Chapter 64: Epilogue

Part 1

3rd Person POV

A single day went by and Yasaka felt like resisting for a few minutes sounded like a sweet temptation. The damage reports were stockpiling on her desk in real time and she only managed to sit on her trusty chair a second ago.

"...if I burn the papers and leave not even the ashes, could it be possible to make it like they were never delivered?" Yasaka pondered with a serious face.

"There is no way that is true."

A familiar voice interrupted her thoughts by smacking her head.

"Ouch." Yasaka grunted from pain. "Asamiya... I am the ruler of the youkais of the west, a little respect would be..."

"My apologies, but you were acting unbecoming of one." Asamiya replied. "It reminded me of your younger self so I acted as I did back then."

Smiling wryly, Yasaka recalled those good old times, she met Saya back then and many things happened. The damned Forest Wraith caused a lot of headaches for her dear mother but he was there to let her part of this world at peace so Yasaka can only be grateful.

"Besides, that comment, I wonder if you are getting corrupted by spending so much time with that child..." Asamiya sighed. "My apologies, that was a rather uncouth comment considering his state."

Noticing the darkening expression on the other party, Asamiya swiftly apologized.

No matter how much the nine-tailed fox denied it, Yasaka shared a special bond with that nekomata, one that could not be easily explained, and despite their banters sometimes, Asamiya could recognize the budding feelings that Yasaka had been developing towards the boy. Considering her image, Asamiya wanted the blonde one to keep things under the table until he at least passed his first mating season, that way, strange rumors about their ruler's preference will not surface around the youkais. That said, Asamiya had noticed that the boy was rather considerate to not push it to that point, even resorting to humoring the situation to avoid any damage to Yasaka's reputation. Nonetheless, he was young and there had been times went he was too direct about his desire for the blonde kitsune.

Nora Shiki, the child of Saya Shiki, was a rather strange and precocious child in the eyes of many, but an experienced woman such as Asamiya could tell that he was more than that. It was at one time she had some time to observe him closely, Asamiya noticed his peculiarities. She ran investigations hidden from everyone and found several theories to explain his differences. Nonetheless, Asamiya was not willing to share it with anyone after Saya noticed her actions and even warned her, no, the correct words would be threatening to dispose of her. Asamiya had been baffled by the sudden outburst of animosity when she had not even been hostile to him, but she could understand the affection a mother had for her children so she mentioned it to her, but Saya did not allow her to finish, the nekoshou was adamant on trusting the boy to tell her if he had something to say and would wait all the time in the world until he was able to come true. Without a doubt, Saya had been aware of his strangeness, and sometime later Saya stood in front of her and stated that the boy would never harm Yasaka, Asamiya found it odd that she sounded excessively jealous about it, but decided to ignore it given the usual chaotic behavior of the nekoshou. The important issue was that she even dared to use the name of Yasaka's mother to bet that he was trustworthy and would benefit Urakyoto.

"...at this point, I am not sure if she was right or not, but he has proven to be able to go through a lot to save his people. If he could widen his range of protection, he would do well if he has to stand..." Asamiya mumbled in a low tone.

It was hard to deny how much the kitsune in front of her had gotten entangled with the boy, but the person in question seemed obvlious to it. Should Asamiya be glad that she did not foolishly let her desires blossom widely and make her instincts go wild, or should she feel sorry for the boy who gets constantly rejected? The point was that he was unconscious and it made Yasaka's mood dampen, even if he was safe, Asamiya noticed the state of his body. She can be certain that he managed to survive by nothing but a miracle. Asamiya could not use another term for it, after all, his enemy was vicious enough to aim for his heart. Given the size of the scar, Asamiya wondered if his enemy would be scared to know that he survived.

Thinking about it, Asamiya felt that his survival was necessary for others than Yasaka, the black spider and the kejoro will surely rampage if they were to learn he died. Two, only Saya and Forest Wraith were capable of making them able to reason. While they were usually time bombs in her opinion, Asamiya had to admit that Forest Wraith had great foresight in letting them live in Urakyoto since their presence prevented a great deal of destruction and casualties among the youkais, no matter how unwilling she was to admit it, that man was right. Movements outside Urakyoto had been something they did not try to mess with given how xenophobic humanity was in the past towards them, but that has proven to be a bad decision. Thinking until this point, Asamiya had a sudden idea that would solve the issues that plague her mind. How to deal with the boy and prove if he is every bit trusty as Saya had said, and Yasaka believes, as well as helping the helpless idiot of a leader that would end up rejecting the boy forever despite her changing heart.

"Yasaka-sama, I have an idea that will solve many of the issues you have at the moment." Asamiya offered.

Raising her head from the pile of papers, Yasaka's eyes seemed to suggest that she better not be lying to her.

"I could not help but notice how Shiki-sama had been able to influence several youkais more than you." Asamiya commented.

"...are you picking a fight?" Yasaka's eyebrow twitched in annoyance.

"Not at all, however, I have to say that I am impressed how he managed to put those wild girls under his thumb. You have to know, the children of the great tengu are a force to reckon with when they work together, but clearly lack a scenery to shine. That goes without saying, until recently, Urakyoto has been the very picture of peace." Asamiya stated in a calm tone.

Lazily resting her head on one arm, Yasaka awaited for Asamiya to get to the point. The older kitsune was getting older thus she became more chatty as time went by.

"The same could be said for the child you entrusted to Shiki-sama, Shizuku, she is also gifted in combat and her origins as the child of a land god make her someone with great potential. In a lesser grade, many of the younger kitsunes have shown a tendency to look for Shiki-sama for 'health check-ups' even though it was unnecessary, so you can understand how much influence he has on our younger ones." Asamiya sweated slightly as Yasaka made a dissatisfied expression.

Mentally apologizing for her blunder to the boy, Asamiya was unaware of Yasaka's lack of information on the subject.

"Ahem, I also recall how he managed to influence a group of nekomatas from the east faction, so perhaps we could see the flourishment of the nekomatas in the west, with Nora working..." Asamiya felt a chill when Yasaka glared at her so she did not finish her words.

Feeling a bit wronged, Asamiya wondered what was wrong with the nekomatas mating. It was nothing new since they were whimsical, to begin with, their reduced numbers made it so finding a strong mate was their priority. In that regard, having found Nora changed their gears given that they would prefer a partner from the same race, and while she could not guarantee if any of those girls will change her targets for a stronger person, judging from the fact that they held a secret meeting about moving out to Urakyoto (something she learned from the tengus who were monitoring them in case they caused mischief), Asamiya doubted it would happen. Besides, she had not told Yasaka yet since she was waiting for her to finish the ritual's arrangements, but several letters arrived a few days ago, one actually came with another directed to Asamiya, the sender was none other than Magari and the contents of the letter were... not going to please Yasaka.

"They are friends of Kuroka-chan, not Nora-kun, KUROKA-CHAN!" Yasaka smiled.

The lack of warmth in that smile made Asamiya wonder what the woman will say after learning about the letter.

"...my apologies for my mistake." Asamiya wisely did not push the topic. "Thus, my point is that he has a great influence, even the other day, that famous institution that teaches Valkyries was asking for permission to send Valkyries here to learn out ways and it happened after Shiki-sama went to break his engagement, so it must be his doing."

"...why do you usually speak harshly of him but now you seem oddly supportive of his endeavors?" Yasaka suspiciously asked.

