Chapter 48: I Bought a Whorehouse (Part 1)

Backpedaling as fast as her aching legs would allow Yumi barely managed to manifest a double-bladed longsword that caught Medusa's thrown chain between it, briefly entangling the unconventional weapon as her free hand held aloft a large broadsword with a significantly widened blade, the improvised shield jolting as an arrow courtesy of Shirou bounced off of it as her brief entangling of the purple-haired woman's weapon came to an abrupt end as she made use of her overpowering strength to rip the sword from Yumi's hands, the blonde not fighting and letting the blade whistle through the air.

She'd learned the hard way that trying to beat Medusa in a game of power was a losing proposition. Instead she created a dagger beneath her feet that carried with it a simple wind alignment, the gust launching her into a backflip that avoided a reverse swipe of the Heroic Spirit's chain as yet another arrow was blocked-

-and she hissed as her landing strained something important in her left leg, the moment of instability more than enough opportunity for Medusa to dance forward, kick her defensive sword away as another arrow - this one thankfully blunted - caught her in the gut, a pained wheeze escaping the blonde's lips as she doubled over.

"Stop!"

And just like that another frantic spar came to a close, Yumi heaving for breath as she sullenly stared at her opponents, both of them with barely disrupted breathing patterns.

"You have improved quite impressively in a short amount of time. You react and make good decisions much faster than before."

Grimacing as she carefully hauled herself upright the Sacred Gear wielder coughed out, "Still not enough to give the two of you a decent workout."

"While it's rich of me to say this I think you're expecting too much of yourself, you've gone above and beyond what I had initially expected."

Settling for a brief nod at Shirou's contemplative words Yumi instead wiped away the river of sweat that had plastered her hair to her scalp and tried to regulate her breathing, reflecting on what Rin had mentioned in passing with a surprising amount of honesty considering she was a Magus, as everyone else in Pier 16 seemed to take so much fun in heckling her over.

"Then again Shirou, Sakura and Medusa have been as open about their circumstances with me as can be imagined, maybe she didn't bother hiding anything because they would have told me anyway."

Was she crazy for wanting to so quickly and cleanly match up to a Heroic Spirit and man who'd essentially grafted his future self's centuries of combat experience onto himself? Yes, she was and she honestly didn't care. She'd received a new lease on life when so many others hadn't, the least she could do to honor their memory was prove worthy of their sacrifice, never mind pay Cayman back for all he'd done for her.

He presented it in terms of a mutual transaction but Yumi knew better at this point. The Toujou sisters, his summons and now Felicia as well as the Taimanin pair…he didn't need her as a guard in the slightest. And it's not like she had any other remarkable skills to make up for her lack of strength. She couldn't heal, she couldn't use any form of Extranatural techniques aside from her Sacred Gear and basic Holy spells and even Hatsukaze, Minasaki and Lilim were more valuable than her despite acting like comic relief most of the time.

Yet the Surveyor stuck to their deal and she was not going to be deadweight, not this time.

"...And there's nothing wrong with having a handsome and fun guy think you're impressive, after all."

Quickly shaking off that particular thought the blonde listened as Shirou remarked, "You've gotten a lot faster with switching out and creating different swords, you only really faltered near the end."

Resignedly sighing Yumi tenderly massaged her leg, stating, "The first minute isn't that bad, it's only when I start to run out of breath and can't find a moment to really focus that making them and staying on the move that it becomes impossible."

Shirou nodded, stating, "Unfortunately that only really becomes less of an issue with time and experience."

"Figures."

Sakura chose that moment to arrive with a tray of lemonade and Empanadas, Yumi not in any hurry to ask why she had chosen something with Hispanic origins and instead focusing on how delicious it was no doubt going to be.

"Such enthusiasm is the greatest compliment a chef can receive."

Sakura's knowing and cheerful words had Yumi coughing into her fist in embarrassment at how obvious she was being, the group nonetheless digging in as Medusa tilted her head, inquiring, "You are going to be attending school soon, are you not? Nervous at all?"

Quickly swallowing her mouthful and savoring the zest of lemon and meat Yumi replied, "A little bit, but Rin, Mai, Yukikaze and a lot of others have been helping me on and off with getting prepared for it."

