Chapter 46: Assassin Arc : Chapter 14 : Noon

Chapter 14 : Noon

Although he, himself had put forward the idea of enslaving the shinoccubus, Anton did harbor some reservations about going down that route. As even though Mica did require a measure of control to be had over her, she was still the daughter of friends. And despite the circumstances, and the fact that binding curses weren't necessarily permanent, enslaving the daughter of your friends was, to say the least, still poor etiquette. So with this being the case, he was more than willing to explore other alternatives.

Unfortunately, Mica was neither harmless nor trustworthy, and her natural abilities would make it all too easy for her to literally disappear the moment she was given any amount of freedom. Keeping her manabound and restrained indefinitely certainly was possible, but wouldn't be practical. Especially if she was to be expected to preform in her new role as a bodyguard.

Her built-in loyalty oath ability was of course another option, and although he wasn't overly familiar with how that particular ability worked, it did seem to be a better alternative to outright slavery, at least on the surface. Unfortunately, it was, as far as he knew, something that she would have to willingly invoke herself. And so at this point his working plan was to see if it would be possible to convince her to do so. This would of course still entail illustrating to her that the alternative would be her enslavement, which although an ugly premise, was nonetheless the truth.

And so, with the mindset of pursuing this goal, Anton had taken the calculated risk of allowing Mica a level of freedom by releasing her tail. This would hopefully help in establishing a foundation of, and maybe even building some tiny amount of, trust between them. It would also give him an opportunity to see just how aggressive she was likely to be if given the chance.

And interestingly enough, despite a confrontation taking place almost immediately, the shinoccubus had done nothing more than make idle threats. Even when physically pushed she had refrained from retaliating with violence, which for an Infernal like her, reacting with a slash of her spade would normally have been an almost automatic response.

The fact that Mica had instead hesitated to attack was a solid indication that she had a strong sense of control over herself and her instincts, which was a very, very good sign.

With his eyes sitting idle on his phone and his mind continuing to shift through his thoughts, Anton's attention was suddenly caught by movement taking place in his peripherals. Turning his head, he found that Mica's tail was slowly slicing a path through the water as she looped it around herself several times.

Intrigued, he watched silently as Mica reached out and began to tenderly massage her tail by rolling sections of its length through her fingers. Preoccupied with her task, the shinoccubus seemed oblivious to her audience as she gently kneaded out the knots that had formed in the thin ribbons of tightly wrapped musculature that ran down the length of her tail. As she worked her way along, stretching and loosening up the muscles of her limb, the natural elasticity of her tail began to become more and more apparent and its true length began to appear.

Not that this was a surprise to him, but it did become quite clear to Anton that Mica had positioned herself so that if she wanted to, she could, from right where she was sitting, easily stretch her tail out far enough that her spade would be able to reach both himself and the dark elves. And although she seemed to be content to remain quiet and unassuming at the moment, there was no way of knowing how long this peaceful mood would last, and he was not so inclined to just let her have the first strike.

“...Hm, you know, Mica. It's actually really nice to see that you seem to have a decent level of control over yourself.” said Anton as he turned off his phone “Not everyone who is born with natural weapons like yours will always hesitate to use them in the way that you just did.”

Mica's fingers went still as she shifted her eyes up to him. Though her face itself showed nothing to her emotions, her quickly thinning snake-like pupils were still a good indication that her thoughts were far from friendly.

“...I'm going to guess that growing up in a city and attending school was enough to condition you to not let violence be your first response. That's a trait that I can certainly appreciate.” continued Anton as he gave her a thin, but genuine grin “It would be a real annoyance for me if I to had to keep your tail locked away at all times. So it truly is nice to see that, hopefully, at least, that won't be necessary.”

Keeping her eyes locked to his, Mica remained silent as she pressed her lips into a thin line and shifted her tail around her body until her spade was on her opposite side and partially hidden behind her back.

“Heh. Hard to imagine little Mica being in school.” chuckled Fiona from her place on the other side of the tub “Not her being little, of course. That parts easy to imagine.”

Blinking, Mica's eyes darted over to the dark elf the moment she started to speak.

“Hard parts imagining her not trying to stab everybody. Or choking people with her tail.” continued Fiona “Like an angry little monkey!”

Narrowing her eyes, Mica's face hardened as both of the dark elves began to chuckle.

“You know she probably got bullied, right?” quipped Kianna as a condescending smile spread across her face “Imagine little Mica trying to act all tough and then instantly getting thrown in a trash can or shoved in a locker. You just know it happened!”

As both of the dark elves began to laugh, Mica's tail started to undulate angrily in the water until several of its coils finally breached the surface and her spade rose up high enough for its tip to point down at the sisters.

With their heads laid back and their eyes still closed, the dark elves remained completely oblivious as the incensed kiochi moved her tail into position to strike down at them.

“Mica. Put your tail away and stop threatening the dark elves. Your job is to protect them. Not to endanger them.” said Anton as he slipped his phone into his pocket “And girls! You're being rude. Stop bullying your bodyguard.”

Mica's tail froze right where it hung in the air as she clenched her jaw and turned to Anton with rage in her eyes.