"I was thinking of having him take care of a new unit in Urakyoto, one that will protect us from the outside. It would be wise to form one after all that happened, raising one would be better in long term and I believe he would be a good addition to it." Asamiya confessed.

Sighing, Yasaka massaged her temple slowly.

"He is unfit to follow orders..." Yasaka uttered.

"I do have a solution that would make him obedient." Asamiya spoke full of confidence.

Interested in the idea, Yasaka leaned forward to hear what Asamiya had to say. The older kitsune had lived a long time so she would surely come up with a great idea-

"Just tell him that you will marry him if he does a good job." Asamiya said.

She had to admit, Asamiya got her good. Yasaka felt her expectations crumble.

"...I have work to do so..." Yasaka slowly sunk into the paperwork.

"Tsk, I am not telling you to lie to him." Asamiya noticed the unwillingness Yasaka had towards the idea. "Just make things easier and tell him that not only Kunou-sama, but you also want to become his mate."

It was like a tsunami, the piles of paper fell from the desk and made a mess.

"This is why virgins are..." Asamiya sighed. "I think that the custom of having the nine-tailed give offspring by using the killing stone is partly to blame, but there had been some of your kin who had mates, you know?"

"...I could never do that to him." Yasaka's voice sounded depressed.

"Well, I do not mind what methods you use to get him to join, or even if you do not have him join at all, but I would recommend you to consider what I told you. It was sheer luck that those locked on the lowest floor were not released, but you should be aware that the attackers also focused their forces on the prison. There is only so much our forces can do, if we had an ace on our sleeves, they could've prevented the attack before it happened or at least intercept the attackers before they cause too much damage." Asamiya seriously said. "Besides... the killing stone is no more, you should know what that means, right...?"

Saying her peace, Asamiya was about to leave before a tengu rushed in.

"Yasaka-sama, it is an emergency! Shiki-sama is-"

Before the tengu finished saying anything, Yasaka had already rushed past him.

"How much will you fool yourself?" Asamiya's words caused the tengu to be unsure what to reply. "Explain what happened."

Listening to the tengu as he began talking, Asamiya got a general idea. Nora Shiki was gone.

...

...

...

The figure of a mature woman with black hair and light brown eyes could be seen walking around Urakyoto. She was not by herself but a pair of orange-haired girls followed after her every movement. Contrary to the neutral expressions from the duo who kept a close eye on her, the woman glanced around grimly. Shuri, who had come for a particular business, was being escorted by Kaguya and Yuzuru.

"So they attacked here as well." Shuri sighed.

"The casualties among the patrols were high compared to the regular citizen, thanks to their sacrifices not many of the non-combatant youkais suffered." Kaguya explained.

"...you will not tell me about him?" Shuri asked again.

"Rejection. We admit that you have a token with his personal emblem, and your face does look familiar. However, the decision will be left to Yasaka-sama. We are not in any position to hand that kind of information to a stranger." Yuzuru replied.

Groaning, Shuri hid her dissatisfaction. She had come in a hurry given the precarious circumstances that the Underworld was in. She was with her husband and daughter during the attack so she only found out about Zeoticus' situation when the attackers were pushed back from the Grigori. Thankfully for her, her husband was strong enough to defeat the threats they face with ease. The man was unusually aggressive and the attackers could not close in before being charred with lightning. Shuri could not rejoice for too long after learning that these types of attacks occurred worldwide. Once the communications were reestablished, her dear senpai, Grayfia, asked her for a favor. It was of extreme importance that she fetched Nora, the boy who had a vast knowledge of medicine and healing arts to see if he could help Zeoticus. However, Shuri learned that the youkai suffered not only one but two types of attacks. Her daughter Akeno threw a fit about wanting to come to see if Nora was alright, but she had to stay home in case anything happened. Her husband had duties to attend to and could not come with her thus Akeno had to stay with her father while Shuri need to look for Nora on her own. It was without saying that Barakiel was against the idea, clearly fearing another attack, but the Gremorys needed her help. The fact that Grayfia, secretly a budding supporter of Nora, could not come to fetch him herself proved that things were still grim on their side.

"What!? He is gone!? How....!?" Kaguya suddenly yelled.

Judging from her sudden outburst, Shuri guessed that she received a mental transmission.

"Yuzuru, you will take her to Yasaka-sama's place. I will join the search team." Kaguya immediately unfolded her wings and took off.

Biting her lips, Yuzuru could only accept the outcome since was a bit too late in reacting.

"...shall we go?" Shuri tactfully did not ask anything else.

Nodding at that, Yuzuru led the way.

Many buildings were half-destroyed or half-burned, but there were already some people (youkais) trying to repair them. Shuri felt several gazes land on her containing emotions such as curiosity, fear, or hostility. It might be because the attackers were humans like her, but an innocent person such as her had to pay the price. She wondered how this would affect the relationship between humans and youkais but there was not much she could do about it. It was not her job, to begin with, and she had no way of making a difference by herself. It pained her to think that her daughter might be subjected to those kinds of looks since she was a half-human, but she recalled that no matter what happened, the boy who saved them before will keep her safe if something happened. He might've rejected her serious proposal to offer her daughter's hand in marriage to him, but he was not the type to abandon others despite grumbling about not being a hero. She could understand why he considered himself to be someone far from the definition of one, and Shuri had an idea why, after all, Nora might have the purest definition of a hero in mind, so he can't accept his ways to be viewed as heroic. Nonetheless, Shuri could be certain that he will not abandon her daughter. The question was how to make them get closer. She gave that some thought every day.

Suddenly, she halted her steps. Her heartbeat quickened and felt sickened. A terrible feeling invaded her body when she turned her head in one direction. Shuri's memory could not fail her regarding that place, after all, that silly boy had offered her and her daughter such a big place to live. In the end, she rejected his goodwill with a knock on the head and a good scolding regarding the proper management of money. However, deep inside, she felt extremely grateful for his actions. Yet, the place that ended up becoming his house...

"This is awful..." Shuri was shocked and anger invaded her mind.

"Agreement. It is heartbreaking to see this place destroyed. I am afraid that whoever attacked this place was adamant about destroying it. Not only that, the remains were incinerated." Yuzuru added. "It is one of our biggest blunders."

Biting her lips, Shuri noticed the grim expression on the other party so she did not try to take her anger on her.

Not only her daughter will be saddened, but she can only imagine how devastated will be Nora. Shuri was certain that he will never show it, but his attachment to it was great. She once visited and happened to catch him during a time she was measuring the girls' height and marking their growth on a door frame. His gaze at that time was gentle and he smiled brightly as he touched those marks. The way he smugly told the girls that he could guess how tall they will grow to be was a big hit among her daughter so she swiftly took a picture for her little girl to keep, although it somehow became a big hit in her workplace, even earning her a few goods, Grayfia being one of the providers.

A subtle noise caught her attention and from the look of Yuzuru's wary (?) expression (hard to tell given her poor reactions), Shuri did not imagine it. She could tell that the only reason the orange-haired girl did not dash to check the origin of it was that Yuzuru was keeping an eye on her. Deciding to check out the noise, they soon came up upon an unsteady figure covered in bandages. It was an unmistakable figure so they both recognized it right away. He was covered in soot and ashes, and his open eyes were unfocused, however, Nora was right there.

"Nora-kun!?" Shuri covered her mouth in horror after noticing him.