She didn't miss the brief and complicated expression on Sakura's face at the mention of her sister but the blonde wasn't it any hurry to bring that thorny subject up, instead looking at Medusa as the woman further asked, "And Cayman has been treating you well? No demands or asking more of you than required?"

Feeling the brief tingle of affection at the thought of the man Yumi merely smiled, replying, "If anything I'm worried about him. The past couple days have been rough."

At the bevy of questioning looks she elaborated with, "Pier 16 is a riot of personalities, to say the least. He's been trying to keep things running smoothly and while he's managed to do so, well…"

She sheepishly shrugged.

"He went out for a night of drinking with some friends."

"Although I have to wonder how that's going, hopefully he's having fun and relaxing."

"While it's a pleasure to meet you I hope you don't hold it against me that I unleash a colossal bitch fit tonight."

"It's your own fault, Cayman."

"Till? While you are absolutely correct and justified in giving me lip right now I require sympathy and a support group, not a reminder of my own designs coming back to haunt me."

The Fairy giggled as she and Jesie knocked back a beer larger than they were, giving her Contractor a knowing look from where he lay facedown on the table, nonetheless happily nibbling on a plate of french fries.

All while occasionally slipping said fries to the pair of animals beneath the table, one of them a shaggy black dog and the other resembling a shrunken great cat, both perfectly content to accept the treats as Lavinia and Rossweisse smiled at the display, both women enjoying their own meals as Vali idly demolished a burger, Cayman rotating his head enough that an emerald eye could stare at the pair of newest arrivals to his growing repertoire of contacts the world over, one Tobio Ikuse and Sae Toujo, no relation to the cats he had back home.

Both had been a part of the prequel series to DxD and he was more than happy to make a good first impression with them.

"...It's hard to muster up the energy to make a good first impression right now. Alright, emergency measures are employed."

Under the guise of feeding both the dog and cat another fry he instead gathered them up in his arms and let his head drop into their fur, a tension-filled sigh escaping the man as both creatures stilled, caught off guard by the overly affectionate motion before they were released, Cayman sitting upright with renewed vigor.

"Fuzz therapy. Drugs wish they were half as effective."

An obvious look of bemusement appeared on Tobio's face, the dark-haired young man commenting, "You seem rather at ease with Jin and Leo, most people tread lightly if they know who and what they are."

Dismissively waving a hand Cayman let the living Sacred Gears - one of them a verified Longinus - return to their wielders, explaining, "One of the smartest things my college ever did was have a bunch of puppies and kitties from shelters or other locales hang around during midterm and finals week in the main campus for anyone to hang out with and destress. I kinda got attached during those days. Hell, I just recently adopted a pair of cats back at base."

Rossweisse huffed out a mournful breath, mumbling, "I would have enjoyed having that back at my own college, the most common form of stress relief was fighting each other and, er…other physical pursuits."

"Hardcore cross-campus sex, right?"

Vali sighed at Cayman's blunt reply, complaining, "Why do I keep getting dragged to these things when nothing interesting ever happens-OW!"

Lavinia mercilessly pulled on the youth's ear, scolding him with, "You need to go and socialize more, Va-kun. And that means sitting and eating with your elders every now and again."

"Fine, but you only ever talk about boring stuff…"

Jesie snorted as she downed a few drops of beer that would have been a significant number of pints for a normal sized person, remarking, "Not for my lack of trying, mind you. Vali, you really need to learn to read a ladies mood more accurately."

The silver-haired youth just rolled his eyes and went back to his meal, Lavinia leaving him be as she thoughtfully cupped her chin, musing, "My time at the academy was also bereft of such fun diversions. Although that may be the result of there being so many Familiars and other dangerous creatures out and about…"

"Yeah, I can imagine no one wanted to bring a bunch of defenseless newborns near the poison-spewing fire-breathing Chimera."

The blonde Longinus-wielder chuckled at his remark before tilting her head, curiously asking, "You mentioned having a bit of a trouble with your team, never mind looked rather frazzled when arriving. Is everything alright?"

"Yeah, there's light at the end of the tunnel it's just that the initial entrance had about five hundred speed bumps with five hundred more to go."

