Later
"What do you think of this Theseus?"
"Ugh, it's….a little bit good I guess."
It was official. The longer that this shit went on, the more brain cells Theseus felt were packing their bags and vacating his brain like a divorced wife leaving her husband. It wasn't even lunchtime yet, and he already wanted to bang his head hard enough to knock himself unconscious so he could escape this hellhole.
Currently, the male stood within one of the places that men dread the most even more than going to war or being forced into drag: A clothes shop. The shop itself was located within a larger mall within Kuoh's center, a good 15 minute bus ride but he and his two 'escorts' had preferred the 30 minute walk instead.
After having gotten their medical supplies, as listed by Chisato who had then sent the list to Mio's phone via text, they (meaning Mio and Maria) had suggested they make the most of the day by going on a shopping spree since they had the time and resources, seeing it as a means for them to wind down from all the hectic events that had transpired. A bit of girl time one could see.
Theseus wasn't sure when she'd gotten their numbers, but that honestly wasn't anything major. As an assistant nurse, she had the authority to acquire their numbers from the Hellsing databanks, so she was available during an emergency.
Still, that didn't save Theseus from the current nightmare that he was going through, even if he qualified it as an emergency Chisato most certainly didn't.
She'd said so himself after the 10th time he'd rang her.
"Oh! What about this? This jacket looks good on me doesn't it?"
"For god sake woman, just choose already!"
"Hold on! Don't rush me, I'm trying to see which one looks good on me Theseus." The succubus groaned in mild annoyance, though on her side of things the fact that she had a slight smirk on her lips betrayed how much she was enjoying this little bit of banter. Maria had lost sight of Mio a few minutes ago, but she could still sense her energy signature within the shop itself, so she wasn't that worried. Part of her honestly never pictured the day when she didn't have to worry about potential assassins or kidnappers targeting her charge, but here it was thanks mostly due to one man and the organization he was affiliated with. "Have some patience, will you?"
"Have some patience? Well that would be the case if we haven't been standing here for about 2 freaking hours!" Theseus shouted from behind a sack of clothes that reached the store ceiling. He had to hold them all himself, as the pseudo 'carrier' that any man would be subjected to on a women's shopping trip. If it were any normal man, they'd likely have buckled under the strain in their arms… nevertheless Theseus was no wimp, nor was he any normal man.
He wasn't sure whether or not to feel glad that he wasn't suffering this alone, since he could see several couples with their males going through the same thing. Some of them even gave each other looks of pity and solidarity, like each of them were united in their own suffering at the hands of their oppressors. One even looked at the pile of clothes he carried with a look that basically resembled those with PTSD from fighting in vicious wars.
Maybe Gaara from Naruto had a point: There could be no hatred between those who share the same pain.
"Hush now! Fashion is the most important thing to us girls!" Maria shouted behind a stole while throwing her clothes at Theseus's sack of cloth. How she'd managed to aim them at the pile and have them latch onto it by the clothes hangers hooked tips he'd never know, though one part of him snarkly attributed it to her experiences with her hands. "You don't have the heart to see it." she teased, and if he could see her he bet that damn succubus would be sticking her tongue out at him.
"Well that's maybe because you're trying on hundreds of clothes while I'm stuck here with you succubus! I'm not afraid to admit that this is Hell!"
"You said it man!" another man from an isle parallel to Theseus' own, who was also in a similar situation as him exclaimed towards his brother-in-arms. One difference between them was that his bundle was a lot smaller than the blonde's. "Women owning so may clothes is freaking wacked, man!" He proclaimed, something which Theseus agreed with whole heartedly.
"Dear!"
"Brother!"
"Eeck!" Unfortunately, two feminine voices called out to him, making him shriek and jump from the vengeful tone in their voices. From the sounds of it, one of them was his sister and the other was likely his significant other. Theseus had to take a few steps back towards the isle's entrance and tilt himself to see down the parallel one the man in question. His pile of clothes hid the rapidly approaching females, but one moment gave Theseus a clear sign of his hand which had a wedding ring on. So it was likely that the other person was his wife, which only made the implications worse. "Sorry! Forget what I just said!"
Nevertheless, all that emotional sympathy vanished when he heard the man wuss out towards the two females who now stood Theseus deadpanned at this act, a man literally submitting under a woman's dominance. Really, now that was just pathetic.
"And you!" The woman who called out the wimpy man then bellowed towards Theseus direction, the male could tell. "You best better keep your mouth shut!"
Oh, she was approaching him verbally was she? Instead of minding her own business, she decided to straight up challenge him? Heh, Whelp he would have to respond in kind then, wouldn't he? Theseus narrowed his eyes in challenge, time to show these betas what a TRUE male looks like. "Or else what, woman?" he demanded right back.
"There will be lot worse in store than what you're suffering already!"
Oh, now this bitch was asking for it. Theseus thought about what he could do to punish this wench who likely piqued in highschool and had to resort to betas for her slave needs. She'd fit right in with those slave owners, made him wonder if she were related to some or something like that one celebrity who found herself devastated after learning that her family owned slaves.
Nevertheless, he couldn't do anything physical or supernatural towards her as that would link back to him. Not only would he be punished by the law which is as sexist towards men as they come, but Meredith and the others would then likely blame him for instigating. Just when he was thinking about it, he noticed Maria poke her head out from behind the stole she had been at, the angry-looking Succubus gesturing with her head towards a nearby set of sprinklers.
'...Ahhhhh, I got it…' he thought, a dark smirk creeping onto his face that Maria mimicked. He wondered if Mio was thinking the same thing wherever she was right now, but currently that didn't matter. He had some vengeance to wreap.
"Hah, serves you right you pompous, sexist bast-"
SPSSSSSSSSSSHHHHHHH!
"Kyaaaaaaaaa!"
After having not heard any response the woman from her spot in the store had assumed she had won their argument, smirking in smug victory in front of her stick-like boytoy. The same one she and his sister had admonished for 'sexist' remarks. Nevertheless, the next thing she knew a bunch of sprinklers atop their heads suddenly turned on which ended with them being doused with water.
The perpetrator, Theseus, silently stood in place after having concealed his fingers that he'd clicked beneath the clothes he was carrying like a little gremlin. He soon formed a fanged grin on his face while looking at the struggling and soaked woman alongside with her sister.
"Ahhh! My dress! My beautiful empire dress!"
"When did the sprinkler activate?! Is there a fire or something?!"
The more he and Maria heard of their struggle, the louder the music born from their suffering rung in their ears. Both them felt the pleasure in their revelling in the sexist women's suffering.