Her first reaction was to dash forward to him but Yuzuru was faster, and Shuri was beaten to the punch. To be precise, Yuzuru passed her and blocked her with a wary (?) expression.

"Warning. Do not take another step." Yuzuru spoke.

Immediately, she pulled a token and whispered a few things to it.

"...it is late... I need to..." Nora, who seemed obvlious to his surroundings, unsteadily walked while mumbling in a low tone.

That caused the young woman and Shuri- urgh, the TWO YOUNG WOMEN, THE TWO, to focus on the boy's actions.

"What is he saying...?" Shuri wondered. "What is he doing?"

"...hungry... they must be..." Nora's hands moved from one place to another like he was picking something.

"...Doubt. This is the kitchen, no, this was the kitchen, he seems to be preparing... breakfast." Yuzuru mumbled in a confused tone.

The girl seemed unsure, but the sadness in her eyes proved that she felt bad looking at the boy.

"He needs to be in bed." Shuri said.

Nodding at that, Yuzuru moved closer to Nora in order to call out to him, but he reacted by turning around and smiling.

"...Yuzuru-san? You came, good, I made extra portions today." Nora mumbled.

His eyes were half-opened and despite looking at Yuzuru, the boy seemed to be lost in some sort of dreamscape. His actions wouldn't be strange if the building was in good condition, but his hands were holding cooking utensils that were either charred or covered in soot.

Biting her lips, Yuzuru felt troubled.

"...Allow me to speak to him before you try to touch him. He seems to be in some sort of trance and he could hurt himself if he reacts unexpectedly bad. You could also hurt him if he gets rowdy, and you don't want that, do you?" Shuri used a gentle tone.

Trying to persuade Yuzuru, the older- AHHH, THE YOUNGER WOMAN, Shuri used simple reasoning. Yuzuru did not know where to put her hands and accepted rather easily. The more they looked the more they found it hard to stomach. For some reason he was bleeding from several places, his wounds must've worsened as he moved in that delicate state.

"Nora-kun? Sweetie, what are you doing here?" Shuri asked.

"...you came too, Shuri-san, did Akeno-chan come too? Oh, maybe Rias-chan came as well. There won't be enough sweets for all, I need to make their favorites." Nora mumbled.

Like he was in a hurry, Nora moved faster around the kitchen (?) to prepare everyone's desired sweets. However, his sudden movements caused severe strains in his body, and cracking noises that should not be heard coming from a person were heard.

"Wait, wait, before you start... preparing everything. There is something I want to ask you." Shuri hastily stopped him.

Her words were gentle and her tone never was loud, Shuri made sure to be as kind as possible so she did not agitate him. His clothes, a white haori, and hakama were getting redder by the minute as more blood began leaking from his wounds.

"...do you want something in particular? I have been learning how to make good Udon lately so you can give it a try." Nora offered.

Gulping her saliva, Shuri's mind could not help but imagine the dish, but she dispelled those thoughts as soon as she saw something leaking from Nora.

"...miasma?" Shuri wondered. "Ahem, you see, I want to know what you are doing here?"

"What a silly question, I have to make food for the girls." Nora replied instantly.

A little baffled, Shuri was not sure how to reply to what she heard. His body was in bad condition, enough to straggler with each step, yet his desire to take care of those girls pushed him this far. It made her consider sending Akeno more often to see him. Shuri sensed a pair of eyes staring unfriendly at her and that caused her to cough in embarrassment.

"Nora-kun, where are the girls?" Shuri asked.

Her question made Nora furrow his eyebrows and his expression turned complicated, at the same time, Shuri noticed how the air around him turned colder. The miasma, the dark mist leaking from Nora, was growing in density.

"The girls are..." Nora held his head with one hand.

"Nora-kun, why don't you come with me?" Shuri extended a hand toward him.

"Suspicion. If you had offered him a candy..." Yuzuru muttered in a low tone.

Feeling a headache, Shuri decided that she would lose if she reacted.

"...I have to...no, where are they?" Nora grimaced.

"It's ok. I can take you to them. Just... come with me." Shuri slowly said.

"No, no, no! I have to..." Nora's eyes turned red.

Inwardly clicking her tongue, Shuri knew that things were going south. However, she refused to hurt him.

"Warning, if you try anything..." Yuzuru's tone sounded menacing. "We need to take our leave, Yasaka-sama will arrive in a second."

"Even if that is the case, can you bear to turn your back to him?" Shuri muttered in a questioning tone.

Biting her lips, Yuzuru did not answer.

Shaking her head, Shuri pulled a few paper talismans. Trying to exorcise him forcefully was not an option since she would hurt him. For now, she would seal the miasma and later use a ritual to deal with it. Perhaps bringing Suzaku to help her would be necessary if the situation got worse.

Step by step she got closer to Nora who was ready to lose control. His ki (?) a mix of white and black was also leaking, causing plants to grow slowly but crooked. It caused Shuri to feel dizzy and the negative emotions were making her have trouble going forward. However, despite the hostility he was showing, Shuri could feel an emotion that she knew very well. One that made her feel ashamed because she never considered he could have it. Shuri always thought of him as brave and straightforward, yet, the boy might be the type to hesitate often and feel insecure.

A waving motion was heard and Shuri felt a gentle breeze enveloping her. The ki stopped affecting her and she saw someone standing next to her.

"...Understanding. I can tell you are not bad." Yuzuru quietly said. "I will hold him down."

Saying that, Yuzuru waved a feathered fan she summoned. The wind it caused made the miasma scatter temporally so Shuri took an ofuda and put it on Nora, however, he reacted violently and ripped it off, hissing angrily.

Already expecting such a response, Shuri used more talismans.

They were a standard type of talisman used to assist in a variety of spells so they lacked what other specialized talismans had, they were not going to be as effective. Nonetheless, Shuri could not do anything about it. She did not expect to face a situation such as this and she had already used most of her talisman's stash during the conflict before.

His movements were somewhat sealed by a barrier of wind around him, but he was getting anxious and using his body to go through it.

There was a pause and two minds seemed to think of the same thing, Yuzuru threw her body towards Nora with oddly practiced movements. Shuri felt the need to question that girl for the future of Akeno, but she also pulled closer to Nora.

Once again, Shuri questioned why the girl used the chance to hug Nora, however, since Yuzuru used her body to shield Nora from the fall, Shuri will turn a blind eye to it... for now.

Now on the floor (on top of Yuzuru), Nora had a harder time moving since he was held down. Shuri used her talismans and began chanting a spell to make him sleep. Her actions meant well, but they caused a terrible reaction.

"I won't sleep! I won't yield to it!" Nora's unwilling voice came out strongly.

Even with Yuzuru and Shuri doing their best, Nora slipped from their hold. He took a stance, ready to pounce at a moment's notice.

"It won't work on me, I won't allow it!" Nora spoke.

His tone was desperate and Shuri could tell that there was a story behind it, however, she got back on her feet. The aura Nora was giving off was getting bizarre and her instincts as a priestess were telling her that it was not from a good origin. There were many questions about why Nora ended up like this, but she did not have time to think about it.

While Shuri considered using more extreme methods, she saw Yuzuru sigh in relief, the reason being shown soon enough. Yasaka showed her face and grimly observed Nora. Hesitating briefly, Yasaka pushed forward two figures. Said figures seemed to be only holding back because Yasaka had not allowed them to move forward.