The Surveyor glanced towards Tobio and Sae, adding, "That said I'm meeting you two for the first time and I'd prefer it if we had something more entertaining to chat about."

The younger man waved a hand, responding, "Lavinia invited us here precisely because she wanted us to hear about your adventures dealing with this Khaos Brigade and their affiliates, seeing as how we're more or less working towards the same goal."

"Azazel got you on the case as well?"

It was Sae's turn to nod, speaking up for the first time as she stated, "Seeing as how this group seems to be the latest and greatest in causing massive headaches across the world the Governor General figured it would be for the better if we're all on the same page when it comes to dealing with them, especially after the raid on Gosha Academy."

Tobio nodded, more amusedly adding, "Anyone who can be so affectionate with our Sacred Gears can't be all that bad anyway."

"A little too affectionate, I think."

Sae's more reproachful expression had Cayman chuckling, Lavinia peppily adding, "With Tobi-kun and Sae-kun on the case this will be a breeze, Slash Dog can sniff out evildoers anywhere they hide~!"

Both of the younger members of Slash Dog flushed slightly, Tobio rubbing the back of his neck as he admitted, "While the enthusiasm is appreciated the reality is that we don't have many leads at the moment, we don't know much more than you do I'd wager."

"Well be that as it may…"

Cayman reached out a hand, both newcomers shaking it without reservation.

"A pleasure to be working with you and I look forward to sharing notes. You still down to hear my woes?"

+10 REP with Tobio Ikuse [10/00]

+5 REP with Sae Tojou [5/100]

Tobio smiled, amusedly replying, "I'll admit, after hearing about how varied your roster is my interest is piqued."

"Are any of them strong?"

Affixing Vali with a smirk Cayman ominously replied, "Much, much stronger than I am. Now!"

He clapped his hands, announcing, "It all started a few days ago with some waffles…"

"Oof. Sorry, Elon, but EV doesn't come across as a game changer when people that can fire laser beams from their eyes are pretty commonplace."

Muttering to himself as he both kept an eye on the waffle maker and stock market trends Cayman reflected that his 'future' knowledge of economic powerhouses was pretty much worthless if not downright harmful in this reality. Stuff like Tesla, Amazon, Apple and other 'safe' investment options had faced pretty rough competition from a multitude of other companies or firms that were backed by Extranatural individuals and interests that often came packed with tech or magic outside the established norm.

While it had all the aesthetic trappings of a dystopia in reality this three way world was pretty healthy in terms of economic diversity, competition and alternatives, it was just every other aspect of society that kinda fucking sucked if you didn't have some way of exerting influence and control over your life.

Rubbing his head in a bid to alleviate the financial headache that came with trying to predict the future he instead watched out of the corner of his eye as Yukikaze and Hatsukaze - in true showing of gremlin camaraderie and telepathic communication - stole Rin's waffles as she blearily went over a series of notes with Asia and Yumi, the pair nodding along with her explanation as the Surveyor resisted the urge to sigh, knowing that the first of many shitstorms was about to hit as the Magus already wasn't much of a morning person, this was just going to make things nuclear.

"...Where the hell are my waffles?"

Asia and Yumi looked up from where they had been quietly chatting, instantly cluing in as to what had happened as Rin - still stuck in a sleep haze - had decided to call in a lifeline and ask the audience.

"Dunno, didn't you already eat it?"

"Yeah, you really are helpless in the morning, aren't you?"

The perfectly innocent and perfectly fake concern from both the Demon and Taimanin would have been clear as day to anyone if they weren't a zombie, Yumi releasing a tired sigh as she announced, "They took it when you were helping us."

Ignoring the annoyed and betrayed expression directed her way Yumi pointed Rin in the right direction, the ravenette slowly setting her gaze on the duo like the barrel of a loaded gun.

"I bet you think you're funny, hmm?"

Not ones to back down when presented with a challenge the offending pair buckled in for a protracted bullshit session, Yukikaze glibly replying, "Well you weren't eating them and they were getting cold, it seemed like a waste to just have them go bad like that."