Off to the side, the unfortunate victim who'd been the two women's servant looked on in confusion at what had happened, before looking up and noticing that none of the other sprinklers hadn't gone off which only further added to his confusion. He may not like places like these and for good reason, but he felt fairly certain that-
Before he could figure out what had went down, the man heard Theseus shout in his direction. "It'd be better if you get out of here before things get a lot worse." Theseus suggested, knowing that women could be quite vengeful if they wanted. He knew several such females himself, after all. "Women can be vengeful harpies when they wanna be."
"You got it!" The man exclaimed, knowing full well what Theseys had meant before dropping the bundle and running off as fast as he could. He could already imagine the horrors that he'd be dealt if he stayed, so he promptly took this provided opportunity to leave and go drinking with his friends, like he SHOULD have been doing till his wife and sister pressured him into accompanying them.
Both got what they deserved, in his eyes.
Yet like they say: all good things must come to an end. This came just when Theseus and Maria were about to count this as their moment of victory, when the wife and the sister shrieked like harpies before starting to stomp down the now soaking isle towards Theseus. The male in question arched a brow at them, his smirk wiped off his face like a wet cloth cleaning dirt.
"You did this didn't you?!" the wife howled at him like a literal banshee, almost deafeningly. The woman in question had her dark black hair soaking, which caused it to cling to her face similarly to a certain white dress-wearing monster that came out of TV's, slightly obscuring her pale green eyes which were currently wide enough to make her look like a berserker. She had this 80's posh look too, so basically an old hag of a woman while the sister behind her wore a black corset over a crimson jacket, her pale blonde shoulder length hair clinging to said bodyparts while only one of her blue eyes burned with the indignant rage coursing through her. Her dark miniskirt clung to her thighs and her open-toed high heels looked like they were glistening from the water droplets clinging to them.
Theseus winced at her tone before narrowing his eyes. "Lady, I'm not the one running this shop around hre so why are you even complaining to me? Are you stupid or something?" he questioned, before his eyes flashed with his own anger as he spoke the following words through gnashed teeth. "Is your name Karen or something? Cause there's ZERO chance i'd help you see any managers ya damn harpy."
Upon hearing that, the other woman walked forward. "Are you calling my brother's wife stupid, asshole?! I know it was you! Who else would caused the sprinklers to activate?!" she bellowed, pointing an accusing finger at him.
Nevertheless, his inner beast started to growl in retaliation refusing to allow the male to back down, not like he had any intention of doing so in the first place. "First of all." Theseus spat back, shifting so he held the large bundle of clothes on one hand like one of those posh butlers (something which befuddled the onlookers with many wondering just how the hell he'd managed to do something like that?) before smacking the offending appendage away like it was some piece of rotten food. He then pointed at her with his index finger. "I don't even know how it was activated in the first place. And second how about you shut your stupid mouth? You're disturbing everyone's experience." The male then paused to throw his free hand out, gesturing towards the various onlookers drawn in by the commotion. "Or better yet, qui- no wait, continue making a fool of yourselves so security can throw your wimpy asses outside. Don't want that? Then how about this: Take your worthless sacks of clothes, take those plastic asses and PISS THE FUCK OFF!"
"(GASP)!"
"You! You! You!"
Both women, one gasping at the absurd insults and the other looking so angry she couldn't come up with a coherent response, BOTH due to the intense insults launched by the masked boy in front of them. Needless to say, Theseus had blown their minds and NOT in any romantic sense.
Eventually, one of them got out of their stunned trance with that being the sister. Her face became atomic red due to the intense rage inside of her, it not being long until she exploded on him. "You fucking bastard! How dare you say that to a woman like me! Do you have no common curtesy at all?!" she roared, her eyes now like that of the wife's before without a shred of sanity or reason in them.
Then on the other side of things, Theseus just looked as calm as rain compared to his previous furious expression. "Does it look like I have one? Especially for a pair of bitches who likely have had way too much oral experience to be anything useful?" the male retorted, dropping the clothes before again insulting her and her companion.
"You uncooth cur!" finally the wife had had enough of the rude man before her. Determined to teach him some badly needed manners, she reared out her hand to attempt to slap his face. The keyword here was 'attempt' for normally most men would take this because its not right to hit a woman according to the law and societal standards…
But not this man.
Faster than she could perceive, Theseus grabbed her wrist just when she was about to slap his scarred face. Though neither female could tell this thanks to his black mask, something he honestly found surprising that they didn't comment on. Another thing he still struggled to grasp was why he was allowed in this place with his mask. "Yeah, I don't think so slut. You think you can try and pull a fast one on me? Your more gullible than I thought you were." he sneered, a vicious smirk plastering itself onto his face before he threw her back by pushing his arm forward and releasing the hold he had over her hand.
It didn't even take a few steps before the wife fell onto her backside, a pained yelp escaping her lipstick-dominated mouth. As she hissed, rubbing her backside to try and soothe the fiery feeling couring through it, the sister then stepped forward with the same intentions judging from her raised hand.
'Ugh, these bitches will never learn… guess I'll have to do what their fathers should have been doing and discipline their fake asses…' The male thought to himself in self-resignation about his fate at the hands of his fellow Hellsing members. He just KNEW that Chisato and Meredith would grill him to death about this, yet even so as the hand neared him Theseus made to raise his own to grab it and crush the wrist bones within…
But before he could do so, his eyes as well as those of the two women became saucers as shock flooded them. The reason? A certain silver haired girl who had stepped in front of Theseus and grabbed onto the offending limb before he did.
Then judging from the gaze burning in her eyes, the Succubus Maria did NOT look too pleased.
"What the hell… do you two harlots think you are doing…?" Maria demanded, having asked with a tone barely above a whisper in volume. Yet that didn't seem to diminish the sheer ANGER radiating from her words like gas in the trenches.
This took aback all three of them, but especially Theseus who almost backpedaled at the sight from the Succubus. 'Holy… Maria looks genuinely pissed…' Theseus thought to himself, stunned senseless by the amount of fury he could feel radiating from the normally perverted, doofus-of-a-girl. In fact, the expression she was making looked goddamn UNNATURAL on her, and it threw him for a loop while also making him somehow feel glad it wasn't aimed at him to his internal shock.
Where the hell had THIS Maria been this whole time?
While the blonde male struggled to comprehend the fact that Maria could even MAKE such a face, the two women shuddered collectively at Maria's simmering rage. If they didn't know any better then they would have sworn that they could see a massive, humanoid figure reminiscent of a massive bat standing behind her, looming over them while bearing a maw filled with fangs towards their faces.
Right now, Maria looked absolutely LIVID with these two harlots and for good reason. While the trio had ventured out to get the supplies for their medical staff originally, Maria and Mio had decided to try and get closer to Theseus by spending the entire day together in the mall, one of the few ways they felt would work since the guy didn't really go out to experience city life very much. Not even Vali or Kuroh were much better in this field, and one frequently went to restaurants selling spicy foods while the other frequently visited places with historical artifacts.