Dashing without regard for their safety, Shuri tried to stop the cat girls she recognized but contrary to her belief, the miasma and the bizarre aura that Nora was exhibiting, disappeared. They threw themselves at him and they all fell to the ground. Nora's eyes which were clouded and looked like he was out of it became clearer, he passed out after looking at the two.

"...I am not sure what to say about this." Shuri sighed.

"There is not much to say, I reckon that any other way would've caused him to get hurt." Yasaka spoke. "I welcome you, Shuri-san, I heard about it, you came looking for that child's assistance. However, I am afraid that it won't be possible for the time being."

Biting her lips, Shuri could tell that it was not a trick so she could only hang her head low.

"I cannot send you back like that, please have at least a cup of tea with me. I am sure that you have questions about him that are not part of the duty they put on you." Yasaka mumbled.

Using several hand signs, a magic circle appeared below the whole group and they soon were teleported to a neat room.

"It is an empty room used for others to relax so there is no need to be formal here." Yasaka offered. "Yuzuru, you should go look for your sister, she should be still looking frantically for Nora-kun."

Not daring to look Yasaka in the eye, Yuzuru simply nodded and hastily left. Her actions made Yasaka sigh tiredly.

"They grew to be very nice girls, but dealing with their rebellious phase is never easy." Yasaka smiled wryly.

"Hmmm, a boy." Shuri identified the issue.

"Quite so, although on this occasion, I will say that he has done only half of the job, Saya did the other part." Yasaka shook her head.

Looking at the unconscious Nora and how Kuroka and Shirone did not dare to move away from Nora, Yasaka left them alone. Her worries were sky high, but she did not dare to try and separate them afraid that he would act like before again.

"...somehow, I feel like that person's actions will be a huge trouble for him the more he grows." Shuri pondered aloud.

Shuddering slightly, Yasaka was momentarily lost in her thoughts before facepalming herself.

"Oh, Saya, do you hate me?" Yasaka helplessly stared at Nora. "That ticking bomb of a woman, she will not come charging here all of sudden, would she?"

Looking at the distressed Yasaka, Shuri tactfully decided to not say a word. Sometimes silence was gold. Besides, Shuri got the feeling that involving herself with this topic will bring her endless headaches.

"*Sigh* Shall we get to the point?" Yasaka made her way to one corner of the room and took several tools arranged on a table, starting to prepare the tea as she continued to talk.

"The Grigori and the Underworld were affected pretty badly. Large story short, a group of cultists brought immense damage to us. Many important people went either missing or got hurt, some even died." Shuri explained.

"There were other places affected. I have my people looking into it, but one of the most eye-catching news they brought me was the destruction of the church's HQ, the Vatican. They also attacked several facilities." Yasaka rubbed her chin. "I have yet to collect information on other sides, but I get the feeling that there was a severe focus on their forces."

The preparation of the tea was done swiftly with practiced movements, each step was done elegantly but she did not look like she was forcing herself to do it that way. Yasaka seemed to be used to following proper etiquette even if she was preparing something as simple as a tea for a non-serious talk.

"The Vatican has been a terrifying force, despite their large area of influence, they manage to have enough forces to hunt down 'heretics' or help people in need." Shuri said bitterly. "An organization composed of humans can only last so long against beings who surpass their very limits can only be called strong, and there is no doubt that they have large numbers of Sacred Gear users under them... yet."

"Yet, they suffered such large damage. On this side, the biggest ruckus was during a certain ritual we partake in once in a while. However, after dealing with it, I admit that I let my guard down, there was an attack going on my own yard." Yasaka poured the tea on a pair of tea cups and placed one close to Shuri.

"...I see. I guess things could be somehow explained for the most part." Shuri sighed.

There was much more to the story regarding the attack and Nora's injuries, but Shuri had to ask going by priority.

"Yasaka-san, I came here to request Nora's assistance. We need his abilities." Shuri spoke.

"Rejected, that child is in no condition to leave. He must not leave this building." Yasaka uttered in a serious tone.

Already expecting such a thing, Shuri sipped her tea. It had a gentle flavor so Shuri found herself drinking it fully without stopping.

"...wait."

A tired tone of voice was barely audible, but the two ladies both turned their heads to see the speaker.

Seated, with two asleep cats resting on his lap, Nora called out. He looked tired, different from before, he was conscious this time. 

Without waiting for anything else, Yasaka almost jumped on Nora, stopping only a few centimeters from him.

The nine-tailed fox seemed to be hesitating about touching him due to his injuries, no, Shuri could tell from her face that there was something else.

"...you shouldn't let it bother you. You are not the bad one, I am." Nora seemed to read her thoughts. "I have said it before, I am a self-centered scum. I acted on my own, and this is the result. Even if you lock me up for disobeying your orders before, I will not get mad. I..."

Nora could not continue speaking because Yasaka took him into her arms. Shuri decided to close her eyes tactfully when she caught a glance at their reactions. Yasaka was silently shredding tears as she hugged the boy, and while he was taken aback, his eyes teared up as well. Shuri gave them some time to calm down, although she inwardly took a notice of the subtle mood they had. The last time she visited the boy, there was not this sense of closeness between the two. She wondered if she should rearrange her danger list for Akeno, given how Yasaka was closer to him after the catgirls, an investigation was required. On the other hand, she could leave this to someone else. Her sempai could get the job done, she just had to mention that Yasaka had 'that' kind of interest towards Nora and-

"Fufufu, that is a great idea if I say so myself." Shuri whispered in amusement.

The hug was cut short by that statement, Yasaka backing away awkwardly. The kitsune probably feeling like her actions had caused her a future headache decided to act as if nothing happened.

"I know you want the best for me. I know it, and I am certain that what I usually do is enough to make you mad. However, there are things I must do." Nora said.

"...why are you telling me this? Aren't you just going to escape if I don't let you do as you please?" Yasaka mumbled in a dissatisfied tone.

"Now now, don't sulk. Yasaka-san, no matter if you look incredibly cute like that, I am not going to back down." Nora replied.

"...you, argh." Yasaka sighed.

Unfortunately for Shuri, she missed what happened because she wanted to respect their private time so she could not see Nora's hand slowly intertwining with Yasaka, who tried to resist at first but let him do it when he praised her. Without a doubt, Shuri lost an incredible moment, but she was unaware, otherwise, she would be rolling on the ground regretfully. However, by the time she opened her eyes, Nora looked full of hope for the future and Shuri couldn't put her finger where she saw a similar expression before.

"First of all, how is Akeno-tan?" Nora asked.

Smiling at that, Shuri recalled her sulky daughter that wanted to come with her.

"She is doing fine, although she was very worried about you." Shuri meaningfully stared at Nora.

The boy looked away and scratched his cheek.

"Keep it a secret." Nora muttered.

"I wonder, what should I do~? On one hand, she will be worried, but on the other hand... she could come here and take care of you~" Shuri happily said.

"Don't. I don't think you should do that. Things are... a little complicated." Nora frowned.

The two women had question marks on top of their heads, but Nora never explained.

"What happens when you tear those summoning papers? If the devil is unreachable, the spell gets canceled, or the person will know about it later?" Nora suddenly said.

"I am afraid I do not know, but I could ask Grayfia-sempai about it." Shuri answered by reflex.