The Magus sent a pointed glance towards the small pile of available waffles on the counter, cooly remarking, "And you obviously didn't want to take care of those first, did you?"

Hatsukaze went the opposite route of denial, boldly proclaiming, "What do you care anyway? You've got a nice figure going, wouldn't want to have it be ruined by an extra bit of weight, wouldn't you?"

Distinctly remembering a Gandr curse being directed his way the last time he had so much as hinted at a fat joke the Surveyor wasn't left disappointed as Rin went from sloth to savage in the blink of an eye, sweetly announcing, "Alright, children. I'm not sure if you think you're still in elementary school or something like that but given your juvenile pranks that certainly seems to be the case. After all…"

She let her gaze drift downwards, casually remarking, "You certainly have the physical 'charm' of a pubescent girl."

Bloodlust of a thankfully less murderous but no less potent variety filled the air, Asia desperately trying to avert the coming disaster as she hurriedly said, "T-there's no need to argue! Here, Miss Tohsaka, you can have my share-"

"Don't you dare cover for them, they'll just pull this kind of stunt again!"

The nun shrunk in her seat so quickly and pitifully that Cayman was surprised a singularity didn't manifest, Yumi pinching the bridge of her nose as she clearly realized it would have been smarter to just let everything go without kicking the hornet's nest.

Mentally calling for Cerb the Hellhound was quick to respond, ambling over and setting his head in Asia's lap in order to placate the girl and avert a truly depressing meltdown.

"Maybe you think you've got some kind of seniority as a brainy and smart Magus that just loves to ramble on about how hardcore they are for walking with death or whatever edgelord slogans you spout all the time but while you were buried six feet deep in books and secret basements I've been running black ops against people who offered death as the kindest alternative!"

While he would have given Yukikaze the verbal advantage over any contemporary Magus with that spiel she'd unfortunately picked Tohsaka Rin as her target, the stormcloud brewing over the girl's head practically spelling out 'Grail War' as she wound herself up for a stinging rebuttal.

"Okay, as much as I'm sure you all have-"

"YOU STAY OUT OF THIS!"

Blinking at the united shout from the arguing trio Cayman reflected that while he had signed up for this he was starting to wonder if he'd overestimated his ability to handle it.

"Was…was that really enough to set them off?"

"You're a professor in a school full of races, creeds and clashing personalities. Does it sound like enough?"

A defeated sigh left Rossweisse at Cayman's dry reply.

"Yes. Yes it does."

"And I'm not as powerful as you are either so I can't just go around subduing the unruly ones either, I have to play nice."

Sae shook her head, whatever earlier reservation she might have had about the man having vanished upon hearing his story, inquiring, "So how did you get everyone to settle down? I can't imagine they all just agreed to not argue."

"Obviously he beat them into submission, that's how all successful Dragons lead their underlings."

"I just said most of the people I'm in charge of are way scarier than I am, Vali. Nah, I cheated. I had Cerb turn into his puppy form and whine all sad like, they quickly dropped it after that."

Cayman offered up a proud smile as Lavinia giggled.

"So I solved nothing and merely kicked the can further down the road. I knew I should have gone into management instead of accounting."

Tobio sighed, wryly commenting, "Having spent a number of years in the Grigori I can confirm that happens more often than it should and somehow works more than it should."

Leaning forward and placing her chin in her upraised palms Lavinia eagerly asked, "That's not the only trouble you had though, right? You have lots more team members, don't you?"

"You're enjoying this way too much. So let's not waste any more time and move right on to the next debacle, right?"

"Okay, let's go over precisely what resources each of us has and try to work out some kind of process to the whole thing so that we're not tripping over each other or wasting time double checking things that have already been checked."

Cayman motioned to Natsume first, the Taimanin seated in a small conference room alongside Caren, Kuroka, Jinglei and Minasaki as they prepared for the first meeting of their 'intelligence' division.

If the debacle earlier in the morning over simple waffle theft was any indication then he had one hell of an uphill battle ahead of him.

Smiling at his gesture Natsume tapped away on her laptop, stating, "While I'm still in the process of checking over which resources are still available to us the initial roll call is far more promising than I had feared it would be. Thus far I have received a positive response from a weapons and artifact smuggler in Yomihara, FBI mole in the UFS, Globalist Yokai in the Shinto pantheon and administrator in the Demon Casa maritime corps."