This decision had been born from what they'd heard from Theseus about him being in denial of any sort of feelings towards Mio, something which had understandably hurt the redhead and made her feel somewhat led on by the male. Just how could he claim to have no feelings towards her when he did so many nice, sweet things for her? Neither of them could consider the way he always held her close when in bed, soothing her worries whenever she regarded him with them, etc as something purely platonic. The male seemed to not even realize his own denial either or how much it affected Mio, hence why he didn't realize the error he'd done.
Nevertheless, it wasn't like they'd give up, hence Mio and Maria collectively decided to bring Theseus out on a shopping trip to spend the day with him under the guise of going to the various stores within the City's Mall. They'd predicted that he initially wouldn't enjoy the experience and so far they had been proven right, but they hoped that they could eventually find some things they could all do together to make this trip more fun for the male, allowing him to open up to them about what feelings he had inside. No denials, no BS, they wanted to know his true feelings, and while Mio wanted to have an answer to her confession… Maria wanted to be part of their lives as well. Whether she was just Mio's charge, attendant or a fellow sister in arms on the battlefield called love… as long as Maria remained a part of their lives she felt content with things.
On the other hand, neither of them would tolerate any factors which would potentially ruin this 'date' of theirs. NOTHING. So the both of them agreed to keep an eye on Theseus and if anyone dared to try and sour his mood, either one of them or ideally BOTH of them would step in to defend him. He was THEIR escort currently…
But in the future? Calling him their MAN wasn't something they were adverse to.
Briefly managing to regain control over her faculties, the sister's pale face quickly turned red from the outrage she felt upon hearing their descriptive. "H-Harlots?!" she shrieked, trying to pull her arm back from Maria's grasp but the Succubus held it firm, keeping her close. "WH-What are- let go of my fucking arm, you brat! I'm being assaulted here, where's security?!" She bellowed, looking at the grip first before calling out towards the rest of the crowd.
"Assaulted, You say? I've only seen some bitch trying to whack a person extremely important to me who rightfully defended himself." Maria spat with enough venom to kill even a honey badger, and considering how honey badgers are quite resistant to venom that spoke volumes about her disgust. Utter loathing could describe her contempt towards these two women, and when one considered how highly she regarded Theseus for freeing herself and Mio from their oppressive fates one could understand her reaction to this.
In fact, it took every scrap of willpower from her being not to pull a Theseus and rip these two pests a new one.
Also, there were some things she wanted to get off her chest as she looked the two women up and down. "The fact that you two and I share the same gender freaking DISGUSTS me. The two of you think that you can just order your brother/husband around like a freaking pet without considering how he feels AT ALL makes me want to vomit. How the heck can you two even be called women? No, you two seem more like damn spoiled brats who never got the discipline that you should have from your daddies. You who peaked in highschool think that the world revolves around you and that everyone should cater to your whims, it makes me SICK! You bring SHAME to women everywhere!" Maria roared, teeth gnashed as her hair literally started to sway and lash out like it were alive from the killing intent that she radiated.
She figured that Mio would sense the energy she was releasing and realize something was wrong, but Maria didn't care at the moment. All she focused on was giving these two wenches the tongue lashing that they rightfully deserved.
Nevertheless, Maria knew that they didn't have much time before security arrived and she didn't want to risk them taking the two harlot's side. Therefore, she threw the woman back similar to what Theseus had done while she had been storming over to offer her aid to him and watched with almost maniacal sadistic glee how the sister fell on her ass like the wife before her. She may have done so with even less grace than the other bitch too. "Now, I'm assuming you don't want to get lynched by security, and odds are the cameras around us…" she began, gesturing around the store to the various CCTV Cameras located throughout. "So here's what you're going to do, you're gonna get your stuff, and get the fuck out of my sight before I lose what little patience I have and knock your blooming LIGHTS OUT!"
"Y-YEEESSSSSSS!"
Now utterly SPOOKED by the level of bloodlust radiating from the small silver haired girl who to them, seemed more like a goddamn MONSTER before them. Their expressions resembled those classic victims in horror movies as they hurriedly grabbed their clothes (Maria and Theseus felt sadistic malice watching them struggle with the pile to the point of separating it between them), and rushed away towards the checkout. Before long they would have gotten their filthy asses out of the store faster than a certain blue hedgehog.
Once he got the shock out of his system, Theseus looked upon Maria's back with a look of approval, being deeply impressed by her actions. He didn't expect to see this side of her, some sheer goddamn boldness from the Succubus instead of trying to stop the fight between him and those two bitches. Perhaps the girl had more to her than just her usual annoying perverted brattiness to her.
But as for now.
"I think we spent enough time around here Maria." Theseus suggested, glancing at the dispersing crowd and sensing some of the dirty looks that were given to them by the majority of the female members. Though they were offset by the looks of gratitude from most of the male ones. All of this drama, now that he had his head on straight after calming down once those two wenches were out of sight, would likely affect Hellsing's reputation in some way. He didn't think it would do much good though. "Let's just buy all these clothes you and Mio got and get out of this shop, I had enough being here."
"Me too Theseus. Let's find Mio and get the hell out of here."
Later
Right now Theseus and the girls were walking through the mall, already having paid for what the girls had wanted. They were now heading to another shop to look for some more… exclusive clothes, according to them.
Evidently, normally Theseus' hands would've been full of bags right now but Mio and Maria had decided unanimously (especially after Mio had heard of what had happened and wished she could have done something) on being generous to their loyal vitc-Uhhhh companion. In that they lessened his suffering by taking most of the bags from him and carrying them themselves. One could say that they had a lot of bags to carry, though none of them showed much fatigue, especially not the shark king.
The masked boy sighed once more moments into their walk. "How long does this have to go on for? We've been through at least 5 shops, 2 jewelry stores and 4 dress shops. That's at least 11 shops we've been through." Theseus complained. Seriously, how the heck could these two go through these stores? Was this what women were like?
"Oh be quiet will you? We aren't halfway done yet." Maria rebuked back at Theseus, having walked ahead of him with Mio by her side. "Just because we've been to a few shops doesn't mean that we're finished."
"Yup!" In contrast, Mio happily chirped her agreement with the Succubus with there being a light in her eyes that only came out when doing things a typical young woman did. The sense of normalcy was something she enjoyed a lot, and right now she was milking it for all that it was worth. Glancing back at Theseus, she closed one eye whilst holding an index finger up, shaking it from side to side. "We still need to go through which one is our personal taste AND which dress we like to wear on a daily basis."
"I get the feeling that your personal tastes are… different." Theseus narrowed his eyes at Maria while still holding a bunch of bags without any exhaustion.
