Chapter 20: Run Before You Walk (Part 7)

Pushing herself into the crook of a nearby building Yumi afforded herself a moment to catch her breath, hand over her mouth to muffle the noise as a small smile pulled at her lips, wryly amused at the fact that games of hide and seek between her, Tosca and everyone else would carry over into useful application-

-a violent spasm overtook the young woman, memories of her friends and family as they died right in front of her swiftly overtaking and subsuming what had once been fond recollection, free hand curling into a fist.

But she forced herself to relax, to breathe evenly before taking a quick glance at her surroundings and confirming that neither the man nor Fairy were chasing her.

Sliding down the wall until she was in a sitting position - completely uncaring of the dirt and grime that got on her pristine dress - the young woman took a trembling breath, banishing cold and dark memories to the back of her mind and reflecting on the pair of individuals that had freed her from what was no doubt going to be a grim and miserable fate, one that had been the perfect punchline to the string of misfortune that had plagued her.

Cayman and Till were...well she had been mistaken about people before and suffered immeasurably for it but both her instincts and the lengths he'd gone to offer her the boon of having a choice were fairly convincing. She'd felt the undeniable and overwhelming pressure to capitulate and obey when the slave contract had been engraved upon her flesh, knew that the man had given up an overwhelmingly powerful tool just to prove a point.

"And why did he know or not seem surprised by the Holy Sword Project?"

The mere mention, even if whispered, of that accursed experiment left her jaw grit and mood dark but the girl persisted nonetheless, rising to her feet and rubbing the exhaustion from her eyes.

For whatever reason the pair had seemed perfectly ready to offer her a deal, a mutually beneficial arrangement that was basically the perfect contract and everything she could have hoped for.

...It was for that reason that she had run.

The fear of betrayal was still too fresh, the shaking, vomiting and bleeding as gas had ruined her body and caused her friends and family to die slowly enough to realize what was happening at the forefront of her thoughts. And even if the duo was genuine and held no ill will she didn't have any intention of dragging them into her own revenge plot, to ruin their lives with the baggage weighing her down. She would manage on her own.

"Well...might as well get started."

The young woman glanced down at her feet, frowning at the high heels still adorning them. While she'd managed to avoid tripping while sprinting away from her previous companions - at least there had been some benefit to the exacting schedule the Holy Sword Project kept too - it had been a close thing and the footwear was going to have to go.

Removing the things and slinging them around her arm Yumi began to walk out of the alley-

-and belatedly realized she didn't actually know where to go or what to do, the towering spires and concrete jungle of the city completely foreign to her. Life at the institute had been one of schedules and basic needs seen to, no reason for her or her friends to worry about things most people no doubt learned from an early age.

She knew about money, markets and other such basic knowledge but where those things might be or how she could safely get them was beyond her comprehension, nor did she know of any place aside from a library - that she also didn't know how to locate - that could instruct her.

"How am I supposed to finally let my family rest in peace if I can't even feed myself?"

Shaking off that the genuinely disquieting thought before it could take hold Yumi squared her shoulders and strode into what looked like a brightly lit and busy portion of the city, gaudy lights and crimson advertising on full display as she reasoned that there would at least be something of value or interest to her immediate needs within. It would also be harder to find her among the densely packed streets, that was just a plus.

...She'd likely burned her bridges with Cayman and Till by running away so she was on her own, no backup or alternative means of help available.

She quickly came to regret that decision in just a manner of seconds, grimacing as she morbidly cataloged all of the things that were going to be a challenge for her to adapt to and overcome. Her dress didn't have any pockets or bits of fabric that could potentially be used to disguise or hold objects, whatever money, sustenance or other useful resources she found were going to have to be carried or stored in a bag, a bag that she didn't know how to get ahold of aside from scavenging scraps from trash heaps or waste disposals.

The heels were pointless and potentially even detrimental as her footwear of choice and were going to have to go, never mind the rest of her outfit. The aforementioned dress was thin and completely open to the night's chill, not to mention its excellent make seemed to be attracting all sorts of attention that she really would have rather avoided.

And on the subject of attention…

"Hah hah! Hey how much, babe?"