Cayman paused, briefly wondering if that 'Demon Casa' bit had anything to do with Van Fem before deciding he didn't want to go down that particular rabbit hole at the moment, instead stating, "I'm not going to argue against good news or a well rounded roster. Jinglei?"

The magenta-haired Taimanin drew herself up proudly in her chair, informing, "While I may have lost access to the majority of the resources I enjoyed while working for the PLA I nonetheless brought that know how to Gosha Academy as well as a list of names of individuals who were competent or at the very least bribable within. If we ever need to interact or make inquiries with my former employers I'll be able to point us in the right direction."

Nodding in assent Caren was up next, the Exorcist stating, "The Moonlit Church will provide all that I may wish to know while there exists additional crossover with the Supernatural and Demon factions, provided I go through the proper channels and provide adequate reason for the request."

"And what counts as an adequate reason? Is there a form or something you have to fill out?"

The pale-haired woman merely smiled, explaining, "Nothing so mundane, merely a proper discourse in which I would have to justify the severity of my request with the severity of the situation I face."

"You're going to have to make a spreadsheet for me on how that works, since my immediate thought was to demand the Pope's daily schedule on the basis that he fucked some random kid in the ass. That counts as pretty severe, right?"

"Your crass example aside, you might just be surprised as to what qualifies as an emergency."

The utterly humorless words had Jinglei sighing in annoyance, sharply retorting, "Are you being deliberately obtuse or does that come naturally? We're not in the business of 'maybe' and 'possibly' here, Exorcist. And what's all this about implying there's unofficial channels?"

Appearing delighted at the Taimanin's irritated response - Caren likely knowing all too well what buttons to push - she simply responded, "Oh? Are you not familiar with the concept of subtlety and implication? Perhaps that explains why you were so easily let go from the intelligence services."

Sensing a coming storm not too dissimilar from the one he'd just encountered over waffles Cayman intervened with, "That's fine, we'll go over specifics at a later date. Besides, those 'unofficial' channels probably have to do with organizations like the Magus Association and national governments, right? Separation of Church and State is kinda harder to argue for when the Church is alive and tangible."

Caren merely offered a cheerful smile as he moved further down the line, motioning to Minasaki as the Demon proudly drew herself up and said, "No secrets here~! I'm a Yatagarasu and can track down anyone I've met before no matter where they hide!"

"...So if we need to find someone you haven't met yet you're useless. Don't you have anything more substantive to add?"

The Demon sagged at Jinglei's comment, complaining, "You don't need to be a bitch about it you know! Besides, I've run across all sorts of crazy people!"

The girl began ticking off her fingers, recounting, "Astaroth, that weird Walburga Longinus user, Edwin Black before he went and died - you all know Felicia - and there was that Dead Apostle Ancestor, what was her name…Arktide or something like that?"

While he wasn't the only one blinking at the list of bona fide terrors they'd apparently run across Cayman found himself biting back the desire to know how the Demon trio had encountered Arcueid of all people, assuming she had the name right.

Because why not add another universal powerhouse to the melting pot? Instead he raised a hand, stalling the recounting as he said, "We get the idea, thanks. And I didn't give her this spot as a party favor, Jinglei. Her ability is powerful and having an unconventional perspective is useful."

The Taimanin crossed her arms in grudging acceptance, Natsume releasing a brief giggle before musing, "I believe we're all unconventional in one way or another, Cayman."

"Well since we're on the subject of unconventional, Kuroka? You're up."

"Nothing special to add, nya. Me or little sis send questions to the boss man or his overworked and understaffed secretaries and they send answers back or say they don't have anything. We're field agents, not desk warriors."

"Uh huh. Because I totally believe that the Wizard Marshall employs a couple clueless cats as his preferred brand of enforcement."

Kuroka merely waved a hand curled into a paw his way, teasingly grinning as Caren bluntly stated, "I believe that with little difficulty, from what I have observed of your behavior you are not what I would charitably describe as driven or subtle."

