Chapter 38: Pier 16 (Part 5)

"Hmm…have to be careful about these scones, if I don't watch how many of them I eat I'm going to get fat, no matter how much I exercise or meditate~!"

"It just goes to your fat boobs, big sis. Stop complaining."

"Ooh, touchy much?"

Shirone sent her older sister a dull glare, returning to munching on her own platter of muffins and cakes with a sort of subdued vitriol as the older Nekoshou smirked, lounging in her chair with a satisfied air any feline would recognize.

They'd taken up residence in a local cafe and were mostly just killing time until the rest of their little search squad decided to show up, a process that was taking a frustrating amount of time despite how much they had talked up their talents.

"It's gonna be pretty embarrassing if our grand entrance ends up being a dud. Ugh."

Before the raven-haired Yokai could continue that line of thought their old 'friends' trudged into the cafe, collapsing into the booth with a collection of dramatic groans and pity-searching sobs, the other patrons briefly glancing their way before going back to their business.

Extranatural weren't that rare of a sight in this part of Tokyo, not to mention the group had switched out of their more eye-catching attire for plain street clothes, Kuroka and Shirone making sure to cover up some of their more identifiable traits with hats or sunglasses.

"Sounds like all three of you had a fun and fruitful time while out on the hunt, didn't you~?"

"You two are slave drivers. Just the worst!"

"Normal working hours isn't slave driving. But if you're into slave play, well…"

Kuroka let a salacious grin adorn her face, eyes drifting past Lilith's neckline as she pointedly licked her lips.

"We've already gotten pretty well acquainted before, haven't we?"

"M-my eyes are up here, you perverted Yokai!"

"Eh, that's what they all say before they get a taste of Professor Kuroka's patented tongue-finger-twister-tornado course."

Sighing at her older sibling's antics Shirone took the diplomatic approach and slid her platter of treats towards the trio of Demons, stating, "Ignore her. Big sis is just bored and feisty because she hasn't gotten laid in a while."

"That's mean, little sis! Neither have you!"

"Yeah, but I don't get so horny that I try to molest my coworkers."

Lilith, Minasaki and Hatsukaze all nodded, showing their support for the smaller Nekoshou as the Succubus stated, "Yeah, what your sister said! Also this time searching was a bust, we heard lots of rumors about people coming and going in and out of sneaky or unknown places but that's perfectly normal for a city like this."

"Yeah, figures."

Resisting the urge to sigh in annoyance Kuroka let her chin drop into her open palm, thinking things through and trying to come up with an inspired solution. Unfortunately Senjustu, her calling card and claim to fame - aside from her sexy good looks, of course - was kind of a dud in this particular search. While rifling through the life force and energies of a city as chaotic and sprawling as Tokyo was never an easy task considering the presence of Leylines, Yomihara and a thousand other interferences the fact that she couldn't sense anything in a close radius to where their target was supposed to be was telling.

Whoever had hidden the thing had done a pretty damn good job, since blocking Senjutsu searches was a pretty tricky feat to pull off.

"Well if you two can't find it then how are we supposed to?"

Returning to the conversation as Minasaki shot a petulant question her sister's way Kuroka watched as Shirone merely shrugged, replying, "Gonna have to keep trying. Duh."

"Ugh, that's so much work…"

"Aren't you getting paid by the hour?"

"Yeah, but why work during that time if we can just relax and get paid anyway?"

Rolling her eyes at the complaints as the Demon sisters bobbed their heads in agreement the black cat was about to tease them once again for their shit work ethic when the Yokai paused, something of a brainstorm hitting her like a truck.

"Hey, can't you goofballs search for our targets by using your bird findy abilities?"

Hatsukaze rolled her eyes, stating, "Yeah, but it only works on people we've actually met and talked to, we can't just magically search out some random guy-"

"Yeah yeah, I know. But can your searching be blocked?"

"Well it can be blunted but even then we can get a general idea of someone being 'that way'. It's impossible to stop us from having a general idea of where they are."

Kuroka nodded, Shirone catching on as she said, "Start searching for a bunch of mean and nasty people, see if they're close by."

"Eh? But we know, like, a ton of people like that!"

"Better get started then, hmm~?"

Glowering at the pair of Yokai the Demon trio nonetheless huffed and started doing just that, Lilith munching on a pastry as Minasaki and Hatsukaze closed their eyes, heads and necks twitching and spasming in random directions as they tracked distant souls across the various realms.

"So what are you two actually doing with Cayman? Mercenaries hired by that old guy to help out? Yeah right!"