“Sorry!” sang the dark elves as they continued to chuckle quietly.

“I am not their bodyguard! And I don't have a fucking job!” declared Mica as she pulled her tail back in to herself and pointed her spade at Anton “I don't work for you! Or anybody! And I ain't protecting shit!”

“You do have a job, Mica. One that you will do. You don't have a choice.” said Anton in a calm but stern tone as he glanced at her spade and then looked right at her “I also want you to understand that the freedom that I've given you right now is a test run to see how well you can behave yourself. It is a privilege, and you're putting it at risk. I'm going to be very disappointed if you make me have to lock your tail away again.”

“You just try it!” growled Mica as she raised her tail back up into the air and flexed out the barbs at the base of her spade “Touch me, and I'll slit your throat and bury my spade in your heart!”

Grinning broadly, the two dark elves both lifted their heads up to watch the coming show.

Anton was still for a moment as he stared down at the seething kiochi.

“Mica.” he said as he kept his eyes locked to her's “Do you understand why you were punished as severely as you were today?”

“You! Oh! Of fucking course I do! It was so some sadistic asshole could get his rocks off!” snarled Mica “Obviously!”

“Colorful. But no, I'm afraid that isn't the reason.” said Anton as he continued to stare at her “Would you like to try and guess again?”

“...It was because I tried to kill you!” snapped Mica as she arched her tail even higher “You poor, poor fucking baby!”

“No, that did annoy me. But that isn't the specific reason either. You're enslavement will cover that transgression.” said Anton as he ignored the spade bobbing above his head “Would you like to try one more time?”

Unnerved by the fact that he was disregarding her threats, Mica went silent as she glared back him.

“...No? Very well. Let me just explain it to you then. You see, Mica, the reason that you were so overtly punished today is because I needed to diminish some of the... overwhelming, amount of animosity that I felt towards you.” stated Anton as the kiochi's glare deepened into a full scowl “Now, petty as that reason may be. It was still very important. Because I am about to dedicate a lot of my time, effort and resources into you and your development. And I know myself well enough to know that unfortunately, if I didn't take care of my issues with you right away. Then chances are I would be constantly setting things back by giving in to the urge to make you suffer far more than I actually needed to. And as we don't have the time to waste on waiting for you to be forever recovering from unnecessary injuries. I felt it was best to just take care of the situation now and be done with it... Is all of this making sense to you?”

“Oh, yeah! I think I get what you're saying loud and clear.” growled Mica as she began to speak through her clenched teeth “You're saying the reason I got strapped down to a table, waterlogged and had a fucking iceberg shoved up my ass! Was all so that you could get over some shit grudge. Right!?”

“Yes, exactly.” nodded Anton.

“And how exactly does that not make you an evil, pathetic, disgusting, fucking little crybaby asshole!” demanded Mica.

“Simple. Because the person I did it to wasn't some innocent little teenager that I snagged off the street. It was you, Mica.” said Anton as he narrowed his eyes into a glare “It was a wannabe little assassin who's very first act upon meeting me was to try to cut my head off.”

“Yeah, and it's too bad that I missed on that too!” snapped Mica “Next time I won't!”

Anton was still for a moment before he leaned over the arm of his chair and stared down the kiochi.

“You need to understand that generally speaking, I don't have a lot of patience for people that try to kill me, Mica. And I don't normally like to let such people live.” declared Anton “You have been a special case from the very beginning. In fact, the only reason I didn't kill you immediately last night was because I was using you as an object lesson for the dark elves. And during said lesson, when I figured out that you had no idea what you were even doing. I decided to take pity on you. And even went so far as to give you opportunities to surrender and leave. But no, you just had to keep going. You had to keep pushing things till the end. And now look at where all your efforts have gotten you. Beaten and bound. I didn't want this. I told you to leave, but you wouldn't. And now you want to sit there and call me evil. Well, fine! I won't argue with you on that. But don't you dare try to blame me for the direction your life has suddenly gone. Because my decisions didn't put you here, Mica. Yours did.”

“Fuck off!” cried Mica “Seriously, stop acting like you're some poor, pitiful victim! You're not! You wanted this to happen, you said so yourself when you said you were planning to give me to your bitch ass elves so they could tie me up and torture me and shit! You're a sick fuck! You're evil, all of you are! You disgusting fucks have literally done nothing but torture me this whole time, and I don't deserve any of this crap! The twisted shit that you've all done to me has been insane!”

“You don't deserve this?” repeated Anton as an incredulous expression spread across his face “Mica, how exactly do you not deserve this when you came here specifically to kill someone!? ...You can't honestly think that since you failed in your intention to kill, that you're somehow innocent now and you don't deserve to be punished. Because that is not how it works. You are not innocent, and you never will be again. You've earned everything that has been done to you. Everything. And I find it very rich of you to try and accuse me of acting like a victim when that's all you've been doing this entire time. So far you've yet to own up to anything that you've done. Not a single thing. You act like you didn't have a choice in any of this when no one brought you here, Mica. You invaded. No one forced you to attack. You jumped in yourself. And when you were told, multiple times, to leave. You were the one who kept fighting. It was all you, Mica. It was your decisions, and your decisions alone that lead you here. You do deserve all of this. And you need to accept that.”