"Damn, on your way back home from work? Sprained neck?"

"Man, she must be a high class deal, just look at her!"

"Pfft, high class? Clothes all dirty, shoes on her shoulder? Probably some backstreet entrepreneur going home with a sore jaw and two thousand yen."

Yumi kept her gaze forward and expression flinty even as her disquiet and unease grew, regretting her decision to enter this part of the city more and more by the second. Especially when the surging crowds of strangers got more and more congested, alien limbs and other body parts brushing against her and causing frayed nerves to jump and startle every couple of seconds, Yumi having to exert every bit of discipline she could muster not to activate her Sacred Gear and begin cutting down the monsters around her.

While her faith in the teachings of god had been badly shaken by the events of the past couple weeks a fair few years of training centered around the denial of Demons, Devils and Daemons - the three d's of heresy, as she and her friends had often joked - left her with an understandably uncomfortable mindset as she walked through teeming throngs of beings she had been taught to hate and deny.

Men and women with oddly colored skin, horns, bestial ears, additional appendages and malevolent eyes from all walks of life, all of them leering at her with eyes containing naught but sin as the young woman tried not to show weakness, to pretend to be strong-

"OW! What the fuck?!"

Yumi blinked, releasing the arm of a garishly dressed man that she'd twisted as it brushed against her posterior, earning a sneer of derision in the process.

"Your lucky day, girly. If I didn't have somewhere to be…"

The girl merely blinked, at a loss of what to do-

-and recoiled slightly as her distraction ended up with the man spitting on her face, a line of saliva obscuring her vision and causing a grimace of distaste to purse her lips as the stranger stalked away.

"I...I don't know what to do."

Admitting the harsh reality of her circumstances only drove home the reality of the bad situation she'd made for herself, of being a long way from any real sort of aid or companionship that might have been offered by Cayman or Till. Even if they had been overstating their kindness she would have at least been guaranteed food and shelter, a possible means of furthering her ambitions. And she had just run away, confident that she knew better and that everything could work out in the end.

Just like in the Holy Sword Project, when they had seen the signs of imminent danger, that their supposed holiness and usefulness wasn't as solid as it had once seemed. When she had encouraged her friends and family to stay, that things would be alright.

"Nothing much has changed, has it?"

The morose words coincided with the girl slowly wiping the goblet of spit off her face, dully staring at where it stained her fingers...and out of the corner of her eyes noticed a group staring at her with what the blonde was fairly certain was ill intent.

Orcs and Fallen Angels, if the vague sense of corrupted holiness and handsome features were any indication.

And they had already encircled her, walking close from every angle as she locked up, unsure of what to do in this situation. Fight? Flee? Would the first option cause others to join the brawl? Could she even beat these foes to begin with? And how was she supposed to run? Already her feet ached and stung with discarded bits of concrete or glass that had dug into her skin, any attempt at extreme running would end badly if the few minutes of previous traversal were anything to go by.

In the end, all Yumi could do was stand completely still as one of the Fallen drew close, decidedly perverse smile upon his flawless lips as an unyielding hand gently set itself across her shoulder, wordlessly steering her towards a gap between buildings as a reassuring and hypnotic baritone inquired, "You don't often see a pretty girl like yourself in this district without a friend. New in town?"

She didn't respond, mind turning to ice as her shoulders tightened with the potential for future action.

"Now now, no need to be so tense. My friends and I aren't here to hurt you, just give you a bit of advice on how to navigate this place properly, understand?"

Yumi dumbly nodded, standing stiff in the center of the alley as five people total entered the enclosed space, three of them large and imposing Orcs while the remaining two were Fallen, all wearing leering smiles as they devoured her body with their eyes.

"Now, young lady, did you come to Kabuki for any reason in particular? Business, perhaps?"

"...No."

Still smiling that predatory smile the man continued with, "Well entry into Kabuki isn't free and payment can come in all sorts of forms. But don't you worry, little lady."

His hand left her shoulder, trailing down until delicate fingers squeezed her chest, a cold and utterly alien sensation that had the girl tensing in unease.