"Of course they are!" Maria exclaimed at Theseus while lifting her hands before dropping them. "How else can we girls like wearing many different clothes?" she retorted, defending her gender's almost ingrained love for fashion. There's multiple reasons why girls love fashion, some being social in origin like they were judged based on their appearance, though men also dealt with this issue albeit through different methods. Another reason was more akin to why gamers make games, girls liked to stretch their creativity regarding clothes to see which looked good on them or not.
None of this got through to the blonde male however. "And it takes up a bunch of space in your closets, space that I would have to free up." Theseus replied dryly, stopping his walk before going through the amount of clothes and calculating a bit. He then made an educated guess about the spacing he'd need to do. "5 times its size."
"Hmph! It's not our fault that you don't understand what fashion is!"
RECORD SCREECH!
Theseus stopped walking almost immediately. Maria and Mio sensed that Theseus wasn't walking with them, they turned around and saw that Theseus was still standing there, completely silent. They were confused about why the scarred boy stopped, they thought he was tired of holding the clothes.
That is until they heard him speak.
"No sense of fashion….you say?" Theseus whispered the words Maria had mentioned, almost barely audible. He then lifted his head with a daring look on his face aimed at the succubus. "I'll have you know that even we men have our OWN sense of fashion." he declared, gnashing his teeth as a competitive gleam flashed through his eyes.
Though none of this had any affect on a certain Succubus. "Pft, Please!" Maria scoffed at him while gesturing at his clothes. "So far, YOU'VE been complaining about our fashion the whole trip. And don't try to get out of this, but for all I know you just buy some random clothes you think match." she accused.
Now THIS felt like a slight against his pride. One did not insult his fighting skills, but one ALSO didn't just diss his fashion sense. This needed to be rectified immediately, his manly pride demanded it! "Do you want to test that theory then?" Theseus challenged Maria.
"I think I will." Maria responded back to Theseus, a challenging look in her eyes.
"Then let's head to whatever shop serves what I'm looking for." Theseus proclaimed, a new sense of 'life' being breathed into him at the thought of a competition. He may be many things, but one of them was competitive. It was something that his bros could agree on considering how many brawls and competitions they engaged in to look better than one another.
Demons may be disgusting, but men can be damn slick in fashion goddamnit! Looks like he has to teach this succubus what REAL men look like.
For the goal of besting Maria, Theseus began to look around, just before he purposely handed Maria his bags. "Hold these."
"Hey!"
Ignoring her cries, Theseus went and began to cast his gaze around the mall's various shops, searching for his intended. As he inspected each shop, skipping the woman's wardrobe shops, he listed them all in his mind and crossed them out one by one.
Mike tailor shop. No
Suitware of Gods. No
Elysium, home of finest suits. No
Taylor stitching. No
Men's wearhouse…
'Hmmmmm, interesting…' Theseus mentally noted while looking with interest at the shop. Looking at it's main display in front of the shop next to it's entrance, he could see a bunch of men's suits that interested him. But there was one catching detail he had almost missed.
Wear classic clothes from the 80s! Buy them now for 25%!
Looked like he'd hit the jackpot. "Perfect." Theseus smiled, finally having found what he was looking for. He walked towards the shop, Mio lifting her head in surprise before she caught up with him.
Thing was, she did so whilst leaving a surprised Maria behind. "Hey! Wait for me! I can't see a damn thing around!" The Succubus exclaimed, struggling to get a clear view due to the amount of items piled up in her arms.
Later
"Ugh! What's taking so long already?" Maria complained, quite similar to what Theseus had said back at that woman's dress shop.
"Hush now! Fashion is the most important thing for men! Guess where that is from?" behind the stoll, Theseus grinned while mocking Maria in the same tone she used against him. Oh, how he relished this payback he was giving to the girls right now, he'd be milking this for all it's worth to show them JUST what they had put him through.
Reddening, Maria shouted in a flustered manner as several male onlookers eyed her and Mio. She never thought she'd say this, but she felt uncomfortable under their gazes as she tried to ignore certain memories trying to sneak into her mind's eye. "Would you shut up?!" She proclaimed in embarrassment while Mio simply waited calmly, leaning against one of the racks with her hands behind the back of her waist. "Even we have certain limits!"
All that whining got from Theseus was a simple mocking scoff. "You should've thought twice before you came up with something like this." he sneered, chuckling evilly at the end at the thought of deliberately taking longer just to screw with Maria.
Though in the end he decided against the idea mostly for Mio's sake, since not once had he heard her complain about anything since this little bet of theirs began.
Now that he thought about it, wasn't it quite odd that she had been quiet for so long?
While the blonde male narrowed his eyes in thought, Maria had to deposit their pile of bags next to her to then make a grabbing motion towards where Theseus was currently located. "Grrrrhh! Oh how I wish I could just punch that stupid face of yo-"
"Hold your ground, woman. I'm already done."
The blond hair boy opened his stoll and revealed what he was wearing right now. He had chosen to wear what looked like a gray colored suit, buttoned up at the center in a V-like shape. This exposed the red dress shirt and black tie underneath, these clothes doing little to hinder the bulging muscles Theseus had spent years painstakingly carving to peak performance. Beneath this suit, he wore a pair of matching dress pants and black slacks, though while his hands were pocketed inside those pants a faint hint of leather could be seen from them, implying that he wore some leather gloves for hand covering.
Couple this with the way he glared sharply through his masks at them, and the girls got the feeling that he was staring right through their clothes to their very souls. His gaze sent chills down their spines, yet for the life of them neither Mio NOR Maria could pull away from the sight of him.
"What do you think?" The male asked the girls who looked stunned at his style of fashion. Maria and Mio couldn't stop their staring, widening their eyes which remained GLUED to his form. His words may as well have just passed through one ear and out the other, given how gobsmacked they looked to the point where the sight of him would be the only thing they registered.
"Wow." Mio whispered in amazement as she ran her gaze across every inch of his body clad within those formal clothes. At first Mio had been a little 'preoccupied' with something so she'd simply been following along with things since they left that shop, but now? EVERYTHING in her head was about how sick the blonde male looked in that 80's style suit. She only now realized what kind of shop they had entered, yet it did little to curb the awe and mesmerized wonder flowing through her. "Theseus you didn't tell us that you also had an interest in clothes!" she exclaimed in shock, yet she had to cover her mouth to hide the large grin threatening to form on her lips from how pleasing the sight proved to be for her.
"Mens clothes." The male elaborated, holding up an index finger and wagging it back and forth. Though the male did have a smug ass grin on his face at how he had knocked the two girls' composure out of the water, something he felt more pride in than he probably should ESPECIALLY when he thought of how Maria had been before. "If you look more closely at men and what type of clothes they like to wear instead of what women tend to force them to wear, then you would understand the true beauty of mens' clothes." he explained, strolling around the duo which gave them different angles to view his outfit.