"...no, it is ok. I will go with you, but not yet. I have some things to take care of first." Nora mumbled. "If she learns of how many times I tried to ask for her help and never got a reply, Grayfia-san will..."

Grimly mumbling in a hushed tone, Nora sighed afterward.

"Yasaka-san, those children, are they still in Urakyoto?" Nora asked.

Bothered with what her ears caught before, Yasaka did not reply at once. The boy had to wave his hand in front of her for Yasaka to finally react.

"They are being treated as guests, they are resting in this building as well, but... that magician girl..." Yasaka hesitated to continue.

"First, take me there." Nora said.

...

"Is it alright? To carry those two with your injuries...." Shuri said.

Following Nora and Yasaka due to her worries, she felt troubled all the way as Nora carried the two sleeping cats with him.

"It would be difficult to awake them. I reckon that these two must be exhausted. Besides, I don't want to part with them just yet." Nora muttered.

At those words that showed heartfelt emotion, Shuri could not say anything else. She now finally understood why Yasaka simply accepted it. It was months later that she learned about Nora's exploits, and she would scold him severely, much to his surprise.

"It is in this room, I put the boys on one side and the girls on another." Yasaka said.

"Wait, espera solo un momento." Nora hastily stopped the kitsune.

Just when she was about to open the door, the boy reacted.

"Shouldn't we knock first or announce our presence? It is not like we have to burst in even if you own the place right? Think about privacy." Nora stressed.

Listening to him, Yasaka wanted to roll her eyes. However, thinking about it, Yasaka recalled his unique luck so she listened to him. As nonsensical as the things he says are, Yasaka believed that his luck was one of a kind.

Lightly 'knocking', Yasaka waited for a bit to give them time to get ready before bursting right in.

"Ah..." Nora's feeble voice reached her, but Yasaka was not sure what he meant until she entered the room followed by Nora and Shuri.

Nowhere to be seen, Sae was absent. However, two shadows were fumbling around with their garments, or rather, the two girls had trouble putting their haoris, completely lacking their hakamas.

"Ehhhhhhhh!?" "Kya!!!"

Their voices were incredibly loud, but a person sleeping deeper into the room did not even react, and the cat girls being carried by Nora just made themselves more comfortable with him.

"Ara~" Shuri simply put a hand on her cheek with an unnecessarily amused expression (Nora considered it as such).

"I knew it..." Nora's tone sounded dispirited.

"Get out!!!" Natsume's angry tone was directed at the boy.

"Sweety, you have a very healthy body, soft looking skin, your proportions are very... gifted as well, however, you think I, as a doctor, have not seen beautiful girls naked!? Do not need to be shy!" Nora replied. "Besides, you peeped on me naked on the bath before so we are equal, no wait, to be equals I need to jump on you while you are completely defenseless, and as I pin you down, let my body rub on you- Mugh!?"

As red as humanly possible, Natsume used swift strides to get close to Nora and seal his mouth with her hands. That said, the other woman in the room were already giving her strange looks. Even her friend, Shigune was no different. The girls half naked were intruded upon while changing, but it turned out that the boy end up getting labeled as the victim instead. Natsume knew that the script was wrong but given what happened back then, she could not deny his claims.

"Hii!!!" Natsume hastily pulled her hand back. "You licked it!?"

A little shocked and embarrassed, Natsume dumbfoundedly saw her hand and Nora alternatively.

"I hate losing." Nora shrugged his shoulders.

Hearing his nonchalant tone, Natsume lost the energy to retort she just gathered. The group hit the bed as soon as they arrived at Urakyoto and just barely woke up. An attendant of Yasaka, or she called herself as such made sure to leave them a change of clothes while also offering to guide them to have a bath and some breakfast, however, only the boys were tempted by the food while Sae wanted to take a bath so they left first. Shigune did not feel like leaving Lavinia all alone so she wanted to stay back, while Natsume-

"Why didn't you knock!?" Natsume accused.

The girl was worried about the boy, and while that sentiment was shared among all of them, Natsume was afraid of something changing on him after the 'ritual' the women from before did. After they vanished, Natsume thought everything was over, but she found a note hidden in her pocket without being aware of when it was put there. The message was simple, 'this isn't over, we will contact you later' along with a warning about the possibility of Nora turning back into that giant creature again. That left her incredibly worried, but she was not sure if she should share this with anyone just yet. For once, Natsume felt a little distrust for the words on the note and how it would cause Yasaka to be on guard against her, which in turn will lead her to cut off their contact.

"How could you not listen when we called!?" Nora spoke.

"I don't know!!!" Natsume shouted. "You guys suddenly barged in here."

"Ah, I forgot that I put a sound-blocking barrier so they could rest without interruptions." Yasaka interrupted.

Recalling briefly, Natsume thought back about that attendant from before, she also barged in.

"So it was you!!!" X2 Natsume and Nora turned to Yasaka at the same time.

Pointing at Yasaka, the duo showed perfect synchronization.

Feeling like apologizing would put her in a weak position, Yasaka held her head high.

"My actions were not meant to cause harm. I was thinking that they needed some rest so I wanted them to have it undisturbed." Yasaka explained.

Groaning in response, Natsume could not find any fault in that statement.

"...if you are not honest, I might accidentally mix up the sugar with salt on one of your sweets, and I will not tell you which one will be." Nora narrowed his eyes.

"ARE YOU A DEVIL!?" Yasaka almost fainted in horror.

"...yup." Nora shrugged his shoulders.

Using this chance while everyone was busy, Shigune dressed up even as she struggled to get her haori in place. Noticing this, Nora left Yasaka who was on the verge of having an emotional breakdown.

"You tied this incorrectly, here, let me fix it." Nora offered, although his hands already were in action.

Using his tails to skillfully stick the catgirls to his back, the boy had his hands free to act. Even though Shigune felt shy, his actions had no second intention so she felt slightly relieved, not to mention, she always felt that he was a warm individual who liked to take care of others so she let him take care of her. That said, she was still feeling shy since there were a couple of times his fingers touched her skin while he rearranged her clothing correctly and it caused her to feel strange.

A little dumbfounded about everything that was happening, Shuri decided to level up Akeno's bride training. The boy was terrifying, he already had two teenagers (females) meekly (?) following his words. Not to mention, the slip of tongue from earlier could be interpreted in many ways and Shuri was not innocent enough to not understand when a subtle relationship starts. She could not let her guard down, Shuri already saw how strong competitors were the cat girls. Not to mention, Yasaka's daughter had support from Yasaka herself, someone with great influence over Nora.

In a moment of insight, Shuri had a great idea (?), a revelation of sorts. She had to accept that the possibility of a harem was high, so instead of trying to push her daughter forward as the only option... she could make it so the Himejimas are the favorites. As they say, playing fire with fire, two cats on one side so there will be two Himejimas on the other. Suzaku is undoubtedly after Nora, Shuri extorted- kindly asked her precious family member so she knew about it. It would be like killing two birds with one stone, that way she won't have to worry about who to support and could openly push them both.

With her eyebrow twitching, Natsume glanced at the myriad of expressions on Shuri's face and she concluded that the woman was up to no good, but she could not tell what the problem was.

"So, how long do you plan to show your body to me? I won't deny that the view is rather nice, but do you want to get labeled as a perverted exhibitionist?" Nora called out.

Immediately, Natsume reacted by covering her body shyly.

"Idiot! You can show a bit of self restrain and cover your eyes, you are the pervert!" Natsume scolded.