“And what if I fucking don't!?” exclaimed Mica “What are you gonna do then, huh!?”

“...Well, you'll be trained either way. So in the end I suppose it makes no difference.” said Anton with a shrug “You're still going to be turned into something useful whether you like it or not. Of course, there is no real reason for you to make things difficult. Though if you insist on fighting me the entire time, then so be it. Just know that even if I'm forced to drag you along at the end of a leash, I will. And the end result will still be the same.”

“You! Fuck you! And your leash!” snapped Mica “Like I'm going to let you treat me like a dog!”

“Control yourself, be respectful, act like a person and you'll be treated you like one.” said Anton as he folded his arms over his chest “Act like a vicious, wild animal, and you'll be put on a leash. It's as simple as that. The choice is yours, but remember, Mica, either way, the end result is not going to change for you. So my suggestion is that you make things easier on all of us, and just accept your fate.”

“...You motherfucker!” growled Mica as she held up her middle finger and waved it at Anton “Accept this!”

“Oooo!” sang the dark elves as they both smiled gleefully and pointed their ear straight upwards in excitement.

Anton stared down at the kiochi for a moment before silently rising from his seat.

Glaring up at his stoic expression, Mica faltered back a bit as Anton stepped up to the edge of the tub and loomed over her. Keeping her finger pointed at him, she raised her tail even higher and arched it up over her head in a manner that was reminiscent of an angry scorpion.

“Stay back!” threatened Mica as she menacingly flexed her barbs in and out of her tail “I mean it! I'm not scared of you!”

“Good.” said Anton as he knelt down so as to be at eye level with her “That'll actually make this next part easier.”

Lifting his left hand, Anton used two fingers to point up at Mica's spade.

“Strike me with that.” he said in a calm even tone.

Mica's barbs froze mid flex as she blinked in surprise.

“...Wait, what!?” she chirped as her tail stiffened above her head.

“I said. Strike me with that.” repeated Anton as he left his fingers pointing upwards “Now.”

“...Are you serious?” asked Mica as she narrowed her eyes in suspicion.

“Yes. You are openly threatening me, which I do not appreciate.” said Anton “So I'm going to give you a reason not to do it again.”

“...Oh really.” mumbled Mica as her tail began to slowly sway back and forth “Is that right...”

“Yes. Now, strike me with your tail.” said Anton in the same calm tone.

Hesitating, Mica's eyes narrowed even further as she stared back at him.

“...Are you going to start disobeying me already?” prompted Anton.

“...No. Not yet!” said Mica as a wicked looking grin spread across her face “Just remember that you asked for this!”

Anton kept his eyes locked to the kiochi's and left his fingers still pointing upwards as her tail began to dance and curl about above him.

Slicing through the air with a hiss, Mica's tail suddenly zipped out wide before twirling back around and speeding straight towards the left side of Anton's head.

Anton remained completely still as the sharp tip of Mica's spade sailed passed the back of his head and circled around to strike him on the opposite side. As the bladed spade, now aiming for the right side of his neck, came to within a heartbeat of striking him, Anton lowered his hand and leveled his pointed fingers right between Mica's eyes.

The kiochi reflexively froze as a bright, shining, golden ball of light appeared at the end of Anton's pointed fingertips. Dumbfounded by the unexpected sight, Mica merely blinked in surprise while her tail suddenly stopped short of its mark and hung frozen in midair.

Without a word, Anton reached up with his free hand and grabbed hold of Mica's tail at the very base of her spade and right at the thickest point of the bulge that hid her barbs.

With a surprised gasp, the kiochi instinctively flexed out her barbs as her tail was grabbed. Unfortunately for her, even when fully extended, they were situated too far back to reach Anton's hand.

Coming back to her full senses, Mica immediately tried to pull her tail back to herself and out of Anton's grip. Failing this, she then moved to loop her tail up and around his neck but was thwarted when he dropped his left hand down and snatched a coil of her tail that was further down its length and closer to her body. The light that had been at the end of his fingers had spread itself across his entire hand and was now bathing both it and the kiochi's tail in its shimmering glow.

Mica's breath hissed in through her teeth as a stinging sensation suddenly emanated out from where ever this light touched her.

Ignoring her reaction, Anton lifted his left arm straight upwards and gave her now stretched tail a painful squeeze with his ethereally glowing hand.

“Ow! Ow! Ow!” cried Mica as her face scrunched up in agony and her hands curled into clawed balls “Stop it! Stop! Let go! Let go, let go, let go!”

Disregarding her cries, Anton's face remained stoic as he turned his attention to Mica's bladed spade.

“...People who are born with built in weaponry will of course have a natural advantage in any fight.” mused Anton as he held the spade out in front of his face and began to look it over “Unfortunately, such people also tend to fall into the trap of being overly confident when outside of battle as well. As they often assume that they continue to forever hold an advantage over others around them. This is especially true if they find themselves in a confrontation with someone whom they perceive to be unarmed, and harmless...”