"You have all the right qualifications to make the payment so don't worry about it. If you're good enough we'll even pay you-"

ZIP!

The alley fell silent for a brief, tense second as Yumi held her newly manifested blade in an outstretched hand, the man who had been touching her finding his head in a slow, anticlimactic fall to the ground with a dull thump as animal panic settled into the blonde's brain, a second sword bursting from the ground and into her hand with a blaze of light as pandemonium ensued.

"SHIT, SHE'S GOT A SACRED GEAR-"

The final Fallen found both his throat slit and heart impaled as she rushed forward with her swords, taking advantage of the cramped area to act with impunity as combat training took over, the Orcs trying to backpedal and draw their weapons as she afforded them no opportunity to do so, windmilling the blades towards the furthest greenskin as it went down with a liquid gurgle, steel punching into one of its eyes and jugular as she made to create yet another set of swords-

BAM!

-and instead doubled over with a pained cry, hands flying to her stomach and only finding shredded meat.

"Fucking BITCH!"

A titanic impact struck the side of her head, vision going hazy and for a merciful moment the agony in her stomach faded, only to come roaring back as she landed heavily against the ground, an instinctive retch slipping past her lips as she could feel her body's innards shift and bleed.

"Oi, they still alive?!"

"Take a look and guess. Goddammit, they were fun guys…"

Yumi tried to work past the pain, to force her body to work properly but strength had apparently left her, liquid warmth staining her dress as her mouth and tongue suddenly felt so dry-

"On your fucking feet!"

A weak groan escaped the girl as she was roughly hauled upwards, the pair of Orcs - one slinging a shotgun over his shoulder, barrel still warm from where it had shot her - drawing close with demonic features twisted in anger, maws dripping with adrenaline-fueled saliva as one yanked her arms over her head.

"Things could have been easy for you, could have even made money, since we're usually pretty nice guys!"

A raspy scream left Yumi's throat as rough nails scored her skin, tearing away her dress and causing the fabric to dig into her injury and made it feel as if a branding iron had been applied to her body, a second but less painful stinging wracking her body as undergarments followed suit.

"But tonight? No Mister Nice Guy, you get to die slow and hard, girly."

The Sacred Gear wielder stiffened, something hard and bulbous pressing against her rear as the Orc she faced undid his pants as well, freeing a large and ugly male phallus that slapped against her injury, lubricated with her blood as the Demon nastily smiled.

"Decided to make my own custom hole. Hope you don't mind."

...All she could do was hang limply in the creature's grasp as they lined themselves up with her body, huffing and panting with mounting desire as she couldn't even bring herself to cry, so drained she was of anything resembling emotion.

"This is my penance, then. Punishment for letting my family die."

The Demon in front of reared back to push past her torn flesh's feeble resistance-

-and its head deformed in a percussive blast and spray of gore, the Orc behind her blinking in shock as none other than Cayman stood at the entrance to the alleyway, features a feral smile of glee as his own firearm smoked with discharge.

"Fuck yo-"

A length of pointed metal flew past Yumi's ear with an almost lyrical parting of wind, dull crunch reaching her ears as the limbs holding her tight went slack, the girl falling forward as her vision blurred and swam with sudden vertigo.

"Woah, I gotcha! Till, get over here!"

"Why...why are they here?"

Even with her failing eyes Yumi could see the shining form of the Fairy descend towards her injury, the last time she'd seen her being when she'd thrown and trapped her inside of a shirt.

"H-how could they do something so cruel-"

"Worry about that later, stabilize her for now. This isn't exactly the best environment for a long conversation."

A strange, soothing warmth replaced the fire inside of her stomach, the girl feeling her consciousness slip away as she gratefully strode towards oblivion.

"Oi, don't go to sleep on me. Till's fixing you up but I don't want to risk anything."

An oddly playful pinch of her nose forced Yumi to full awareness, staring into Cayman's reassuring smile as he carefully handled her limp form, Till glowing like a beacon with a soothing blue light as the agony steadily receded, the male eventually stating, "Alright, that should be good enough for now."

"Huh? But she's still bleeding, all I did was fix the worst of the entry wounds and withdraw the metal!"