Intrigued by the Succubus' words Kuroka innocently asked, "Oh? And are you trying to imply something, little missy?"

"Damn right I am! I know you two are actually, like, super evil!"

Shirone looked highly amused by the words while Kuroka just smirked, teasing, "Aww, are you trying to look out for him? Honey, I don't know if you're aware of who this guy is but a Surveyor isn't the type to need your protection. Cute as it is."

"Hmph! That's just what an evildoer would say to turn away rightful suspicion!"

"...Do you have a bit of a crush on Lute?"

"E-eh?! On that jerk?! No way! He beat me up when we first met-"

"Probably your fault."

"-and groped me-"

"You probably enjoyed it."

"-before extorting us to work for him!"

"Probably the only steady source of money you can reliably get."

Before their intriguing conversation could continue any further - Kuroka found it interesting how their target of observation was able to gain the trust and comradery of so many diverse people - the Yatagarasu duo snapped out of their funk, sending uneasy looks each other's way.

"You don't think that maybe…"

"Oh please don't let it be that psycho bitch…"

Immensely curious about who the sisters were talking about Kuroka watched as they entered their trance once more, snapping out of it a moment later with mutual whimpers.

"Oh of course it's her! A couple hundred meters that way, give or take a couple hundred more in any direction, we can't get any closer than that."

Glad to finally have a more specific location than an entire district to search the Yokai asked, "So who's got your panties in a twist, hmm?"

"Some pink-haired psycho Vampire bitch with a scythe that was always calling up nasty creatures to chase us down. We weren't even doing anything wrong!"

"You were someplace you weren't supposed to be, weren't you?"

"Yeah, so?!"

Shirone's blunt comment had the older Yokai crossing her arms and frowning in thought, eventually stating, "Well no use in thinking about it now, that's some good work you did, ladies."

"...Huh?"

"Did, did she just praise us-"

"So let's get back to work and find that base, shall we~!"

Simultaneous groans had the black cat snickering as the Demon trio begrudgingly rose to their feet, trooping out of the cafe as Kuroka lost her smirk, her younger sister giving her a knowing glance.

Pink-haired, scythe-wielding, Vampire psycho bitch? Sounded a lot like Felicia Black to them and crossing paths with that nutjob just once had been a pain in the ass.

"Well, not really our place to decide what happens next. That's the responsibility of our newbie Surveyor."

The Yokai smirked.

"Seeing what he does next is going to be very interesting."

"So you pinpointed its location, then?"

[Yup. Gonna keep a close eye on it for a few more hours, just in case anything unexpected or interesting pops up. Pretty sure we nailed the entrances and got a good read on the protections but you never know, you know~?]

"Oh I know. Good work, tell the ladies I appreciate their work ethic so much I might just go ahead and throw a raise into the reward pool."

[Ehh? Where's my raise? My little Shirone and I even slept in your bed and we still don't get anything?]

Rolling his eyes at the black cat's pouting Cayman dryly replied, "You're probably making several times their salary as mercenaries or whatever the official title is in Zelretch's employ. As well as whatever it is that he's paying you to keep an eye on me."

[Not beating around the bush with that, are you?]

"Not even bothering to deny it, are you?"

The Surveyor could practically taste the smugness in Kuroko's voice as she replied, [Doesn't really matter, now does it? Little sis and I are pretty good at sniffing out dirty little secrets so even if you try to hide them we'll still get the job done. And if you play it smart and don't act evil when we're around that's still a plus since you're not being evil. And if you're not those two then who cares, you've got nothing to hide, we'll find nothing and maybe you'll pet my ears for being such a good kitty~!]

Chuckling at the Yokai's brazeness - and confidence in her craft, which he imagined she could back up just fine - he instead said, "Well I look forward to seeing you at the end of the third option. Bring back even more impressive results and I'll graduate you to ear scratches."

[Aww, you know how to motivate a girl just fine~! But if we're upping the stakes a little bit I've got an itch of a different kind you can scratch-NYA?! Little sis, that hurt! Your freakish strength is gonna break big sis' ankles one day!]

[Quit being a pervert. We'll be back later tonight. Bye.]

The line hung up and left Cayman in a bemused mood at the sibling's antics. It also left him wondering how the original DxD canon would have gone if Kuroka had managed to stick with Shirone through most of it.

"Probably would have ended with Issei sporting a broken pelvis. Kuroka was pretty thirsty and if it wasn't for the marketing keeping things 'tame' she probably would have boned him by volume two."

"Everything alright, Master?"