"Oh dear, I sure am." Nora easily accepted his title. "Now then, come here, don't be shy, I don't bite..."

Moving his hands in a rather wicked manner, Nora slowly made his way toward Natsume. It caused the girl to get embarrassed and get teary-eyed.

"N-No..." Natsume weakly said.

Somehow, she could not feel the strength to escape.

Closing her eyes fearfully, she let her mind run wild, but none of the crazy images her brain explicitly described became a reality. The boy simply helped her to get dressed and his hands behaved the whole time.

"If you are scared, don't let me get close to you. I am not a proper person." Nora muttered in a low tone.

"...that is not true." Natsume retorted at once. "Even after going through all that, I believe that you are a good person. My opinion of you never changed."

"You are a fool, I could be tricking you. What if I am feigning a gentlemen's facade just so I make you lower your guard." Nora whispered.

Obvlious of both, Shigune was observing carefully from her earlier position.

"You are a good boy." Natsume said.

"...is that so? Do you still think the same thing?" Nora replied.

His hands slipped slightly inside her almost completely fixed outfit and caressed her belly button. Natsume felt a shudder course her skin and the strange sensation made her feel strange. The girl held back a moan and bit her lips so no sound leaked.

"I could be playing around with you." Nora's eyes were oddly dark as he said this.

Many thoughts course Natsume's head, but she recalled her past actions. Slowly raising her hand, she formed a fist and lightly bumped his head.

"If you are being bad, I will correct your behavior." Natsume said. "However, I will accept you even if you turn evil as you said. Regardless of what everyone thinks of you, I will be your ally..."

"Even though you are just Minagawa-san, you are being cheeky..." Nora lowered his head, hiding a blush. "That can be confusing in this kind of situation..."

Freezing, Natsume started to feel like her words were a little inappropriate, but she could not tell exactly where she went wrong. Instead, she felt like the situation when you make Nora bashful was rare so-

"Don't be so distant. No need to call me like that, use my name. N-A-T-S-U-M-E, ok?" Natsume raised his chin with her index finger and flashed a smile.

"Hmm." Nora meekly nodded.

"You know, I am sorry to interrupt. However, even if he is not bound by human laws, youkais do technically have their own set of rules. For youkais like him or I, you cannot cross that bridge until the second mating season." Yasaka, who had recovered (barely) from her shock, spoke in an unusually annoyed tone. "So I would like to advise you from taking things further."

"Ara ara~ Youth~ How nostalgic, but Miss, you should know that there is a peaking order to follow, my girl-"

"Etto, Shuri-san, if we are mentioning a peaking order, my girl is actually first, I even spoke with his mother about it." Yasaka explained with a kind smile (?).

"Ara? Is that so? I do recall one time when Nora and you were discussing the same topic and he said that Saya-san never agreed to it." Shuri smiled kindly (?) in response.

Like a cat whose tail was stepped on, Natsume jumped backward out of fear from the aura that the two mothers were exuding. However, faithful to his fate as a troublemaker or bad luck bearer, Nora was holding a particular piece of clothing that held her outfit together. Like magic, her outfit came undone and her body was shown all at once.

"Awawa." Shigune saw this from a certain distance. "S-So this is how outspoken girls try to get their crush to like them. A-As expected, it is a little too bold for me, but... I will learn it as a reference!"

Her blush could be seen from her ears since she was covering her face with her fingers, but she was peeking from the gasp of her fingers attentively.

"...I think your underwear is a bit too small. I will get you something later." Nora recovered and shamelessly commented. "As expected of someone who looks thinner in clothes, you surpassed the person who brought you clothes' expectations."

At this time...

Natsume.exe stopped working.

...

...

...

Among glares from the mother duo, Natsume meekly let Nora swiftly help her put on the outfit again. However, just when she took a seat in a corner of the room with a red face, Shigune, who also followed suit, asked her why she had not allowed Yasaka or Shuri to help her instead. Natsume hung her head low and covered her face with both hands, too ashamed to raise it. Shigune noticed her blunder and heard the low mutters from Natsume accusing her of the same thing so Shigune also hung her head low with a flustered expression.

Regardless of Yasaka's unusual jealous gaze, Nora acted as if nothing happened. It was dawning on him that apologizing to the kitsune without a bribe- ahem, without a proper gift, will only make her sulk more. He inwardly blamed himself since he made her too attached to his sweets.

"Look at you, sleeping so peacefully." Nora sighed.

Kneeling on one side of Lavinia, he carefully checked her pulse and other vitals.

"That bitch used a spell... Hmmm..." Nora mumbled aloud.

Everyone in the room felt the unusual anger when he referred to a certain person so they dared not to speak.

Raising his hand above Lavinia, Nora closed his eyes and soon beads of sweat began running down his face, but nothing happened.

"It is no good huh." Nora sighed. "How about this? Gather..."

Repeating his actions, this time at a visible rate, a white glow began to gather until it formed a pale ball of white light, when that happened, Nora stopped and gestured his hand around Lavinia, yet she did not even stir.

"...having Astral Dress Break sounds awfully useful right now." Nora slumped his shoulders. "My concoctions were turned to cinders so I will have to make everything from scratch. I guess I will use Kaa-san's workshop. Hmm, I feel like I am forgetting something... AH!"

Suddenly yelling made everyone in the room jump, they were surprised when he suddenly raised his voice, but he simply put his hand on Shirone's neck and searched until he pulled a pendant with a green magatama attached to it. Natsume and Shigune were clueless about it, but Yasaka and Shuri's eyes lit up, they seemed to have an idea of what the boy had in mind.

"Alright, you and I have our difference, my problem being how cozy you get with my girls, but you will help me out, right?" Nora stared deeply at the pendant.

Like it heard him, but felt offended by his words, it began jumping around.

"Huh? What do you mean with 'I am your best ally, I am the only thing you need'?" Nora scowled at the pendant, holding it by the string, Nora let it freely jump around. "Don't go Yandere on me, young lady. You can help out this child, can't you?"

A little angry (?) it began shaking and then stopped its movements altogether.

"Huh? Wait, if you think that she is a good child worth helping, why don't you help her? Are you sulking?"

Observing Nora's... unique conversation, the other people in the room were not sure what to say.

"Shuri-san, are you seeing the same thing as me?" Yasaka asked in an uncertain tone.

"...I am." Shuri replied.

"Have you ever seen or heard of a user of 'those' communicating with them?" Yasaka asked.

"I have not." Shuri mumbled.

You are reading story Highschool DxD: A new opportunity at novel35.com

Nodding in understanding, Yasaka turned her head to Shuri and smiled.

"I must be dreaming then." Yasaka said.

"No, don't go running away from reality." Shuri retorted. "I don't believe it is a bad thing. Given its long history, I would say that it is possible to gain consciousness or perhaps..."

While Yasaka stopped thinking about it to avoid more headaches, Shuri's mind continued to think of possibilities.

"Besides, you were so cozy with Rossweisse-san! I didn't see you sulking back then." Nora complained. "Oh, because you came to know her through me? Then what, you will not help anyone you don't know? Aren't you picky? I heard the mirror is more helpful for others, perhaps I should look for it..."

He did not finish saying those words before the pendant threw itself at Lavinia.

Watching his sadistic smile when the pendant did as he suggested (?), Shuri felt some kinship and got a clue about his tastes. Her mind turned and ideas for Akeno sprang out.

