}, where the line's gonna last 80 minutes. [Jaga], recognizing his mob status, is concerned about the slasher on the loose, while [Hyoro], who is ignorant of said status, dismisses the statement. [Cid] is curious, but {Mitsugoshi} is more familiar to him than he thought… which makes him feel conspicuous.
Minoru deadpans… 'Gamma, in the future, if you start a business, you tell me about it- no one's omniscient! The same goes for all of you!' he projects to the Seven Shades, who sheepishly nod and apologise.
Then he pauses, '... Also, give me a list of what you're creating, I still have plenty to teach.' Thank god for his lazy documentary watching, he sucks at explaining, but anything to increase business.
The shade perks up at that.
Suddenly, [Nu], dressed in the shop's uniform, appears, offering a survey… only to [Cid]. Apparently, only one is needed for this… Sus. Totally sus. But [Cid]'s an idiot, so he follows her. The inside is like a shopping from his previous life… and the idiot is still not suspicious. HOW DENSE CAN [SHADOW] BE!? He finally gets a clue as he's led to a large door on the roof- leading to a rooftop outhouse- efficient. Inside the outhouse is a throne room, complete with throne and maid-like women. [Gamma] is next to the throne.
"Hmmm… I APPROVE!" Minoru exclaims. Shadow garden members immediately swoon. Klaus, and the rest of the Royals are shocked that he gets his own throne room, without asking for it. Aurora wants to sit on a throne, while Beatrix is baffled at the lengths her niece and her group are going to deify him.
Claire, ever the oddball, nods in approval. Sherry joins the oddball group with her own nod and hum of approval. Minoru, sensing impending doom from Lutheran, grabs her by the armpits and plops her on his lap, where he hugs her… Needless to say, she blushes, and most of the women (excluding Iris and Aethra) are jealous.
Then again, they can't really do anything and Beta actually seems to understand his actions, reprieving them to the others. Needless to say, there are sympathetic winces present.
Thank otaku instincts for that.
[Cid] approaches the throne, and sees Gamma, who uses extremely formal language. They discuss the establishment of {Mitsugoshi}, where he reflects on the fact that he gave them knowledge of random stuff from his world as 'Shadow Wisdom'... The girls, taking this absolutely serious, manage {Mitsugoshi}, and here we are… even though he was vague about it, as a flashback was cued.
'Wait, Mitsugoshi is a cover for Shadow Garden!?' was the only thought running through the mind of the Royals.
Indeed, Gamma being able to understand his vagueness deserves a prize! The shade was slightly confused as to why Minoru gave her a proud "thumb up", but Beta said it was the equivalent of "good job", so yay?
"Ne, Alpha, do we get a discount?" Alexia said suddenly, mind at work over the revelation, they are allies, aren't they?
Alpha gave her a chilly smile and Alexia slumped. Sherry was given the okay though, Rose already imagining what to give Aurora, she seemed pretty interested about her country, perhaps Mitsugoshi has something similar?
Gamma moves… and her clumsiness is revealed, as she trips on absolutely nothing and falls down the stairs and lands on her face, resulting in a nosebleed.
Beatrix, surprisingly, was the one to start the girls' laughter… which embarrassed Gamma. Minoru simply smiled sympathetically though, which ended the girls' laughter.
"How can such a klutz even be one of the original seven members!?" Alexia mocks… and receives Delta's claw to her throat as a response.
"Boss is the only one who can criticize us!" she snarls out. The other Shades quickly disabuse Alexia of the idea that she can mock them, while Nu calms Delta down… Minoru ends up taking over, while reprimanding Delta for it since he doesn't wanna see her biting anyone anymore… even if the bites are friendly.
"Don't worry, your swordsmanship skills are excellent, Gamma-sama!" Nu then tries to alleviate the blow.