They were NOT disappointed.
"I-you-" Maria struggled to say something but no words came out of her mouth. The shark king's words came out so true and how he defined the meaning of men's clothes to the point where it left her speechless. Shaking her head to try and regain her faculties (as well as control the surge in horniness that the sight gave her), Maria once again pouted as she gestured towards his outfit. "But that's still just one set of clothes! Is that the only thing you can come up with?" Maria once again challenged Theseus.
Nevertheless, she didn't get any affronted looks like she'd been hoping for. Instead, a large grin similar to that of Bruce from Finding Nemo formed on his face. "Ohohohohoho! I haven't come unprepared succubus." Theseus grinned at Maria before heading to the stoll and beginning to change his clothes.
Minutes later he came out with new clothes, this time with even MORE style. He now sported a black top hat on top of his mop of blonde hair that paired well with his marionette mask. His now white muscle shirt got covered by a sparkling black jacket, matched with a pair of black tracksuit bottoms that had white lines running down their sides, ending in a pair of black shoes and white socks. One white glove adorned his left hand whilst the other remained bare.
Aside from the hair, the dude looked like a blonde Michael Jackson.
SPARKLE-SPARKLE-SPARKLE!
Stars glittered around Mio's eyes, several more glittering all around her head as she gushed over how well Theseus pulled the outfit off. "So cool!" she squealed, nearly surrendering to the urge to hop up and down like a schoolgirl
Theseus grinned at the excitement she was sporting, feeling an urge to dance which he then allowed to manifest. It did so through him spinning a full 360 several times before stopping, balancing himself on his heels before glancing downwards and tapping his downward tilted hat. "Classics have never lost their touch, girlie." he stated, his smirk still smug at how EASILY he was dominating this little bet.
Maria was refusing to surrender the fashion challenge and it looks like Theseus is winning somehow due to how much she's grinding her teeth.
Theseus interject just before Maria could speak. "There is one more I've been saving for last." Again he went to the stoll, changed his clothes.
Minutes later he comes out of the stoll. Now this outfit proved to be the last one, and this one REALLY hit home how men's fashion could compete with women's if they tried. To start, Theseus had kept his black top hat on, but over his body he now wore a black, double breasted winter overcoat that reached his thighs in length. The coat had multiple pockets, 2 at the waist, 1 above the heart and several inside the interior. Beneath the coat, was a dark greenish checkered shirt buttoned up to the folded collar, tucked into a pair of black loose 80's jeans that had zippers for pockets. Around his waist was a long, leather belt that had a silver rectangular buckle keeping the jeans in place. On his feet, he wore a pair of formal black dress shoes with dark green socks, a pair of black leather gloves over his hands alongside a golden watch around his right wrist.
Theseus was smugly smiling at Maria who looked like he won this round. "Well?" he simply questioned with his arms crossed, already knowing what the verdict was.
Maria was about to explode on the spot, literally. Her hands were shaking and her mind was in shambles, but she can't refuse the style of the 80s classic. Sighing, her head faced the floor in defeat. "You win Theseus. I was wrong."
"Good, that is exactly what I need to hear." Theseus declared with a fanged grin at her, winning this round though he didn't doubt Maria would try again at some point in the future. While thinking about this, Theseus turned to the store clerk and whipped out a hundred-dollar bundle. "I'll take these, don't forget to add in some more layouts and strips for these clothes. I want them perfectly neat, stitched together and tailored with strong strings."
"Don't worry sir. I will not disappoint you." the store clerk responded, eagerly nodding his head,
Just before he could get the cash bundle. "Oh! And don't forget, I'm gonna call in two men who are also looking for some stylish clothes. They each have their own different tastes, one is quite modern and the other is classy, the formal style. I want to see if you can serve them deliciously. Do you think you can handle it?" The male questioned, eyeing the clerk from out the corner of his eye.
The store clerk smiled at the masked boy before he took the cash bundle from his hands. "Do not worry sir. I know the right people for the job."
Not long after they had left the shop, Mio and Maria announced that they were going to some private toilet rooms to try and change into some new outfits they'd confirmed would be their new getups of choice. Not something Theseus felt particularly bothered by, but he did get the distinct impression that his own shift in outfit choice (the last one that he'd tried on to defeat Maria in their little wager-he really should have put some bets on it) had been a contributing factor.
Nevertheless, at this point the male stood next to a large, circular water fountain that had a moat surrounding it filled with various coins on the bottom. He had their bags piled around him like some kind of ring, allowing him to keep watch over them in case someone tried to steal them while he waited. Though nobody would dare to try since he'd just sense them coming via his honed senses to then deal with them swiftly so this outing wouldn't be interrupted. This fountain was located within the Mall's center, and seemed to be the most crowded part of the entire building which made sense.
Considering the center could lead to other places and all.
'Even though I'm not in any of the shops, it still feels like I am given how freaking long those girls are taking…' the male thought, glancing down at his golden watch to check the time. It had been about 30 minutes and counting, but Maria and Mio weren't back yet. He knew they were still in the vicinity due to picking up their energy signatures and they hadn't moved from where he assumed some female toilets were, but still.
Though he wasn't as annoyed as he had been back in that clothes shop, mostly due to riding off the residue satisfaction from beating Maria's arrogant ass in their little bet. Also there was the fact that he had spent some time admiring his new outfit with an approving eye, once more mentally patting himself on the back for a decent job done. Theseus had once heard from his mother that looking good and stylish could be a major confidence booster, something that he could see the appeal of now unlike when he'd been a kid back when he first heard it. Also, his love of 80's fashion came from his father who often wore outfits from that time period, so it acted as a way for him to be closer to his old man whenever he was out on long-term business trips.
Now that he thought about it, his new outfit actually could look decent when he was back in London, given the formal classy look it was sporting. There were… mixed feelings upon this revelation.
Thinking of his home, a wave of nostalgia swept through him causing Theseus to glance upwards towards the Mall's glass ceiling, a fond smile spreading across his face. It felt nostalgic, thinking about his home after being away from it for so long. Whenever he was out on a mission away from London, mostly in Ireland, he would only spend at least a month or a few weeks staying in the country while hunting vampires and supernatural creatures (his favorite prey being Demons and the occasional Devils) but it had been almost half a year since he'd been sent away from Hellsing. Needless to say, he had been hit with a wave of homesickness now, something he bet that the others shared his sentiments on.
'Sigh, I really wish I had refused to take part in this expansion mission. I should've refused...' Theseus mentally whispered to himself, wishing he hadn't taken part in this mission. A part of him still wished he hadn't come simply because he didn't like being away from his home for so long. Hellsing wasn't perfect nor would it ever be, it was an oppressive, strict and domineering environment where punishments were harshly enforced for those who broke it's rules or acted against it's interest. Then there was Alucard, who would be utterly ruthless in training, but honestly Theseus still liked the place especially when one considered how powerful he'd become by staying with Hellsing.