Stirring in her sleep, Lavinia seemed to react to the glow that the pendant gave off. Her eyelids trembled and she finally opened her eyes.

"Time to wake up, Sleeping Beauty." Nora muttered and took the pendant.

After he confirmed that she was awake, he stood up and prepared to leave.

Lavinia's eyes seemed unfocused and she did not notice him leaving, although his voice reached her ears.

"...aren't you going to stay until she is fully awakened?" Yasaka asked as Nora was about to cross the door to leave.

"...no need, if I stay, I might make her misunderstand that I was taking care of her. Besides, it was not me who cured her, but the magatama, staying to receive her thanks would be inappropriate." Nora mumbled. "Nanadaru-san, Natsume-san, I will prepare breakfast so gather the others in case they have not eaten, I would like to have a few words with you guys. Yasaka-san, Shuri-san, my apologies, but I would like it to be a private conversation. That said, you are welcome to join us for breakfast."

Without waiting for anyone to reply, he just left.

Awkwardly staring at each other, the women were not sure how to proceed given that they were not that familiar with one another.

"...he left." Lavinia broke the awkward silence.

Natsume and Shigune hastily made their way to their companion in order to see if she was ok. However, Lavinia was the very picture of health. She simply waved to the two to give her some space so she could sit by herself, but the duo still helped her to sit.

"Eh... He said he had things to do, busy with... Eh..." Natsume inwardly cursed her inability to come up with an excuse at this moment.

"It is ok. I was listening to what he said." Lavinia calmly said.

"Are you not angry?" Yasaka asked in a curious tone.

The kitsune wondered what kind of relationship this child had with Nora, she could tell that Lavinia usually tried to act as an older sister to the boy, and she had seen it in person, but she wondered if there was something more.

"Nora-kun, no matter what, he is kind deep down." Lavinia smiled. "Back then, I still forced my way up the mountain and faced Augusta, despite his repeated warnings. Yet... he still came to my rescue."

There was a mixture of guilt, sadness, and even joy as Lavinia mentioned what happened before. No one in the room knew the full story, but they could tell that Lavinia went through a lot.

"He knew so much about me, but... I am ashamed to say that I know nothing about him. If it is not much to ask, would you mind telling me stories about him?" Lavinia asked.

Her eyes directed at Yasaka held a great amount of hope, Natsume and Shigune also turned their head towards Yasaka and their intent was obvious.

"Listen, if he has not told you a thing, there is no way I will tell myself. If he gets angry at me, that would be bad. Believe it or not, the person who knows more about him, aside from Saya, is Kuroka-chan. However, that girl is unwilling to share what she knows, no matter what bribe I give her. She promised him, so she will never break her word."

The kitsune explained, mixing some lies with truth.

"I have to ask you though... Can't you accept your current relationship with him? Do you have to ask? Even if knowing will change the way how you see him?" Yasaka spoke in a somber tone.

Not daring to butt in, Shuri remained as a spectator, her husband Barakiel had already investigated the crush of his little darling so he managed to dig in a bit about his past, although the specifics were never stated, using the pieces of information he managed to acquire, Barakiel spoke with her about and concluded that at some point, Nora was kidnapped and held captive. The rest, he never explained it to her, but he would give a regretful look to Nora from time to time, one containing pity. The information regarding that was intentionally hidden so she could not find out on her own, and even her sempai gave her a deadly look just when she asked.

"I understand." Lavinia obediently did not press for answers.

With a little effort, she managed to stand up.

"I will ask him myself." Lavinia muttered.

"Eh? That's it? You are not going to ask anymore?" Natsume inquired a little flustered.

The girl also desired to know, but she felt ashamed of the occurrences from before and doubted that she was looked at with kind eyes. It was also a little awkward for her to ask Nora so she did not want the opportunity to be wasted.

"Yasaka-sama is correct, I must do this in person with the person involved present." Lavinia tumbled a little but she still managed to walk. "Two more things, Yasaka-sama."

Bowing slightly, Lavinia opened her mouth again.

"You have my gratitude for offering me shelter after I was left in that state, I am truly thankful." Lavinia respectfully said.

"It was nothing, you are friends to him, so it was the least I can do." Yasaka replied.

"...Yasaka-sama, with all due respect. I can certainly accept how things are now, I can keep my distance, I can act like nothing bad happened, and never pursue any deeper relationship with him. That is true, it would be easy. However, I don't think it is right. Nora-kun needs something more than a normal relationship. I shamelessly called myself his older sister, but I am unfit to call myself such, especially after I failed to believe in his words. Nonetheless, I want that to change, I want to be able to believe in his words, to never doubt what he says. For that, I need to know about him as much as I can, but I will never judge him, do not make that mistake. I will make this vow with you present, and if I ever go back on it, my life is yours to take. I will be his ally! That much, I assure you I will never fail to accomplish."

Narrowing her eyes, Yasaka glared at the usually airheaded girl. Not caring about her earlier patient state, Yasaka released enough pressure to burden the blonde-haired girl.

"Big words." Yasaka said. "However, how much of that you can actually accomplish? I will warn you right here and now. If you ever hurt him, dying will be what you will desire. If you plan to play a silly game, I don't mind it. He will let you act as you please, but if you bury yourself in his heart and you hurt him deeply... I will make you pay three-fold."

The kindness that the kitsune showed was nowhere to be seen and despite not being subjected to it, Natsume felt like those words weighed on her. She wondered if she had enough resolution to actually be his ally regardless of the situation.

"I will stay by his side. Mark my words..." Lavinia spoke in a tone full of resolution.

Biting her lips, Natsume doubted herself, did she have the same desire as Lavinia? Was she desiring such a thing that strongly? No, that was not the point, measuring and comparing herself to others was wrong.

In the middle of such a serious conversation, a loud sound with an unbelievable origin caused everyone to freeze.

*GROOOOOOOWL*

Everyone turned their heads and saw Shigune holding her stomach.

"I-I a-am sorry..." Shigune spoke in a mosquito tone of voice.

Smiling wryly, Yasaka stood up.

"Shall we eat something?" Yasaka inquired.

Everyone nodded in response.

----------

3rd Person POV

Hollowing herself inside an abandoned house, a girl of about 10 years old watched a young woman of 18 hold a baby, they were her sister (baby) and the woman in charge of an orphanage. There was another girl supposed to be with them, but she was no more. None had a clean appearance, and they had some injuries covering their bodies.

"I am sorry... they are after me."

The girl apologized to the woman, but the woman, a little dirty and covered in wounds simply shook her head.

"I could never leave a couple of children to fend for themselves."

The woman consoled in a kind tone.

"The orphanage was burned down because of us."

"There was no one inside so you don't have to feel bad, I am glad that we could escape here."

The woman shared her opinion, but nonetheless, it was optimistic, too much if you asked the girl, after all-

"Boss, they must be hiding here."

"This one is a lucky find, don't you dare to harm the girl. She has a unique type of blood so she will sell for a good amount of money."

"What do you think they will use her for?"

"Who cares? They can either extract her blood or sell her organs for all I care, as long as I get paid, I don't ask."

Even though there were several abandoned houses in this village, the girl and the woman had hidden in one they thought would be hard to get caught. They managed to escape their earlier village until this one, but it was already abandoned. The war in the country caused destruction everywhere, even in such a distant village.