“Ow! Ow!” whined Mica as she used both hands to try and pull her tail free from Anton's grip. Though she didn't understand why, she couldn't help but to start listing to the side as the strength was suddenly sapped from her body and she felt incredibly weakened.

“Conversely. A student can not learn from a teacher that they don't respect.” said Anton as he turned his attention back to the struggling kiochi “And no student will respect a teacher, if they think they have an advantage over them.”

Mica's eyes were panicked as they quickly darted from her tail to Anton and back.

“Tell me the truth, Mica.” said Anton in his calm even tone “Do you think that you have an advantage over me?”

Groaning in misery, Mica clamped her eyes shut as she gave her tail another desperate tug.

“No!” she cried out as she frantically shook her head “I don't think that! Okay! Now just let me go!”

Anton stared at her for a moment before sighing through his nose and releasing her tail.

“How very disappointing...” he mumbled softly to himself.

“Fucker!” growled Mica as her tail immediately zipped around behind her back and disappeared down into the bath water “What the Hell was that!? What did you just do to me!?”

“...You've never met a nephilim, or someone with a holy attribute before, have you?” asked Anton.

“Who? And a what!?” muttered Mica as she glared at him.

“...Hm, I suppose it's really not that surprising. Nephilim are far from common. And what with the celestial realm having vanished, there are only so many ways to still get an attribute.” mused Anton as he stood back up “And with that being the case, the chances that you would randomly run across someone who had one in this day and age, would be very slim.”

Mica went to speak but stopped short as Anton leaned forward and pointed his two fingers back between her eyes.

“I ordered you to strike me with your tail, and you failed to do so. Then I told you to tell me the truth, and you lied to me.” said Anton as the glowing light reappeared at his fingertips “You've disobeyed me twice now, Mica... You're shaping up to be a very poor student...”

Her expression becoming strained, Mica's tail rose back up out of the water and arched itself up over her head.

“This fireball has been imbued with the essence of my attribute. Which has made it celestial in nature. In other words, what you're looking at is literally holy fire. Something that you, as an Infernal, are poorly equipped to handle.” explained Anton “I want you to understand how dangerous this particular combination can be for you. So I'm going to punish you with it.”

Staring nearly cross-eyed at the ball of light that was slowly moving closer and closer to her face, Mica stammered wordlessly as her mouth silently opened and closed.

“I'll need to reduce the intensity a bit though...” mumbled Anton as the ball of light dimmed down to a fraction of its former size “I don't want to accidentally incinerate you after all...”

“W-wha! Wait!” exclaimed Mica as her eyes widened in panic.

“No.” said Anton as he released the fireball.

Mica clamped her eyes shut and cringed back as Anton's hand fell away from her face. After a long moment of stillness, she tentatively cracked open a single eye.

“...Uh? Did it not work?” asked Fiona as she, Kianna and now Mica all stared at a tiny, marble-sized ball of light that was hanging in the air just in front of Mica's face.

Without a word, Anton took a step back and squinted his eyes.

Following the ball with her own eyes, Mica's head tilted forward as she watched it slowly fall, sink into the bathwater, and then come to rest on the floor of the tub. Staring down at the glowing spot for a moment, she began to laugh maniacally.

“Well!” she cried as she smiled smugly up at Anton “Guess this time you're the one whose a fail-!”

The shinoccubus was cut off mid-speech as a pillar of flaming light shot upwards from right beneath her and completely engulfed her entire being within its radiance.

“...Whoa!” breathed both of the dark elves in unison as they gazed in awe at the stunning display that Mica had become.

The shinoccubus trapped in the center of the pillar had all but disappeared from view as the flesh of her body was seemingly washed away by the bright light that was now surrounding her. This effect left the black-colored bones of her skeleton as the only portion of her being that was still fully visible.

Each one of Mica's dark colored bones, which appeared to be the exact same color as her horns, stood out clearly as they contrasted against the light shining around them. Though her face itself could no longer be seen, her agony could still be easily interpreted by the fact that her skull was staring straight upwards at the ceiling and appeared to be locked in a silent scream.

Enthralled by the sight of Mica's skeleton, the two dark elves couldn't help but to lean in closer as they both tried to take in as many details of her anatomy as they could.

Setting the thin appearance and black color of her bones aside, the shinoccubi's skeleton had the general structure of a standard humanoids, though there were still several very obvious differences. The first, and most obvious of which, was of course her tail.

Mica's tail appeared to be made up of dozens and dozens of tiny individual vertebrae that were all held together by long, thin ligaments. These ligaments, which although unknown to the examining dark elves, were naturally elastic in their design and were what gave the tail its flexibility and allowed it to stretch out in length.

At the moment, Mica's wildly undulating tail was quite the sight, as these ligaments couldn't actually be seen and her spade, barbs and each of the tiny vertebrae that made up the tail's length all appeared to be floating about in the air both around and above her being in a swirling whirlwind of seemingly disconnected, individual pieces.

The next difference that could be seen was much more subtle, as it was Mica's skull itself. Her skull appeared to be very slightly elongated and had a thin, smoothed ridge of bone that ran down its center. This ridge was only about a quarter of an inch tall, and would normally be hidden from sight by her hair. It started from right in between her horns and trailed back across her skull to its base.