The Yokai's tails thumped against her chair, eye twitching before Cayman yet again headed off an argument with, "All that said for now Natsume is going to be my second in command, if I'm not around to lead these meetings or the team in general she's the one you go to."

While no one present seemed to have any complaints about that division of labor the sole exception was Caren, the Exorcist archly asking, "You rely on a black market dealer and subterfuge specialist to command us in a hypothetical absence? I find that…curious. Would you not prefer a more verified and trustworthy soul instead?"

Natsume's smile carried thinly veiled threat at the clear implication of who should lead instead, the Taimanin 'politely' saying, "An interesting viewpoint to hold, Miss Hortensia. Especially considering the fact that we hold a survivor of the Holy Sword Project living under this very same roof, as well as a number of personalities that are typically frowned upon by your faith. A faith that has suffered an embarrassing amount of oversights as of late. Do you not worry that some may be viewed in less than respectable light for their affiliations?"

Figuring that he'd best let this crisis of authority play out rather than let it simmer Cayman remained quiet, Caren cool and composed were it not for the minute twitch of her eye, more coldly stating, "My apologies, perhaps I should have lead with the more worrying fact that you were recently corrupted and made the plaything of the Incubus King. Is that something we are just meant to overlook?"

Kuroka abruptly snickered, grinning wickedly as she alternated between staring at Natsume and Cayman, purring, "You heard her, why don't you reveal every single spicy detail that will put her mind at ease~?"

The brief blush that colored the mature woman's pale skin spoke more loudly than any words could hope to, Jinglei and Minasaki blinking as Caren frowned, idly inquiring, "You are suggesting that she is completely free of such malignant effects?"

Obviously taking way too much pleasure in recounting events the black cat recalled, "Let's just say she got filled up by a more positive influence. Same way she got corrupted, she got liberated. Hardcore, romanticized, cross-eyed liberation. Ask the Vampire or Mai, they can attest to the effectiveness of that particular trip to the doctor's nya~!"

The black cat's innuendo-laced recollection had even Caren's eyes going slightly wide, the faintest dustings of pink decorating her pale flesh as she glared at Cayman.

"An explanation. Now."

"I fucked the sin out of her."

"Indeed he did. Thoroughly and exquisitely."

While the dreamy words from Natsume may or may not have been genuine the effect on the other's present was, the Exorcist's pout of all things ensuring that the meeting had been well and truly derailed.

"Well that is…not the strangest means of healing someone I've heard of, to be quite frank."

"Yeah, if you hang around Fallen Angels all the time you probably get exposed to all kinds of kinky shit, don't you?"

"That's putting it lightly."

Tobio's wry comment was followed up by Sae huffing out a breath, commenting, "This isn't what I expected normal dinner conversation to be like."

"Not much that happens in Cayman's life is-hick-normal, heh heh~!"

"Please don't throw yourself into another truck in order to sober up, Till."

"I make no promises~!"

Rolling his eyes at the swiftly inebriated Fairy's response Cayman glanced Rossweisse's way, the Valkyrie awkwardly coughing into her fist as she inquired, "So the way you removed the Incubus King's influence was by, err…tantric means?"

"I gave my colleague the sex, yes."

Vali rolled his eyes as Rossweisse let loose a noise a bit like a boiling tea kettle, Lavinia also seeming a bit red in the face but nonetheless holding a scholarly curiosity as she asked, "But you did remove it?"

"Yup. Wasn't easy but I managed."

"Cayman, that's incredible~!"

The blonde witch clapped her hands, the Surveyor tilting his head as Tobio elaborated with, "The Incubus King is a very old and very powerful Demon, Cayman. If removing his influence from those he's enslaved was easy he would not be nearly as dangerous and influential of a foe as he is."

"...Huh. Well good to know, if I can actually do away with his crap on people he's enslaved for long periods of time this could end up being kinda awesome."

The Surveyor also reflected that it gave him an additional means of securing Yukikaze's loyalty, never mind denying the King one of his most useful pieces in the girl's mom, Shiranui. If he ever got the chance to capture her then he'd have to give it some serious consideration.

…A possible threesome with an absolute MILF and her spunky daughter was just icing on the possibility cake.