Meeting Cerb's gaze as he and Oct hung around the male shrugged, responding, "Just thinking. This plan is going to have to be pretty airtight since we'll only get a single shot at it. Never mind that ridiculous teleporting schtick Creusery was able to pull of, gonna have to account for that if we go in again."

Setting aside the coming planning session he instead faced his summons, asking, "So now that it says you're capable of breeding, well…any hints as to what that means? Are your offspring going to be just as powerful as you are? Will I have to raise them like I did you or are they excluded from my abilities?"

Oct cupped his chin, thoughtfully musing, "While we are relying mostly on instinct and hereditary knowledge, Master-"

"Join the club."

"-I believe it's safe to assume any offspring we created would be powerful members of the species we were born from, combining traits of both ourselves and the mother…but not to the extent we ourselves exhibit. Likely not inheriting our intelligence either."

"Yeah, can't say with any real certainty what'll come up but that sounds about right. And I wouldn't worry about issues of loyalty, we can keep our own in line."

Cayman considered all that, eyes gleaming with possibility.

"Uhh, Master? I'm not gonna tell you no or anything but could you maybe not have us impregnate a bunch of females just for experimentation? I'd kinda like my mate or mates to be sufficiently dangerous and powerful so that my pups aren't a bunch of weaklings."

"Indeed. As a prince of my species it would be rather embarrassing if any that shared my heritage were mindless and mass-produced beasts."

Blinking at the sudden requests Cayman just shrugged, replying, "Sure, I can do that."

He received a pair of rapid blinks from the duo.

"Oh…well that was easy."

"Indeed, I thought it would take more convincing than that."

Waving a hand at his summons bemused words he stated, "Guys, this place is just full of opportunities and products of your choosing available for a varying range of prices. All it takes is money, time or commitment and you can have practically anything you want. I'll get you some worthy partners."

"Besides, this universe is an amalgamation of a truly debased trifecta. Literal porn, softcore porn and intellectual porn. If there's not some shop or service somewhere that sells men and women of immaculate breeding and pedigree I'd eat my hat. Shit, if Sybaritic Graduate gets to the point where I can sweet talk people into truly ridiculous things they might even be willing to let Oct and Cerberus knock them up."

And wouldn't that be a terrifying scenario? Not that he was against the idea of having a loyal pack of dangerous monsters, whose heritage would be…well suffice to say it would be scary if someone like Kuroka or Rossweisse ended up being the mom, if what the pair said about inheritance held true.

"You know considering how many powerful but genuinely awful people there are in this universe I think it'd be quite the useful investment to go about capturing or abducting them and letting Cerb or Oct do the honors if they're interested. Crazy fucking chick like Astaroth or Walburga would be perfect for the role."

Shaking his head clear of those thoughts - and wryly reflecting that he was already starting to do wacko shit like Hoestia and the rest of his predecessors - Cayman pursued a different line of inquiry.

"All that aside what's up with the body melding skill? Is it mind control, body control, something else entirely or what?"

The Injuu Prince replied, "It may just be easier to show you, Master."

"That response makes me both intrigued and wary."

"Apologies, Master. But seeing as how everything is granted purely by instinct at this point with little chance to see how they turn out in reality all I can say is that by nestling my body within yours or any future summons I can increase your strength, power and durability proportional to my own."

"...Now that IS intriguing. Alright, do whatever you have to, I want to see how this works."

"Very well, Master."

Quickly shifting into his Injuu form Oct swayed towards Cayman's face, the gamer briefly recoiling at the sight before reminding himself that he was going to have to get used to weird shit like this.

Instead he opened his mouth and tried not to think about how fucking bizarre this whole ordeal was as the tentacled creature slid down his throat at a steady and professional pace, the gamer fighting back his gag reflex and instinctive panic at the simple fact that Oct should NOT have been able to fit his whole body into Cayman's, that he should be just about fit to burst into a cloud of gore like Mr. Creosote.

But as quickly as it started it ended, the Injuu disappearing down his gullet as Cayman released a shaky breath, murmuring, "Well that was an experience…so what does-woah. That's something."

Blinking rapidly the male realized his field of view was, well, expanded. Human eyes tended to monofocus on whatever was in the center of their vision and blur out the rest but right now even his peripherals were cast into perfect clarity, a strange expansion of his senses that felt just plain weird.

Raising up an arm he found that his veins were now the same varying shade of Oct's colors as well as more pronounced, standing in stark contrast to his flesh as he called up his stat sheet.