But in Kuoh, it was nothing like that. There wasn't any sense of discipline, any structure, goals or common purpose unlike in the Hellsing organization. There wasn't that thick tension which kept everyone alert (especially when considering the attack on the manor itself by those wimpy ass 'fake' vampires). Meredith was inexperienced as a leader especially when one compared her to that beast of a woman sir Integra, and it showed. Not only that, but Theseus very nearly messed up the treaty trade with the shintos, combine that with the lots of stray devils he could barely count and a lot of shit happening in Kuoh shortly after their freaking ARRIVAL…
Yeah, one could imagine their tale being infused with shounen manga shit.
Theseus hung his head after sitting on a nearby bench to give his legs a little rest. This whole place wasn't meant for someone like him, and every day he found himself being proven right. No matter how many days passed he never once felt like he'd settled in amongst this town's residents. He was truly a beast in nature and he cannot be kept in a cage, behind bars like this. No, he belonged with Hellsing being dispatched across the UK annihilating supernatural threats without restraints or limits. He didn't function well with the 'shackles' imposed on him here, compared to the ones back in her Majesty's London.
"Kaito."
"Huh?" Theseus suddenly raised his head in surprise, snapping out of his reverie when he heard someone call out his real name. Normally he would've reacted instinctively by lashing out like a rabid dog, but then his eyes flashed with recognition of the tone the voice had spoken. It had spoken enough times at this point for him to recognize it even under times of great distress. "Nephthys." he whispered, calling out the goddess' name.
"Please listen to what I say. If you don't want me to, then it's alright I won't hold it against you."
Theseus kept quiet. He did not speak or say anything as everything around him became silent except for the water fountain spewing water behind him. He had this instinctual feeling that her intervention was prompted by his comparing himself to a beast just now, and although he wouldn't say otherwise nor would he be swayed, he would at least hear her out before shutting her down. It was the least he could do for one of the few deities whom he DIDN'T hold an inherited distaste for.
For a while, he didn't say anything at all before he finally spoke in a relenting tone. "Go ahead."
"Thank you. This is something my former husband used to tell me, there's a difference between the two types of beings: the beast and humans. When he usurped Osiris position and went against Isis for dethroning Ra, he observed humanity's nature for a while until he spoke this to me. There are two opposing sides to human nature: The beast that represents power and ferocity, the drive to cause carnage and chaos to their enemies in the most brutal, effective manner possible. Meanwhile, the 'human' represents one's heart, kindness and compassion. It's about the motivations, the ideals and identity of that individual."
"It seems your husband's a lot more observant than the evil god he seemed to be." Theseus comments to the goddess inside of him. Not like he had any improvement of his opinion about the God who had cursed him, he still viewed him as an asshole. But, there was still a part of him that actually found this shift in perspective to be within the range of possibilities, since not even Gods were 2 dimensional like many characters in stories without personalities of their own.
"He had the title of both chaos and evil in his domain, Theseus. He only acted evil to bring balance to the world, as nobody else had the mental fortitude to fulfill that purpose. No one understood him, not even me until much later. But for a long time, only Ra understood Set's true intentions. I later learned this from Thoth before the magician sealed us. Set told me that being a beast is fine since all of the supernatural world forces one to be beastly if they want to survive in its dog-eat-dog embrace. It was the reason for how in Egypt, magicians had to fight for survival against the monsters that keep coming after the humans and why they scorned us for bringing them into the world."
Theseus could not find any fault to that since it was true after all, in most cases most divine intervention usually resulted in them having created monsters for their amusement, a sick twisted form of entertainment for them. Seeing humans suffering and bringing misery was a largely used tactic to keep them in line, a tactic many pantheons used with few exceptions. That was how sometimes historians or mythologies displayed their belief that even the most beneficial Gods have a dark side to them.
"But, it was only until Set told me there has to be a balance between these two sides that I truly appreciated Set's role and purpose. He has observed humans from the old age till now, he has seen how humanity has both sides of these natures, in fact he once commented that the biblical god may have intentionally crafted humans to be this way. That was why he favored them over his Angels, for they had dual natures which doubled their potential for greatness. Whether that greatness was 'good' or 'bad' remained to be seen. It is why Helel rebelled against his father, because he favored humans over him. Helel was jealous and attempted to rebel against God but was unsuccessful. It is how Helel became Lucifer."
"..."
"If you hadn't come here, in this peaceful land called Kuoh, you'd have grown as a beast substantially, yes. Constant conflict does accelerate progress unlike what pacifists may think. It speeds up technological developments such as weapons, defenses, medicines to heal the wounded, it strengthens the ties between its military, giving them a sense of shared purpose. That purpose may not be the same as the politicians who start those wars, but a common purpose does unify an army. But even so, despite your growth as a beast, you would have remained stunted regarding HUMAN growth."
At this point, Theseus rubbed his scarred face thinking of the moment he'd gotten this mark. And how he almost succumbed to his full beast nature if he hadn't focused on the plan with Maria. It was only with both luck and training that he'd kept himself from becoming a full-blown BOE against Zolgear.
"The question I wish to ask you is this: Are you a beast, a monster and second to only Alucard himself or….are you still the human that you tried to keep inside of you?"
Theseus was silent, processing the information and question the goddess gave him ran through his mind like a repeated echo. He brought his hand down and looked at it with his masked face. Was he really a beast or was he human? That question had been ringing his mind for quite some time now, ever since he first heard it. No matter how many times he claimed to be a beast who only cared for carnage and slaughter, he found himself conducting actions that spoke the opposite to the message he wanted to showcase. His care for Mio and Maria were perfect examples, alongside the way he treated his homies.
Those were… human actions. Too human.
It wasn't long until he gripped his gloved hands hard, narrowing his eyes in anger that bubbled like a pool of lava within his gut before he opened his mouth, speaking in a low tone. "I despise it. I despise my very own weakness." He muttered under his breath with anger.
He despised this humanity inside of him that still persisted in influencing his actions, resulting in the 'weakness' that plagued him even now. Every time he thought of those times he showed such 'humanity' he remembered the flashing images of fangs and claws tearing through flesh, of sexually aggressive grunts mixed with moans and screams, of a life razed to the ground with no way of ever returning.
"I loathe this side. I absolutely despise it. It's only holding me back and I hate it." He ranted again while thinking about his 'humanity'.