Below her skull, Mica's shoulder girdle appeared to be quite different from a traditional humanoids. Having developed in such a way to accommodate her wings, her scapula, or shoulder blades, were both reduced in size and had a curved, concave shape to their internal edges. Each of them also featured a thin but heavily reinforced ridge of bone that traversed across her shoulders and then turned sharply downwards where they then tapered into sharp spike-like shapes that sat along each side of her spinal column. These bones acted as anchoring points for the many layers of heavily compressed muscles which both controlled and powered her wings.

These bones then led the eye to the last and least noticeable difference, as nearly hidden beneath them was a enlarged vertebrae that had a set of sockets located on each of its sides, and attached to these sockets via swiveling ball joints, were Mica's wings.

Wrapped up tightly along the inside surface of her rib cage, and partially hidden by the rib bones that surrounded and encased them, the thin skeletal structures of Mica's bat-like wings could still be clearly discerned, once they were finally noticed.

“Holy shit... That's so fucking cool looking!” muttered Fiona as Kianna nodded in agreement.

For more than half a minute, the dark elves stared in wide eyed wonder as Mica's quivering bones stood out blatantly within the pillar of light. At some unseen trigger, the light began to dim a bit before with a last flare of brightness, the pillar burnt out from the bottom upwards, and as it disappeared it left the shinoccubus looking normal once again.

With her head now laid back limply across her shoulders, Mica sat completely still and unmoving for several long moments before a deep, haggard sounding cough erupted out of her being and this was quickly followed by a long, pained groan.

Lifting her head back upright, Mica blinked up at Anton several times before letting out another long, agonized groan.

Staring down at her with a stoic expression on his face, Anton remained still as Mica's wings suddenly unfolded themselves out from her back and slowly rose upwards as she stretched them out to their fullest.

Seemingly no longer in control of her body's movements, Mica's panic filled eyes fully dilated as her tail started to curl and coil itself into painful looking twisted loops, while above her head, her wings began to quiver violently from the strain of remaining stretched out as far as they were.

“...Hm, it looks like you may have lost control of some of your motor skills. Which, considering that every synapses in your brain and body was just thoroughly fried. That's really not too surprising.” mused Anton as he gave Mica a thoughtful nod “Since you're still conscious I'm guessing you'll be fine in a few minutes or so... Next time I might try to cut back on the power a bit more...”

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Heavy tears welled up in Mica's eyes as every muscle in her entire body began to tremble and convulse.

“...Owie!” she whined miserably before collapsing to the side and slowly sinking down into the water.

With an annoyed sign, Anton quickly stepped back up to the tub and knelt down at its edge. Reaching into the water, he took hold of the limp kiochi's ponytail and lifted her head back above the waterline.

Gasping in panic, Mica immediately began to sputter and cough out mouthfuls of water as she struggled to catch her breath.

Grimacing at the miserable looking creature, Anton shifted his gaze over to the dark elves and found them both smiling smugly at the half-drowned kiochi. Tightening his eyes at them, he went to speak but stopped short as a thought suddenly occurred to him.

“...Girls.” he called as he grinned at Mica “Can you come over here for a moment, please.”

Narrowing their eyes and pointing their ears straight back behind their heads in suspicion, Kianna and Fiona frowned at each other before shifting themselves into motion and slowly making their way across the tub.

Whimpering from the pain of being held up by her hair, Mica could do nothing but grimace in anger and unease as she was shifted around and made to face the oncoming dark elves.

“Here you go, girls.” said Anton as he smiled broadly “I need one of you two to hold on to your new little sister until she can move again.”

Stopping short and pointing their ears straight upwards, Fiona and Kianna both immediately looked down at Mica.

“...Oh, Hell no! We're not playing that game!” exclaimed Fiona.

“Excuse me?” said Anton as his smile grew and became knowing “What game?”

“The game where you try to pawn this little bitch off as our “new little sister”! Please! Like we're going to fall for that!” said Fiona as she crossed her arms over her chest “The stupid little ninja-bitch is not our sister. And she never will be.”

“What do you mean? Of course she is.” said Anton as he continued to smile.

“Fucking how!?” cried Fiona.

“Well, it's simple. I own you two, and I am going to own Mica as well. And with that being the case, it means that the 3 of you will all be considered slave sisters.” explained Anton “So in this way, Mica is, technically, your new little sister.”

“Oh, that's some bullshit if I ever heard any!” groaned Fiona “I mean, c'mon! You can't really expect us to buy tha-!”

“Wait?” questioned Kianna as her eyes darted to Anton's “Are you being serious?”

“Yes.” nodded Anton.

Kianna's eyes widened and became probing as she stared back at him.

“Wha? Hold on! Don't just buy into that shit!” exclaimed Fiona “This is crap and you know it! It's just a ploy! And it's-!”

“Fiona.” interrupted Anton as he turned to her “Weren't you the one who was speaking out on Mica's behalf this morning?”

“...Uh, that, that was!” stammered Fiona as she looked from him to Mica and back.