Cayman Lute, LVL 30

HP: 2550

MP: 15,000 + (1500)

STA:7000

STR: 365

DEF: 355

AGI: 740

MAG: 1015 + (102)

MAG DEF: 1160 + (116)

REIGN: 2

EXP: 200/3100

"Hot damn…so Oct's stats are added directly to mine AND play off of Till's bonus. That's actually really damn powerful. Although…"

He eyed his MP steadily decrease at what looked to be a rate of 50 per minute, meaning if he got into a perfect rate of loss he could last for five hours with Oct inside of him. In reality that number would likely fluctuate crazily as combat or MP regeneration came into play but it was a solid base line to play with.

"Oh well, nothing in life is perfect."

"I'm glad to hear you say so, Master. I must say, your body is rather comfortable. At first I was worried that I would have trouble assimilating my body into your organs, nerves and muscles but the process has been rather smooth."

Deciding to take Oct's words - that seemed to come from directly behind his eyes - as a genuine compliment rather than some weird meat suit observation he turned to Cerb, the Hellhound watching the proceedings with clear interest as he asked, "How is it, Master?"

"Pretty damn interesting, I'd say. If you and Oct combined you would go pretty far in covering what possible weaknesses you might have. After all-"

The Surveyor paused, the hand that had just begun to reach out for a bottle of water beaten to the punch by a tentacle that had seamlessly sprouted from his back, depositing the beverage in his outstretched appendage.

"Okay, this is getting pretty awesome."

He paused, glancing down and frowning at his swollen groin.

"Aside from the fact that I'm really fucking horny. Oct, anything we can do about that? Not too sure I like the idea of fighting with my dick hanging out for ease of slicing."

"Apologies, Master. But my nature as an Injuu seems to be an unavoidable side effect of merging with you. Perhaps further practice and time spent melded will allow you to resist the more unintended consequences of such a union?"

"Guess that's something we'll just have to work on for now. Either way good work, Oct. Uplifting the two of you was absolutely the right decision."

While it was just as uncomfortable having the Injuu leave his body it was the loss of strength and perception that was most jarring, Cayman shaking it off as he turned to the summons before stating, "Alright, get ready for a team meeting later in the day, we've got a plan to plot."

He didn't bother to hide his smirk.

"And it's going to be a fun one, considering all the allies we have to play with."

Physical and mental exhaustion were foreign concepts to Felicia, seeing as how she had possessed both a Vampire's regenerating body and wandering mind that could be easily entertained at any idle bit of stimulation it found. She had only bothered sleeping or napping when she felt like it, not out of any real need to recharge or recuperate.

Now? Now time seemed to blur, the Vampire wishing she could just take a breather for a day. An hour. A minute.

She wasn't even that much of a stranger to pain or pleasure. Hell, she liked it rough and had been on the receiving end of more than a few ambitious advances by either man or beast, sometimes letting them have their fun for the hell of it or sometimes showing them that she was the one in charge of the pace, not the the other way around.

But this? Even by her standards her time in this damn facility had been rough, a never ending and never flagging tentacle freak of nature ravaging her body without end, sometimes calling in its friends or sometimes taking a breather, leaving its large and dripping lengths embedded in every orifice it could find like a kid snuggling into their favorite blanket.

…It had gotten so bad that she had begun to actually stop feeling fury, indignation and homicidal desires, the pinkette distantly remembering something that uppity knight bitch Ingrid had said when she wasn't busy fawning over her old man's every breath. Something about glandular exhaustion, her body so tapped and worn out that it couldn't even produce the chemicals and stuff that let her feel emotions or keep organs working.

"Huh. Never thought me of all people would have a problem like that. Fucking dammit, just give me ONE good opportunity to get out of here and I'll rip that shithead King's head off and eat it."

It was a sign of just how low on both energy and blood she was that the thought barely even caused a stir of glee and anger, the Vampire sagging in the Injuu's writhing embrace, idly reflecting that her lips - currently sealed around a pistoning length - probably looked like hell, dried and cracked if it wasn't for the constant lubricant her tormenter dripped.

Which sucked, she was super pretty and liked people to notice that!

…

It was a weak and traitorous thought that she tried to stifle, that she might really be beaten this time around.

It was a dumb, stupid, wimpy and totally untrue thought, but…

There was a small, terrified part of her that was hoping for a miracle. It wouldn't come, naturally, and she felt like shouting at herself for being so pathetic. She was the daughter of Edwin fucking Black, one of the strongest Vampires to ever live! She herself had gone toe-to-toe with Demons, Taimanin, Angels, Devils, Yokai, Magus and a thousand other beings and either beaten them down or lived to fight another day. This - some mindless tentacle monster distantly related to some smug prick who thought he was just so damn smart - wasn't going to be the end of her!