For as long as he could remember, this 'humanity' kept getting him into trouble many times over the years since he lost everything. That time he nearly lost it when he saw Maria taking Mio away, he shouldn't have reacted that way since he already knew that it had been a staged event, all part of a larger plan to corner that bastard Devil. But still, the mere sight of Maria looking like she'd betrayed Hellsing and him especially simply set off the flames of vengeance within his being, his inner beast swamped in it's desire for bloody retribution like he were some dude amidst the hectic times during the French Revolution.
If he didn't have this damn 'humanity' in him then he wouldn't have had to worry nor would he have had such complex feelings towards that Succubus. He would have killed her on the spot when she had revealed her intentions to him no matter how distraught it made her. It had been his 'humanity' which made him pause and go into shock when he learned the full picture, stopping him and his inner beast from slaking his bloodlust.
Even now, his complex feelings towards her were akin to the ones he had towards the princess of Hell. From these feelings he felt inside regarding Mio, Theseus had experienced moments where he became hesitant, weak, slow and almost useless when deciding how to handle them compared to how he usually was with his brutality. He became conflicted whenever he considered the complex nature Mio had as both a human girl, as well as the relation she had towards the same species which took everything from him. His 'humanity' made him not want to kill her, and he hated it for that.
Another example would be the Hero Clan Ambush during his outing with the same aforementioned redhead. Usually, he would have just disposed of them without mercy just like what one would expect from a member of Hellsing. He never had any feeling of responsibility for Mio being there and it had put her in danger combined with what those heroes told him, making him explode into a vicious rage. It wouldn't have been NEARLY as bad if he had lacked any humanity, he probably would have just tormented them a bit like a shark would when hunting their prey. But because he had some 'humanity' in them he had flown off the rail and caused a LOT of problems further down the line. Problems that had broken him such as the aftermath of that meeting with the Shinto representative.
But one of the biggest examples and one of the most humiliating moments were the times when he'd been overwhelmed by his own emotions resulting in a mental breakdown within an isolated area. Those had to have been the stupidest things he'd ever done, monsters don't have feelings that would reduce them to such pitiful states, if they did then they'd be torn to shreds by hidden enemies waiting for the prime opportunity to strike them down.
Those were just some of the examples, but he felt certain there were many times when his 'humanity' kept him from slipping into a full-blown monster to Theseus' detriment. More recently was the insinuation that he had 'feelings' towards Mio made by Vali, feelings that were DEFINITELY sprouting from the humanity that still persisted within him like a small ember within a vast blizzard. Feelings which confused and irritated the hell out of him, he didn't waste time ignoring them or refusing to acknowledge they existed, but their exact nature and the way they just mixed in with all his other issues drove him to madness just THINKING about it.
He HATED being weak. He HATED being powerless.
This humanity he still had? Well, he saw that as the ultimate form of weakness.
Inside of theseus the goddess was completely surprised at Alucard's apprentice's level of hatred towards his humanity. No, it would be better to say that she'd been floored, downright flabbergasted to the point of being speechless at the amount of hatred flowing through him. She never expected him saying he hated his humanity this much, She had just thought this to be a minor vexing problem for him that could be solved with some effort, albeit a significant amount.
But in this case she never expected him to absolutely hate his very own human side. This was bad, really bad. Worry started to flood her being as thoughts of an unpleasant nature began to flow through her mind. Theseus wasn't the type to lie about things so she didn't doubt that other factions would eventually learn of this hatred towards his humanity, and as such they might try to tempt him into forsaking it entirely in exchange for joining them. Adding someone trained by Alucard himself would be bound to be a very tempting proposition, for any of the factions which was sort of hypocritical in her eyes.
They may hate the UK faction for housing Alucard, the no life king, but the whole ball game changed once THEY held all that power.
Before Nepyths could argue more…
"Ah, there you are Theseus! Sorry for the long wait!"
"Huh?" Theseus was pulled out of his trance when he heard Mio calling out his name. Lifting his head up to see the redhead. "?!"
When he does, he was taken completely off-guard whilst his jaw fell open and his irises shrunk in size. There were two reasons for his surprise: the two girls that were approaching him clad in some new outfits that they had likely chosen from the bunch they'd bought.
First was Satan's daughter, Mio was now wearing a black and red dress that reached her knees in length. This dress was held tightly around the waist by a black corset that had a couple matching belts around the abdominal area. The dress ended in a multi layered black and red skirt whilst being made mostly from cloth. The dress covered her arms from the shoulder downwards, ending in a pair of sleeves which were quite a bit larger than her hands though she looked to not be fazed too much by that. At lease one could hide some weapons under those things, but more than that atop the dress was a black cape that covered her shoulders, one which sported a red interior and a high collar surrounding her neck. Speaking of her neck there was a black choker around there, shaped like an upside down crown like some kind of anti christ's ornament, each of it's 'spikes' running down her collarbones. Several black and grey stars donned her attire, one by her left hip, some more running diagonally down her cape and a smaller one above her right breast. Two upside down cross earrings hung beneath her ears, whereas some ribbons shaped like bat wings held her red hair in a pair of twin waist length ponytails. Additionally, she wore what appeared to be a black pantyhose over her legs that ran up her skirt and into the pair of black knee high boots with red soles. They looked to be tied up with laces that ran up the entire footwear, ending in two large bat wing-shaped ornaments atop the knee areas.
All in all, if she were going for the demonic look she definitely pulled it off.
Theseus was stunned for a while before shaking his head and composing himself. Rubbing his chin in intrigue, the male found himself staring at Mio's new outfit intensely. He was interested on how Mio has decided to go for the whole demonic yet gothic design. "Very surprising Mio. For you to decide to do a get-up like this, considering your heritage." he mused. Part of him even found himself repressing the urge to go all 'holy shit…' upon seeing that getup of hers… especially with how fitting and good it looked on her.
Compared to others if they were in her situation, Mio showed herself to not be affected when Theseus compared her to her status as the princess of the umbral plains. Spinning around, giving him a clear view of her outfit Mio gave a small giggle of happiness at the compliment she was dealt. "Thanks Theseus." she replied with a grateful smile, and afterwards she folded her arms underneath her bust before holding one hand up with her index finger pointing towards the ceiling above. "I actually figured since we're all about embracing who we truly are, I should do that myself. Not like I'm gonna reject my origins or anything dumb like that." she explained, earning a nod of approval from the Shark King.
"Hey! What about me?" Maria called out to him, pouting from the side like a jealous girlfriend whenever her man flirted with other girls in her presence.