“Now why would you do that, Fiona?” asked Anton “Was it because you could see that what she had done was a mistake? That she had made one, horrible, decision after another? And did you actually understand this? Did you see it, for what it really was? ...Fiona, did you relate to her? ...Did you see yourself in her?”

Fiona went still as she merely stared back at him.

“...Mica has proven that she's prone to making bad decisions.” said Anton after a moment of silence “I think it be would nice if she had someone who she could relate to with that. Someone that could maybe, keep an eye on her, and even offer her some guidance, whenever it looks like she's about to make another bad decision...”

Staring back at him for a moment, Fiona narrowed her eyes into an angry glare before silently looking off to the side.

Grinning softly at the sight, Anton shifted his gaze back to Kianna and found the dark elf staring solemnly at the sniveling shinoccubus.

“...You know, Kianna.” he mumbled softly “I could really use your help with all this...”

Her ears perking up even higher, Kianna turned to him with a questioning look in her eyes.

“Not that I think this would be a surprise to you, but I'm not always the most patient person. Nor am I necessarily the best at having a, gentle, touch.” admitted Anton as he indicated the kiochi he was holding up by her hair.

“Yeah, that ain't no shit...” grumbled Fiona.

“So with that being the case, I think it would be a good idea for me to have a second set of eyes who can watch over Mica, and make sure that I don't go overboard, or take things too far with her.” explained Anton “I want her to grow. To get stronger, faster and more capable. And I'd like this to happen as quickly as possible. But I don't want to accidentally destroy her along the way. So I'll need someone to help me make sure that she doesn't get pushed too hard. That she stays healthy, gets enough rest and is well fed on the kind of diet that she needs... In other words, I need someone to help me take care of her.”

Kianna said nothing as she let her eyes drift back to Mica.

“And I think that you would be a very good candidate for this role, Kianna. But I also know that you're not that fond of Mica.” said Anton as he too shifted his gaze to the kiochi “So I understand if you'd rather not be a part of this... I do need help, but I'm not going to force you to do anything that you-.”

“You're hurting her...” said Kianna in a soft, hushed tone “Just, let me take her...”

Anton said nothing more as Kianna gingerly took hold of the now paralyzed shinoccubus.

Laying Mica's head over her shoulder, Kianna wrapped an arm around Mica's torso, just beneath her now limply hanging wings, and half-dragged her across the tub until she was able to lean her shoulders back against the sidewall. She then draped the smaller female across her own chest and set to work on carefully repositioning each of Mica's skewed limbs so that they could be tucked in against her body. Once satisfied that Mica was laying in as comfortable a state as she was going to be in, Kianna settled in and wrapped both of her arms around her in a gentle hug.

At no point did Kianna ever glance back at either Anton or Fiona. Instead she merely stared forward at nothing as she held the mewling kiochi.

With an annoyed expression plastered across her face, Fiona rolled her eyes, sighed through her nose and scooted herself back until she could lean against her own section of sidewall on the opposite side from her sister and Mica.

When the two dark elves finally made eye contact, Fiona gave her sister a tired looking glare that was clearly meant to say “Really!?”.

Reading her sister's message loud and clear, Kianna frowned back at her before sticking out her tongue and tightening her hold on Mica.

Grimacing at the response, Fiona shook her head before leaning back onto the edge of the tub and closing her eyes with a huff.

Satisfied with this outcome, Anton couldn't help but to grin as he retook his seat.

“Try to make sure that she stays awake, please, Kianna.” he said as he pulled his phone back out from his pocket “She just went through a pretty intense ordeal. And her brain may need a little more time to fully sort itself out. So to avoid the risk of her slipping into a coma on us, it's best not to let her fall asleep for the next little bit.”

“Oh, okay. I'll keep her awake then.” said Kianna as she felt Mica become tense with panic.

“Thank you.” said Anton in an absent tone as he went back to looking over his emails.

For the next few minutes the room remained relatively quiet, save for the faint grumbling sounds that Mica made as she struggled to both regain control of her body and slip away from Kianna.

“Will you just calm down, Mica...” soothed Kianna as she hoisted the kiochi back into place “You still can't even move. Do you really want to drown yourself that badly?”

Frustrated, Mica clamped her eyes shut and tried with all the strength she had left to lift her arms and push herself away from the dark elf. Failing this, she collapsed in on herself with a long, sorrowful groan.

“Aw. Poor little Mee-cah...” grinned Kianna as she began to rub her hand up and down Mica's back “She's just so pissed off... Aren't you, Mee-cah? Poor little Mee-cah...”

“Fuck you...” groaned Mica.

“Aw! Poor, poor little Mee-cah, her poor, stupid little brain got all fried up... And now her poor little body doesn't work anymore...” sang Kianna as she pulled the bands free from Mica's ponytail and began to run her fingers through her hair “Mee-cah... Mee-cah... Do you like being paralyzed? ...Mmm? Do you?”

“...Argh, no!” growled Mica as Kianna prompted to her to answer by gently jostling her up and down.

“I see... Well, would you like to fall into a coma instead then? ...Mmm?” hummed Kianna.