"And you can do the rest once we're out of here. Yumi, I'm going to lift you up, are you okay with that?"

She couldn't even bring herself to respond, blankly staring at the sky as the rescuers that she resolved to leave behind took care of everything, aching form carefully placed on Cayman's back as he gently carried her.

"Should we really leave her naked like that? What if someone tries to mess with us?"

"You have a better idea? Besides, it's Kabuki's red light district, this probably isn't that far outside the norm. Let's just move fast."

The duo suited actions to words as Yumi listlessly laid against the warm back of the man, her legs securely but gently wrapped around his flanks while he didn't seem to care one bit that her navel was still leaking red onto his clothing.

...What was she supposed to do? Everything had been happening too fast for her to keep track of and she obviously couldn't look after herself, less than an hour on the city streets and she'd almost been killed and defiled in a way that she hadn't even considered in her darkest dreams.

"How am I supposed to finally avenge my friends and family - who sacrificed themselves so that I could live - when I can't even survive on my own?"

Feeling the onset of tears prick the corner of her eyes they nonetheless failed to fall, the young woman holding onto the warmth of Cayman's back as if it was a lifeline, uncaring of whatever he may have planned for her if it only meant she could have SOME stability, no matter how foreign.

"You feeling any better? No residual pain or anything like that?"

"Why did you save me?"

Wincing at both his blunt words and the dead response from Yumi, Cayman resisted the urge to sigh, for the first time in a while well and truly outside his comfort zone.

"Any particular reason I shouldn't have?"

There was no immediate response and the gamer used the opportunity to glance around the apartment, hoping there was some kind of magic button he could press that would make things less awkward. The journey back home had thankfully gone off without a hitch and they'd laid Yumi down on her futon, Till getting to work on fixing her up while he'd grabbed a spare set of clothes for the girl that she had listlessly changed into.

Even now she seemed barely present, an exhausted Till finishing up the last bit of first aid as only a starburst of scar tissue remained, the Fairy weakly fluttering onto her contractor's shoulder where she limply collapsed, his finger affectionately stroking her head.

"Sure, I'm a little annoyed that you ran off in the middle of the night and made Till and I chase after you but that's partly on me."

While there was still no immediate response he sure as hell earned one from his Fairy, a tiny foot impacting his back as she gave him a nasty look - no doubt due to his admitted lack of tact - the gamer continuing on a moment later with, "I knew you had just gone through some seriously repugnant shit, had lost control over your life and then regained some measure of it at the hands of two complete strangers. AND I knew you had a serious desire for revenge, a revenge that might not have come about if you stuck around with me, despite my reassurances."

He tried for a smile as the first hints of life entered the young lady, head turning his direction slightly as steely blue eyes locked onto his own.

"I wasn't lying when I told you the terms of our agreement. I help you, you help me. Nothing more, nothing less. You want to keep things professional, friendly or romantic? That's at your discretion."

He wasn't entirely sure if it was intrigue or disbelief that flitted across Yumi's features but he was fairly certain that it was a better sign than nothing at all.

"But for tonight you can just take it easy and recover. You're safe in here, Yumi."

There was a tender few seconds of silence where Cayman wasn't sure what the blonde's reaction would be. Quiet acceptance or dull acknowledgment were what he'd been expecting...not a full body tremor that accompanied tears trickling down flawless cheeks, quiet sniffles and sobs leaving the girl as the gamer blanched at the sight.

"Oh shit, I should have seen this coming."

Yumi had clearly been through way too much bullshit, his words and actions finally causing the dam to crumble and let all her repressed fear, sadness and stress come to fore as he dumbly sat there, helpless before the sobbing soul right in front of his eyes.

Manipulate, lie and embellish the truth? Sure, easy as breathing. Take a life and enjoy the experience? A fun hobby. Dance with the scum and dangerous predators as if they were old friends? Been doing it for years.

Comforting a crying, distraught girl who probably hadn't had a kind word said to her for god knows how long? Yeah, that was the kind of shit he wasn't prepared to deal with. Matters were not helped by the fact that Yumi was likely somewhere between a teenager and young adult in age, a particularly volatile state of mind that really shouldn't have been having to handle all of this crap.