For some reason, Iris can tell she's lying despite Gamma's relief. If only she knew…
Later, as [Gamma] admires her Lord's form sitting in the throne, [Cid] is moved by the 'set' and rewards the group present for it, as they grovel before his supposed majesty. Said reward is… a ball of purple healing magic light that's supposedly minor. Though the light reminds [Gamma] of her moment of salvation as the girls are in awe
"THAT KIND OF MAGIC ISN'T SOMETHING THAT IS SUPPOSED TO BE HANDED OUT LIKE PARTY FAVORS!" came Klaus' shout, shocking the Royals.
"DO YOU REALIZE WHAT KIND OF POWER HEALERS HAVE IN THIS WORLD!? THEY ARE REALLY RARE! AND YOU CALL THAT MINOR?" he continues, shaking Minoru as he rages at the insipid use of rare magic.
Minoru blinks, "That's rare? I just assumed anyone can do it given the right calculations…"
Klaus once again started raging about it while the shades marvelled at their boss magnificence.
Alexia and Aurora are somehow the only ones noticing he bullshited the "gift", Sherry taking rapid notes with Beta.
[Cid] asks if {Mitsugoshi} is turning a decent profit… and turns out, new items sell like hot cakes, so they expanded to ridiculous levels- having at their immediate disposal 1 billion zeni
Klaus looks like he wants to shake Gamma's hand and make her his finance minister… till he remembers who she is loyal to. He isn't picking that fight, thank you very much.
Alexia and Sherry have shining eyes at that amount shown.
"Boss, you're salivating," Delta points out while Alpha silently closes Minoru's mouth, amused.
Unable to hide his shock, a miscommunication occurs- [Gamma] thinks that the amount is too little, while [Cid] is mad that he didn't get a cut- he doesn't realise that the entire thing is his to have… but the slasher is more important, as he dares imitate {Shadow Garden}... Needless to say, another miscommunication occurs, where [Gamma] thinks he wants to deal with the slasher, while [Cid] thinks the slasher is actually [Alexia], and asks to handle this himself
Alexia… doesn't take this well. She tries beating Minoru up, but is slashed at again by Delta, who's really mad now. Minoru calms her, amused at her pet-like behaviour.
Though he does suspect what will happen next…
Iris looks concerned that it was his first thought, the images hadn't implied it was a violent relationship until Cid rejected her… she really needs to get a clue
[Nu], with her [Alpha]-approved skills, is offered up to his service, and it is accepted. [Cid] leaves… after he orders the cheapest chocolate at a small discount. Of course, he gets the best quality chocolate, for absolutely free… though he also sneaks a few coins for his own use.
Minoru is forced to take a lecture from Gamma on managing finance for stealing… not that she minds giving up her entire revenue to him, but he should at least tell her. Alpha joins her, since it's fun to scold him. Nu blushes, but smiles happily at being at his service.
Zeta's disappointed that her boss's idiocy didn't confuse the on-screen members, they probably assumed he knew.
As the two stooges and the boss pretending to be a stooge run back to make it in before curfew, [Cid] reflects that [Alexia] may have lost it, given that she tried killing him before. Of course, the slasher strikes at that time, so he fakes a need to take a dump… and following a 'manly' talk about outdoor shitting, the stooges leave him to deal with it… they talk as if he's about to kick the shitter bucket though.
Laughter at the scene ensues, though the genius of the idea is still appreciated by the present audience.
Minoru likes this idea. 'Nuff said, really.
Alexia sighs at the antics, she wouldn't be caught dead saying that.
Turns out [Cid] was right- partially. As he muses about [Alexia] being a loony slasher that was faking {Shadow Garden}, [Alexia] herself is holding three of them back… As she has her arm broken, the following sequence occurs:
[Shadow] arrives.
He takes them on, letting two escape.
Leaves without further elaboration.
[Alexia] falls, unconscious.
Utter silence- the 'Stay outta it' might as well have been shouted with the tone he used.
"That isn't good for your public image" Klaus admonishes him.