Theseus eventually shifted his gaze from Mio to Maria, taking in her outfit choice. Again, he found himself being floored from the sight presented before him. Unlike her previous outfit, this one looked a bit more risque and more in-line with Maria's heritage as a Succubus. She now wore a dress that reached down to her thighs in length, slightly shorter than Mio's by comparison though the latter's multi-layered skirt made her dress look bigger. Her dress was held together seemingly by a set of circular metallic buckles running vertically down the middle, exposing everywhere above the torso area whilst the breasts were concealed behind a pair of circular pads. The dress sported a pair of detached sleeves that started in large cuffs beneath the shoulders and ended in smaller cuffs at the waist. The dress seemed to be latex in material, the same being said about her matching latex black thigh high, high heeled boots that resembled those an SxM dominatrix would wear. Considering her nature as a Succubus Theseus hardly found that surprising while noting that around her neck she wore a belt-like choker, though with the way she was currently posing for herself like some sort of seductive tempress, he saw how she now sported dark, slightly sharpened nails.
"That's… quite the look you have there." Theseus eventually commented after evaluating Maria's outfit for a few moments. The silver haired succubus beamed at this, proudly grinning as she placed her hands on her hips and pushed her chest out… wait a minute, something was off here. Something Theseus quickly noticed about the silverette were some… physical differences compared to when he'd seen her last. "By the way, Maria why do you…?"
Before he could finish asking, Maria quickly figured out what he wanted to say and gave an almost haughty grin. "Hehehehe, do you like? Devils aren't the only ones who can age themselves when reaching a certain point in their lives? We succubi can do the same if we wanna appeal to a certain target's fantasies." she explained, grinning with a slightly flushed expression at her current appearance which, instead of a small loli-type character, now resembled a woman of Mio's age though still somewhat petite in frame. As much as Theseus hated admitting it, she had even grown somewhat in the chest area, though he didn't idly stare there for fear of being branded a pervert.
He already knew how that turned out when Mio had caught Issei once trying to peep on her when she had been showering.
Let's just say he got a BRUTAL training regimen that day…
All Theseus said was. "Nice." before getting up and grabbing the bags before walking away, Mio following suit by walking side to side with him. Maria was a bit stunned when all Theseus said to her before was that simple statement before literally leaving, without giving her any remark or additional compliments.
Snapping out of her stunned state, Maria started pouting again and quickly sprinted forth to catch up to the duo. "Hey! What do you mean nice?! Don't you have anything to say to me? Other than just nice?! Get back here! Don't walk away from me! Say something already!"
Later
Walking down the Mall proved to be a bit more challenging mentally compared to when they first arrived. The reason for this was pretty simple.
"Huh, everyone's staring…" Mio mused to herself, feeling somewhat self-conscious at the looks many of the guys in the mall were giving her. It wasn't only her though, she could sense some stares going towards her two companions who each had their own reactions.
As one might expect, Maria grinned as she strode forth with a confidence only a professional seductress could pull off, drawing many men's gazes towards her. She even amplified it by raising her arms and stretching them above her head, mentally smirking at how some guys who had girls alongside them started getting grilled by said female partners. "Hehehehe, don't you worry Mio sama, its just natural for humans to be transfixed by our beauty." she explained, and she wasn't wrong. There were multiple supernatural species that were genetically BUILT to seduce other races to their cause. Fallen Angels and Succubi were some examples of this, something which irked the former species considering how prideful they were.
Mio meanwhile, simply smiled at her companion as she too noticed some of the boyfriends getting grilled. Part of her did feel somewhat conscious of herself still, plus it didn't really feel that good being looked at by these strangers. 'Now if it were THESEUS on the other hand…' a small, sinful part of her brain whispered to her, causing her to flush slightly at the thoughts that invaded her mind. Even though she shook shook her head to wipe out those thoughts since she doubted that the blonde would ever do something like that, he just didn't seem that type of guy. "I guess…"
When she glanced over to the male, her prior thoughts were even more validated when she noticed how he simply strode beside them casually and ignoring the many envious glares single males were giving him, the male having his hands in his pockets which helped him carry the bags by having their handles hooked around his wrists. He moved and strutted himself with a warrior's grace, his eyes facing forward with a strong intensity that would send any young maiden's heart ablaze. It definitely affected Mio somewhat as a slightly dreamy look crossed onto her face at the alluring sight…
But then it soured when she noticed stares from the OTHER single ladies throughout the mall.
"Wow, who is that guy?"
"Is he a model?"
"Those 80's clothes actually seem rather fitting for him…"
"He looks hot, I wonder what he's like in bed…"
"I'd like to pin him under me and rock his world all night long…"
Mio heard the hushed comments they uttered through her superhuman hearing, but each one soured her mood further and further. ESPECIALLY when she heard some of the fantasies and kinks they were openly discussing with each other. A pang of possessiveness erupted inside of her as the trio walked throughout the mall, Theseus on the right, Mio in the center and Maria on the left. 'Oh if those hussies think they can approach MY Theseus like that, they have another…' she started to think to herself, before her cheeks reddened at those same thoughts. 'Wait, what the hell?! I did NOT just think that, did I?! Oh man, sure hope Theseus doesn't find out that I referred to him like he was my property, he'd probably kill me…' She couldn't help but think in an increasingly flustered state. It didn't help that the thought of Theseus topless, pinned beneath her on her bed and tied to it, completely at her mercy and control refused to leave her mind.
"Oooooh, whatchya thinking over there, my little miss pervert? Thinking something lewd about our dear resident emo over here?" A teasing tone accompanied Maria's question as the succubus leaned towards the heiress to Satan's legacy, the said girl quickly becoming red which all but confirmed Maria's theory judging from the wide grin that she sported.
Fortunately, before she could be teased any further something caught Mio's eyes: to their left, there was a store which seemed to be selling what looked like albums and CD's. It looked to be titled 'Music world', a rather simple title that displayed the contents of it's wears effectively. "Huh, a music shop… wanna see what's inside Theseus?" Mio asked, trying to divert the topic away from the sinful thoughts inside her mind whilst also pointedly ignoring the knowing gaze Maria sent her.
As for the male in question, Theseus looked to the shop in question and tought for a bit. Soon, he gave a small shrug. "Sure." he stated, internally glad this wasn't another clothes shop. He'd had enough clothes shopping for one day already despite now owning some new drip himself. Though he'd be lying if he said he wasn't interested in what music albums were being sold, he'd heard there were some decent bands out there and music was definitely something he didn't mind all that much.
The same couldn't be said for the stares he was getting from male and female alike. He just ignored them, if the guys were jealous of him that would only be because they didn't put any effort into looking as good as they could. Fashion and drip require effort goddamnit, and girls seem to know this lesson instinctively since they're all about that stuff from the moment they hit their teens. The females on the other hand, really unsettled him and even made his inner beast uncomfortable, especially when he overheard the things they said they'd like to do to him in their beds. Maybe horny lonely guys would be desperate enough to like what he had been hearing, but Theseus had standards goddamnit, and he would stick to them till his dying breath!
In the end, the trio made their way towards the music shop, and headed inside.