Thus, he turned to Till with desperate eyes and a hopeful expression as the Fairy gave him an extremely unimpressed look that had him shrinking in on himself a bit.

"Come on, please?"

She sighed before doing as he asked regardless, floating over to the quietly sobbing Yumi before landing next to her head, gently running small hands through light blonde hair as she hummed, "It's okay, you can cry, you're safe now."

Quietly sighing in relief the gamer momentarily frowned, wondering if he would need to schedule therapy or something similar for the Sacred Gear wielder. While her mental issues had been solved in the source material thanks to years of close companionship and care by the Gremory clan right now she had none of those, not to mention some pretty harsh additions to the whole trauma of the Holy Sword Project.

Being gutshot and then almost literally fucked to death in the same exit wound could leave something of a lasting impression.

"Not that there's anything I can really do about it right now. For the moment it's just a game of wait and see."

With that less than comforting thought fresh in his mind Cayman drifted off to sleep in the kitchen chair he'd occupied since the start of the whole ordeal, trying to ignore Till's comforting whispers and Yumi's quiet sobs.

"I'm such a bad roommate."

"Hey, should I draw a dick on his face?"

"Ooh, that'd be funny!"

"Heh heh, it's probably going to convince him that we're the real deal and can do all sorts of cool things~!"

Slowly waking up to the quiet giggles of three feminine voices and the noise of what sounded like a pen cap popping open the gamer almost started killing right then and there before he realized it was just Lilim and who he assumed was Minasaki and Hatsukaze inside his apartment, the trio - for whatever reason - deciding to visit him early.

"And how the hell did they even get inside? Isn't this place supposed to be protected or something, even if lightly?"

Setting those thoughts aside for another time he instead decided to play a little joke on the three, just to make sure they knew who they were dealing with.

He waited until one of the girls got close, a sweet and sugary scent he recognized as Lilim's entering his nostrils-

-and his arm snapped outwards, wrapping around a soft and feminine throat before dragging it towards the tip of his manifested spear with a strangled gurgle.

"Oh, good evening. You didn't tell me you were stopping by."

Hyperventilating for a moment as her right eye was a bare centimeter away from sharpened metal Lilim glanced upwards and immediately spotted his amicable smile, losing her fear as he released his hold on her and instead replaced it with indignation.

"What kind of psycho killer are you that tries to kill a person just for waking them up?!"

"Oh if only you knew. Minasaki and Hatsukaze, I take it? Also how the hell did you get in here?"

The pair of Yatagarasu Demons tilted their heads very much like the birds they took their namesakes from, each of them unique in their own ways as he gave them a close look.

Minasaki had a pleasing shade of long, purple hair and bright red eyes while her younger sister had shorter pink locks done up in a twintail style - matching eyes of the same color glimmering with curiosity - while both wore eye-catching and modified kimonos that looked like they had bird wings attached, the skirt sections barely long enough to conceal their hips and groins while sandals and ornate leggings adorned their slim lower halves.

They also just so happened to be as beautiful as Lilim, something he could appreciate just fine.

"Door was unlocked. And you were right, Lilim. He is high strung."

"Yeah, probably why he raped that poor girl over there."

Cayman blinked, mind processing Hatsukaze's words but not quite comprehending them even as he internally cursed at having forgot basic home security in the rush of last night's events.

"I'm sorry, who did I rape?"

Following where the Demon was haughtily pointing he was treated to the sight of Yumi awake and wary, bloodshot eyes both heavily bagged and crusted over while she was fairly pale, dressed in his rumpled, spare clothing while Till rested on her shoulder in a showing of support.

"Okay, fair conclusion but that's not-"

"Sis, do we really wanna work for a guy that's a total sleaze and creep?"

Minasaki sagely nodded, responding to her sister's observation with, "Definitely not. Even a skilled and worldly woman such as myself wouldn't wish to suffer his perverseness. Lilim, you said he was a good employer."