Minoru shuts him up with one sentence. "If having a good image means letting the Cult win, then screw looking good- I'll be the villain of the world and look cool doing it as well!"
Cue another swoon, though Beatrix looks impressed as well… outsiders should stay away from this war.
On the rooftops, the hoods are foolishly thinking that they successfully outran [Shadow], only to get disabused of that notion… at the cost of one of their lives. [Nu] appears behind the last hood, and assures her master that she'll drag info outta him… though once he's gone, the hood is slashed at, [Nu] deciding to posture a bit…
"I am not as gentle as my Lord Shadow…"
Minoru stares… then he gets up, walks over to Nu, kisses her and sits back down, a blushing Sherry back on his lap, which makes her blush something fierce. The support she was getting from the Shades ends then and there, as they immediately start criticizing her by pointing out the possible ways to insert fear into their enemies' mind… Nu, being the subordinate, takes it all in and incorporates it in her mind.
Iris starts wondering if she can steal Nu's swordplay style…
In a set of ruins, a small group of men are discussing the death of the slashers- apparently they were manipulated. The Gaunt Knight, as he's known, is planning on retrieving something, the location of which was just revealed to him. In the {Academy dorms}, [Iris] and [Alexia] are discussing the slashers, where Iris reveals the fact that she met [Alpha]. [Alexia] confirms from [Iris]'s own mouth that her enemy is both {Shadow Garden} and {The Cult}, much to her surprise. Iris shows her idiocy in assuming that she can stop either, let alone [Shadow].
Iris is reminded of her loss to Minoru, and starts sulking. Klaus makes a note to arrange more politics classes for her.
Minoru, the Shadow Garden members, Claire, Aurora and Beatrix begin laughing. The notion that she exerts authority on anything is absurd to them…
"Ne-sama, next time please don't assume, that's not good for your mental health," Alexia chided.
Rose took notes of that, wondering how her kingdom's doing…
The next day, on the train, it's revealed that the stooges acted like the NPC idiots they are and spread the fact that [Cid] pooped outside to everyone… and casually ask him for the chocolate… [Hyoro] ends up giving it to someone betrothed to a gorilla of a man, while [Jaga] was a creep to his intended recipient. Why is it that the best end up next to the creeps!?
Murderous intent again… Though this time, Minoru is with them.
"Okay, that was low even for my standards," he conceded at that, but still thought them useful in collecting info.
[Cid] decides he's giving it to the first girl he's coming across, which just so happens to be an innocent and completely airheaded [Sherry], who just took the seat next to him. Naturally, our airhead is confused, though she remembers him from the time he helped her while covered in blood. Later in her room, as she contemplates what happened, [Lutheran] comes in and starts talking about it, also commenting that it must've been love at first sight… Oh dear! He encourages socialization… before they discuss the research and his illness surfaces. It's revealed for sure that [Sherry] was adopted and that hers mother was an excellent researcher herself. Cue ending with [Epsilon].
Sherry, on Minoru's lap, blushes furiously at the misunderstanding… till Minoru himself states the following
"Since I'm ending up with a harem anyway- thank you, you seven- I don't see why it should matter if it was love at first sight or not… Guess we'll see where it takes us?" He ends up asking her if she minded.
Needless to say, Sherry, who liked Minoru from the beginning, nodded. Alexia fumes in jealousy, while Rose wonders if she can join. Claire is determined to join this 'harem' and make herself the top bitch in it
Apart from that, though, Minoru now knows for sure, but is reluctant to put to words his conclusion- Lutheran killed Sherry's mother. The only question is… why?
Everyone was on pins and needles to begin the next episode, though.
AN: AND BOOM! We might've been late, but we deliver... Now I'd like to say we'll return to our scheduled release schedule, but I'm not sure that's even possible. Anyway, I'm sure we're both alive and eager! How was it? Did we do good? *shows eager face*
READ AND REVIEW, FOR FLAMES ARE FUEL!
Seiichi and Neutral, with their brand of insanity, are at the Races!