…That frightened part of her hauntingly whispered that her old man had been thought of by many - including himself - to be unbeatable and had died anyway, killed by some Taimanin bitch past her prime.

That she wasn't far off from a fate worse than death.

Before she could contemplate that disquieting thought the clack of heels on hard stone filled the hallways, providing a welcome counterpoint to the constant smack of flesh on flesh and broken moans of the other people inside this place.

"Release her. We're to try something else for the moment."

Dripping and muscled tendrils pulled free from Felicia's body, a torrent of cum and spit spewing from her limp and abused form as she hit the floor with a dull splat, her ruby orbs distantly rolling downwards as she felt something rest between her legs, resisting the urge to sigh in annoyance as she found both her cunt and ass prolapsed.

"Any other time that would be whatever…now it's just depressing."

"Have you found time to consider your pitiful defiance against my Lord, you loathsome creature? Or do you enjoy looking like a broken and crippled bitch?"

Forcing her neck to weakly crane upwards Felicia found she couldn't even get annoyed or angry at the sneering visage of Shiranui, tiredly replying, "Ooh, nice burn. Cept' being called a broken and crippled bitch by that asshole's sleeve of the week doesn't really sting all that much, you know?"

The Vampire took a muted sense of pleasure at the big-titted Taimanin's brief scowl before she offered a venomous smile, stating, "My master is feeling generous and is offering you one last chance at a peaceful partnership before your primitive and defective brain is properly adjusted. Were I in your position I would be groveling and thanking whatever god is of your choosing for this undeserving act of mercy."

"If you were in my position you'd be long dead. If you broke to that bastard you'd never make it a day in here. I bet you cried and pleaded for mercy the first time he stuck his tiny cock inside of you, didn't he?"

Yet again the Taimanin only scowled but for a moment before sweetly smiling, snapping her fingers as a pair of bare feet softly padded up, Felicia eyeing the new arrival with an arched eyebrow.

If she wasn't so completely and utterly drained she might have blushed a bit at how pretty the woman was, possessing a mature yet matronly beauty that the Vampire had always privately wondered her mother ever possessed. Long silver-purple hair, a beauty mark complimenting yellow eyes while a curvy and busty body swayed with each sensual step.

Really, if it wasn't for her subservient and vacant look - as well as the heavy scarring around her neck as if flesh had been lazily stitched back together - Felicia might have even gone so far as to say she was totally worth the effort of teasing and maybe being friends with.

"An old comrade of mine who just so happens to have an interesting and useful skillset will be looking after you for the next few days. Perhaps you'll realize you're being a petulant child and change your mind. After all, she was most receptive to my master's attentions."

This time Shiranui's smile was openly vindictive.

"Do be a dear and remain defiant, I look forward to seeing your stupid and lobotomized face with great anticipation. Natsume? Break her will."

"Of course, mistress."

The woman's words were void of defiance or strife, calmly walking into the cell and seemingly uncaring of her nudity as the Injuu eagerly reached for her voluptuous form, caressing smooth and unblemished skin with dripping tendrils.

"Farewell, you ungrateful cunt. I look forward to our next meeting~!"

With that the Taimanin departed, leaving Felicia at the mercy of the other woman as beads of sweat began to drip down her body, empty smile apparently at ease with the Injuu's continued molesting of her flesh as she instead cupped the pinkette's chin, surprising the Vampire as a brief kiss was placed on her cheek…and pure, blissful warmth spread outwards from that one gesture, thirst, hunger and pain seemingly fleeing from the woman's touch-

-reality reasserted itself as the pinkette grimaced, forcing herself to not fall prey to a blatant attempt at mental manipulation, probably using liquid as a catalyst if her sweating had been any indication.

"...Like hell you'll see me bend the knee, you fuckers. I'll let myself be turned into a drooling idiot before I willingly do your dirty work."

She ignored the frightened and scared part of her mind that tried to point out that she was only furthering her torment, not proving a point or impressing anyone.

After all, no one cared about her. No one would be coming to rescue her. She was well and truly on her own, inwardly shuddering as she felt the Injuu wind its appendages around her legs, brushing against her ruined loins and caressing them with perverse motions.

"I…might need some help on this one."

So I forgot to mention this in a previous AN but in most media Felicia refers to herself in the 3rd person, obviously that's changed here because...well I'm bad at both implementing and writing that style of speech so I'm just going to spare everybody the pain. Just figured I'd put this here for posterity.

Also does anyone else have an issue where underlined text sometimes doesn't make it into the document editor? I've honestly lost track of the amount of times I've had to re-underline the names and levels during stat rundowns and I'm fairly certain I've missed a few.