The Succubus dramatically swooned, covering her chest and complaining, "I didn't think we would need hazard pay! But since he seems to want to hire us so badly and the working conditions demand higher wages…"

The gamer rolled his eyes as he realized they were fucking with him, turning to Yumi before explaining, "Meet Lilim, Minasaki and her sister Hatsukaze. They're prospective employees and incorrigible pranksters but are actually pretty harmless so you can take it easy around them."

The blonde didn't seem in any hurry to relax, one hand slightly open as if to grab hold of a sword as Cayman reflected a life of secret Church project raising - as well as recent events - probably meant she wasn't in any hurry to take it easy around otherworldly strangers.

"Although I might just have a solution to that. Two birds with one stone."

"Well since you're all here and I'm going to be busy for most of the day how about I offer a little side job with some bonuses to start you off with?"

Three heads snapped his way, the goofball trio offering him their undivided attention.

What he was about to do was the ultimate definition of shock therapy and he didn't doubt any manner of psychologists would have taken issue with his handling of the matter...but Cayman was fairly certain Yumi was made of steel and would come out all the better for it, not to mention that if she was going to be his accomplice in the future she would have to start getting used to working with characters of all stripes and walks of life.

"You can all take Yumi to a mall or wherever today and buy her everything she needs to lead a daily and healthy existence. Clothes, hygiene, accessories...that sort of stuff. Here's the money."

He pulled out 200,000 yen - cutting into his limited funds even more - as the Demon trio began to openly drool, hands automatically reaching for the wadded cash...and he flicked it over to Till, the Fairy deftly catching it before holding it close, Cayman smirking at their crushed expressions as he said, "Till will make sure you don't spend it on dumb shit, once she feels Yumi's all set you can have whatever's leftover."

"Huh?! But that means we're only going to probably get a little bit!"

He shrugged noncommittally, stating, "Then you better put your bargain hat on and find some deals, hmm?"

"Don't worry, Cayman, I'll keep an eye on them~!"

The trio immediately started protesting as Till offered a resolute glare, the male shaking his head before heading to where Yumi was slowly regaining her feet, expression wary as he thought about placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder before thinking better of it. She probably didn't need to be having guys touch her so soon after last night's debacle.

"Why...why are you doing all of this for me?"

Answering the blonde's mumbled and frightened question Cayman merely shrugged, replying, "Because I took on a responsibility when I saved you from Under Eden, a responsibility to help you achieve your ambitions."

He raised a finger, expression stern.

"A responsibility to ensure you have a life even after that. A responsibility to ensure that, even when you're serving me, you're still happy and content. And that starts with the basic necessities of life as well as getting a feel for the city we'll likely be staying in for quite some time."

He went for a smile that was hopefully reassuring instead of lopsided.

"Those three are idiots but ultimately good-hearted and know a lot about this city. Try to give them a chance, Till will be sure to keep an eye on things."

For a moment doubt swam within steely blue eyes, uncertainty and an alien world crushing Yumi's spirits...and his earlier estimation came true, the young lady drawing herself upright before offering a small nod, wiping away the junk coating her eyes as she whispered, "Okay. I'll...I'll do that."

He nodded in satisfaction, stating, "Don't push yourself. And if I'm back at a reasonable hour later today I'll take everyone out to eat at a restaurant I think you'll enjoy."

With a final, grateful dip of his head to Till and journey into the bathroom to get himself ready for the coming events Cayman pondered his various plans for Yumi.

While in DxD canon she had been trained by one of the most skilled sword-wielders around that obviously wasn't going to be the case in this reality, he'd have to find a substitute. Which in and of itself presented a very interesting possibility. After all, the original Kiba's code of chivalry and honor had largely been a result of said training, a mindset that ran VERY counter to the kinds of things he would no doubt be getting up to in the future. He needed a deadly killer that was a fast, lethal physical fighter to complement his more magic-oriented focus, someone like Jinglei but without the difficulty of split allegiances.

...The possible answer to this current conundrum was, to his great fortune, just a short walk away. A humble restaurant owner that just so happened to have a thing for swords and had the memories/experiences of a highly efficient machine of carnage.

"Now that holds some serious promise. I just hope they agree."