"Y-you don't need to use that ability on just those people, right? I-I mean I'm quite curious myself so if, well…erm…"

Sporting a flushed expression and highly embarrassed demeanor Cayman elected to take pity on the silver-haired woman, offering a confident smile as he said, "Anytime we have a free afternoon, Rossweisse."

"Not to move the subject along or anything but moving the subject along…what about Edwin Black's daughter? You have her as a part of your team but you've only talked about how other people are weirdos, not her."

Giving Sae's confused words due consideration he slowly recalled, "Yeah, about that one…"

"Shirone? I know I said you could beat up anyone that tried to get handsy with you and I promise I'm not mad…but can you maybe explain this one? I'm admittedly in the dark."

The pale-haired Nekoshou favored Cayman and Mai with an innocent expression, bluntly replying, "They tried to steal my panties."

Cayman blinked, gaze shifting to a clearly nervous Lilim - her spaded tail firmly held in Shirone's fist - and a clearly dead Felicia, neck twisted at an unnatural angle and right hand triumphantly closed around what looked like a lacy undergarment, pure as snow.

"...Well, Lilim?"

"I-it was all her idea, she threatened me to help her steal them!"

There was a wet crunch and the Vampire was on the move once more with a fixed neck, vehemently protesting, "That's a lie, she was with me 100% the entire time-"

CRACK!

Shirone huffed out an annoyed breath before lifting her foot from Felicia's neck, the Demon once more out of it as the Surveyor tried to simply take things in stride.

"Okay, so they broke into your room and stole your underwear. I get it. What's the endgame here?"

"They don't go free until I'm not annoyed anymore."

"Eh?! B-but how long is that gonna take-HYAA~?!"

The Yokai firmly squeezed the Succubus' tail in an unyielding grasp, twisting it to and fro as she desperately pleaded, "T-take it easy with that, I'm not a girl that likes it rough, I promiseeeeee!"

Cayman pinched the bridge of his nose as the Demon's knees actually buckled and a noticeable dampness began to mar her already sparse garments, electing to take the easy way out as he pulled the Yokai's panties from Felicia's unresisting grip, handing them back to her as he resignedly stated, "Try not to permanently maim them, would you? They might one day prove useful, as hard a sell that may be."

Shirone just shrugged, accepting the brief ear scratch before turning her gaze a panting Lilim's way, ominously stating, "Not done with you yet…this will be a slide zone by the time I'm finished."

"G-go easy on me, I'm fragile!"

Striding past the regenerating Vampire's corpse and a mewling Succubus Cayman wryly asked, "Did stuff like this happen at Gosha a lot?"

A defeated sigh left Mai's lips.

"To my disappointment…yes."

"Well it sounds like your team is getting along…well?"

"You can say it to my face, people. It's a disaster that I'm barely managing to postpone."

Tobio shook his head in bemusement, nonetheless stating, "Be that as it may, I was asked that at some point tonight I give you this."

Handing over a slip of paper Cayman found a number hastily scribbled onto it, the young man adding, "The Governor General would like to speak with you at your earliest convenience, it seems you've made quite the impression on him thus far."

Nodding in agreement Cayman reflected that this was a pretty fortuitous bit of timing, he'd been meaning to get into contact with a power player and the leader of the Fallen Angel's had been his first pick.

"Much appreciated, now why don't I buy us another round of drinks? You've heard me bitching and moaning all night and it's time we move past it."

"I'll drink to that!"

Sae's now enthusiastic shout was echoed by the table at large, the gamer inwardly smirking at the change of fortune in his favor.

+5 REP with Tobio Ikuse [15/00]

+5 REP with Sae Tojou [10/100]

+10 REP with Lavinia [80/100]

+5 AFC with Rossweisse [10/100]

+10 AFC with Till, [85/100]

+5 REP with Vali Lucifer, [45/100]

+10 REP with Jesie, [30/100]

And likability, of course.

At the time of writing this I JUST realized that Ragna Crimson is getting an anime adaptation that'll be airing in a few months.

While the old and grumpy cynic inside of me cautions against hoping it'll be a good adaptation with animation quality worthy of the source a guy can hope one of his favorite action mangas gets the good treatment.