“...No!” whimpered Mica after a moment of hesitation “Please no!”

“Mmm... Well then, I guess from now on, you better be a good little cubi... And listen to everything that your new Master, and your big sisters tell you... Alright?”

Mica stayed silent for a moment as her face became marred with rage.

“No! No, no, no!” she whined as she frantically tried to twist away from the dark elf.

Kianna laughed softly as she held the kiochi in place. Once Mica gave up on her struggles, the grinning dark elf took hold of the kiochi's upper arms and lifted her up just enough to hold her out in front of herself. Mica grimaced in irritation as she was made to sit, slumping forward in front of and facing the smugly smirking dark elf.

“Aw, poor little Mee-cah...” cooed Kianna as she teasingly tapped on the tip of first one of Mica's horns and then the other “You know if you keep being stubborn like this, then you're just gonna keep getting punished... Over and over, and again and again...”

Mica remained still as she stared at the dark elf though her hanging bangs.

“Is that really what you want? I mean, our Master only used one move on you and you've already suffered so much from it...” said Kianna as she ran her hand across the top of Mica's head and smoothed out her soft, silk-like hair “Do you really want to go through this much pain again? ...Hm? Is it even really worth it?”

Mica continued to silently stare for a moment before lowering her eyes.

A thin smile spread across Kianna's face as she watched the kiochi's eyes tighten in worry.

“Mee-cah...” she called as she gently caressed Mica's cheek “Mee-cah... Do you really want to spend every day, getting tortured, and being blasted with holy fire? ...Hmm? Do you?”

“...No, not that again!” groaned Mica as her lips quivered uncontrollably “Not that... That, really, it really hurt...”

“Yeah, I bet it did...” said Kianna as she took hold of Mica's chin and lifted her face back upwards “Now just imagine, that same pain, happening every day... Every single day... Because you do realize, Mica, that unless you learn to obey, it is going to happen again. And it is going to hurt, just as badly as it did today... You do realize that... Don't you?”

Forced to stare into the dark elves eyes, Mica refused to answer her and yet, despite her attempt to stay silent and keep her expression defiant, she still couldn't help but to nervously swallow a lump that had formed in her throat.

“Oh good, you do realize it...” nodded Kianna as she watched a ribbon of fear begin to dance in the back of Mica's slitted eyes “That's good, very good...”

“...Fuck you.” whispered Mica as frustrated tears began to form in her eyes.

Kianna chuckled through a smile as she hugged the kiochi back to herself and gave her a tight squeeze. Mica groaned miserably as her body was crushed in the dark elf's grip and the air was forced out of her chest.

“This is gonna be so much fun...” breathed Kianna as she settled back against the sidewall and sighed in contentment.

With her head now laying back in place on the dark elf's shoulder, Mica grimaced before going still. As she laid there, staring at nothing, she couldn't help but to go back over Kianna's words in her mind, and as she did so the gravity of her situation began to truly dawn on her.

“...Wait. Wait, hold on.” she mumbled as she tried and failed to lift herself back up “Wait... Just, just wait, wait a second. ...Let me go. ...Please, let me go!”

“No...” cooed Kianna as she drummed her fingers on Mica's back “You still can't move. So if I let you go, you're just going to drown. So no, you're not going anywhere...”

“No! Wait, wait, wait!” whimpered the kiochi “I, I mean it! Let me go! Please! Please, I need to get out of here! Please! You have to help me!”

“Wha, what?” questioned Kianna.

“You! You helped me before! Remember? You let me go! Please! You have to help me again!” begged Mica as her voice dropped down to a desperate whisper “Help me get out of here. Please!”

“Stop it, Mica, that was different.” stated Kianna in a calm but stern tone “That was a mistake. We shouldn't have done that. We thought you were in danger. But you're not.”

“But! No! Yes I am! I am in danger!” whimpered Mica “You just said it yourself! That bastards gonna hurt me! Torture me! And enslave me! Please! Please, don't! Just let me go! Please... Please... Please, I just want to go home...”

Kianna went silent for a moment as she listened to the kiochi beg her for help.

“Please! I'm serious! Please, help me!” continued Mica.

“...Stop, Mica.” said Kianna “That's enough. You know you're not going anywhere. You're staying here, and you're going to have to live with that.”

“No! Wait, wait!” cried Mica as she started to struggle anew.

“It's too late, Mica.” said Kianna as she softly shook her head “It's over. It's already over.”

The kiochi froze as she felt a comforting warmth begin to seep into her being from wherever the dark elf was touching her. Recognizing this for the unstoppable effect that it was, she sobbed loudly as she tried to fight back against Kianna's effort to calm her.

“No!” she wailed as heavy tears began to spill from her eyes “Please! I wanna go home! Please, let me go! Please!”

“You can't go home, Mica.” stated Kianna as she spoke through her teeth “You know that!”

“No! That's not true! Please! I don't want to be here! Please! I don't want to be enslaved!” begged Mica “Please, you have to help me!”

“Mica, stop it!” snapped Kianna “You did this to yourself! Okay! You did it! So stop it, right now!”

Still sobbing loudly, Mica clenched her jaw in determination and redoubled her efforts to escape from Kianna's hold. Failing to even lift her tail out of the water, she finally fell limp in defeat and went quiet for several long moments.

“...Okay, okay, you're right. ...Okay. ...I did it.” she whimpered as she clamped her eyes shut “I did it. I did it all. ...I was stupid! And I tried to kill somebody... I invaded... I attacked... And I kept fighting. ...I did it. ...I did it. ...And, I'm sorry!”

Kianna said nothing as she merely stared forward into the empty space in front of her.

“I'm sorry, okay! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!” wailed Mica “Please! I'm sorry! I don't wanna do this anymore! I wanna go home! Please! Please, let me go home! Please, help me!”

“...No, Mica.” whispered Kianna.

“Yes! Please!” cried Mica as she began to literally panic “Please, I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I don't wanna fight anymore! ...I just wanna go home! Please, help me! Somebody! Please! Help! Help me! M-Mommy! Please help me! Please help me! Please! I want my Mommy, and my Daddy! Please! Please, just let me go! Please, please... I just wanna go home... I just wanna go... Please, I want my Mommy... Please... Please... Mommy! Please...”

Kianna's breath became caught in her throat as she listened to Mica's frantic and terrified cries.

Both Anton and Fiona remained silent and still as the kiochi's words began to slur and become nothing but incomprehensible sobs.

With her own eyes growing misty, Kianna's arms involuntarily tightened around Mica's trembling frame as she slowly turned her head to face Anton.

“...Master.” she whispered around the growing tightness in her chest “Please. Please, we have to do something!”

Closing his eyes with a sigh, Anton shook his head before turning to Kianna. He stopped short as he found her clutching Mica in a clearly protective manner and staring back at him with eyes that were tearful but burned with a desperate determination.

“...Kianna, I'm sorry.” said Anton as he gave her a sympathetic look “But you know what her situation is. And you know there's no simple fix for it.”

“But there has to be something you can do though! Some way you can help her!” exclaimed Kianna “Listen to her! She's scared... And she wants her Mommy...”

“...Yes, I understand that, and I am sorry. But you have to understand, Kianna. Just because she's started to cry doesn't mean that all of a sudden anything has changed for her.” explained Anton in a gentle tone “We still can't just let her go. It would be the end of her...”

“I, I know that...” mumbled Kianna as she struggled to control the heartache that was spreading across her tear stricken face “But can't we at least let her see her Mommy!? Or talk to her!? Or something!? ...There has to be something we can do, right!?”

“That... I really don't think that would be a good idea...” said Anton in a hushed tone as he shook his head “I don't think it would help... In fact, I know it wouldn't...”

Kianna went to speak but stopped short and became startled as she felt Mica's arms begin to slowly wrap themselves around her. Having apparently regained some feeling in her limbs, the trembling kiochi was whimpering quietly as she began to frantically cling to the dark elf.

Looking down at her for a second, Kianna lowered her ears in sorrow and gave her a gentle, comforting squeeze before turning back to Anton.

“Please, there has to be something you can do.” she cried as her ears dipped even lower “Something that can help her. Something that... Just, anything! Please!”

Anton stared at her for moment before turning away with a sigh, leaning forward in his seat and resting his elbows on his knees.

With his chin now cradled in his hand, a calm, thoughtful looking expression spread across his face as he stared forward at nothing.

Save for Mica's whimpering sobs, the room remained quiet for some time. The stillness was finally broken when Anton twisted around at the waist to glance back at the counter-top behind him and the bottle of healing potion that was sitting there. Nodding at the sight of the potion, he turned back to an anxiously waiting Kianna.

“Alright. Now, first of all. I do appreciate that Mica has finally admitted to her guilt, and has even apologized for what she's done.” said Anton in a calm and quiet tone “But be that as it may though, I still have absolutely no intention of just letting her go. As not only would that be a death sentence for her. But in my mind, she has done nothing to actually earn her freedom. Nothing at all.”

Whimpering loudly, Mica hunched in on herself as she clung to Kianna.

“So then, if Mica wants to go home, she'll first need to change my mind, and convince me that she deserves to go free... And I suppose it's only right to give her an opportunity to try and do so... And with that being the case...” said Anton as he began to rub his chin “Kianna, do you have any clothes that Mica could borrow? Preferably something that was simple and lightweight?”

“I, um, maybe?” said Kianna as her ears pointed themselves straight upwards in surprise “I have some workout clothes that might fit her. Would those work?”

“That would actually be perfect.” nodded Anton as he stretched his back out and then settled back into his chair “Alright then, another few minutes and then I'm gonna need everyone to vacate the tub, get dressed and be ready to leave. We're all going to be taking a short walk this afternoon, so you girls will need to dress accordingly.”

Kianna tilted her head and cocked one of her ears in a curious manner.

“Wait, what are you going to do!?” she asked as Mica twisted her head to the side and tentatively peeked back at Anton.

“...Well, I want to see exactly just how tough and skilled Mica really is. So I'm going to put her through a little test.” answered Anton as he turned his head and looked directly at Mica “And in the process, I'm going to give her a chance to earn her freedom.”

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