The girl bit her lips at the words she heard, she could not tell how the man who had been chasing her found out, but he had a strange apparatus that pointed at her. Her parents were killed along with everyone in her village except her best friend, and only thanks to her wits did she escape their pursuit, but having a little sister made things difficult, her best friend was very helpful, but she sacrificed herself to buy her time to flee, and never heard from her again.

Finding a practically empty orphanage was struck of good luck since the only person who stayed there took care of them, it seemed that the children had been evacuated days before and only the caretaker could not accept the idea of some children wanting a place to stay in their absence was willing to continue living there. The village was going to become a base for the militia so the villagers who heard the rumors left. There were few orphans, to begin with so the place was small, perhaps that was why they stood out.

"Stay here... they want me."

Brave words left her mouth, but the girl was shivering with fear. The woman wanted to stop her, but the girl was faster. Opening the door, the girl dashed intending to buy some time, nonetheless-

"Hehe, look at what we have here."

Five men surrounded the house, and one of them caught her before she was able to dash a few more steps from the door.

"Guh..."

Lamenting her luck, the girl could only angrily glare at the men.

"Hey, you got the brat so that means the woman can be... Hehe."

Laughing creepily, one of the men asked.

"Tsk, knock yourself out."

"No! Leaver her alone! You have me!"

Anxiously yelling, the girl saw one of the men enter the house, but as soon as he did, a loud thud was heard and his figure collapsed. This caused the men, armed to the teeth, to pull out their weapons and point them at the house.

They cautiously aimed at the door frame, but no one came out. Not daring to step forward, the leader signaled his men and they put on regretful expressions. At that moment, the girl shed tears and yelled loudly.

"NOOOOOO!"

The men unloaded their weapons, and the sound of gunfire was heard, covering the girl's yell.

Tear after a tear was running down her face but the girl's sadness could not be fully expressed. She hated herself for causing this, she hated herself for not being able to do anything. In that instant, a sound that did not fit the situation could be heard, the gunfire had already stopped so everyone heard it clearly. First, they heard chains, it was like they were right beside them, but they could not see anything and the men sweated coldly. The girl did not care, but looking at the unease of the men, she wondered if this was something good or bad.

Nonetheless, the men were relieved and the girl was disappointed when the sound began to be heard far off like it was getting further away from them.

"...what was that boss?"

"Don't ask questions, let's get the hell out of here, that was creepy-"

The man called boss was unable to finish his words when a hole in his head appeared, not only him, but his minions suffered from the same fate, and exactly one second later, the sound of the gunshot was heard, and thus they fell.

The girl ended up getting splattered with blood but she did not pay attention to that gory spectacle. Her eyes were drawn to the figure of the woman who despite being covered in blood, no visible wounds could be seen. She was being held by another tall figure, dressed completely in black, with black chains going from his shoulders and crossing his chest. His head was covered with some sort of mask, but his only visible eye was staring deeply at the girl.

"Uwaaaaaa!!!"

The cry of her little sister finally made the girl wake up from her stupor, the man holding the woman in a princess carry and the baby lying on top of the woman. The girl approached the figure somewhat cautiously at first, but her desire to hold her sister won and she rushed at once.

The figure did not wait for her and stepped further into the house. The girl caught sight of the smoke coming from a long-barreled gun sinking into the figure's shadow but she ignored such thing.

By the time she arrived, the man had used a table to let the woman rest. There was hardly any furniture so it was better than laying on the floor.

"Eh..."

Unsure what to say, the girl did not feel any hostility coming from the man. He simply held the baby who surprisingly calmed down.

"...the woman will wake up in a while."

That was the only thing the man said.

While it was not the first thing she had in mind, the girl still sighed in relief.

"...your traveling companion is a trustworthy one. She could've run away."

Nodding at that, the girl was somewhat surprised that the woman had stuck together with her until now, in fact, she wanted her to run away with her sister.

"You are courageous but foolish."

The plain comment made the girl look down.

"...I am not courageous, I was afraid."

"You still tried to play the part as a decoy."

"It didn't work."

Standing up, the man handed the baby to the girl.

"Results are certainly important, it cannot be denied. However, the guts to look at a despairing situation and still act on it despite your fears is not an easy feat."

Biting her lips, the girl was unsure how to react to the stranger's praise.

"Child, it must be fate what made us meet."

Tilting her head, the girl was unsure what the man meant.

"What do you think about your situation? Do you want revenge against people like them? Do you want the power to destroy their lives and do as you desire?"

"I... don't know. It scares me, their actions are scary. I just wanted to live a normal life. However, I know it. It is wrong, what they are doing is not correct. I have seen many things while we ran away and had to turn a blind eye to them. Yet, every fiber of my body tells me that is wrong, that it must be stopped. I..."

Closing her eyes, the girl stopped talking, she seemed confused by her thoughts and how they seemed to be contradictions.

"Is that so?"

Nodding to himself, the man continued to stare at the girl until she opened her eyes again.

"I am sorry, saying all that when I was unable to do anything at all..."

Shaking his head, the man hesitated briefly before pulling a cube. It was slightly bigger than his hand, and it was pale blue in color.

"I created this after quite a lot of work. If you do not count the prototypes, it is the first of its kind. That said, do not get your hopes up. It is in a blank state, no one has used it, not even me. However, it is a bundle of potential. A path I prepared for the future, one carved after studying the invaders from another world. Carrying it means that not only you will gain power, but you will also carry the responsibility of dealing with that threat."

The man spoke in a slow tone, but the girl could not fully understand what he was saying. It was a complicated topic for her, above all, his words seemed too grand for a regular girl like her. Her predicament came simply because she had a valuable blood type.

"I can see that you are a smart child. You are surely capable of seeing that this will be more of a curse than a gift. Responsibility is not to be taken lightly, and you seem to understand that well."

"I..."

Biting her lips, she felt guilty about turning down the offer from her benefactor, but-

"There is no need to feel guilty about it, I should not push such a cruel destiny upon you, girl."

Shrugging his shoulders, the man threw the cube at the girl.

In a panic, she used her free hand to try and catch it, barely managing to do so.

"...what is the meaning of this?"

Furrowing her eyebrows, the girls sent a questioning look at the man.

"I will just make another one. It does not have to be the only one of its kind, so it will not be an important key in my plans. That is why I no longer need that one so you are free to take it."

Making a gesture like he was chasing away someone, the man turned away. Before the girl was able to say anything, the man threw something else her way. An oversized black coat covered the girl and her little sister.

By the time she managed to get away from the coat, the man was gone, in his place, a small book was left.

"To protect those who you want to protect, but lack the strength to do so, for you, who wish to walk this path, I will gift you this. Never use it for evil or you will be whom these guns will be pointing at next."

Reading the words written in the book aloud, the girl wanted to laugh. A mysterious individual saved them, yet no one will believe her if she tried to tell the tale. Not only did the book contain that warning, but a simple instruction was written on it, about how to use the cube's power.

While a little exceptional about the man, she understood that he spoke with good intentions. It might be a naive thought, but she could not fathom what he will get by tricking a helpless girl like her.

"...even food and money."

Turning her eyes to one side, she saw enough food for a couple of days and money for them to travel.

What was she supposed to do now?

Part 2

3rd Person POV

"Report! At least 20% of the souls under our care had been stolen."

In a serious tone, a subordinate-like man wearing dark robes spoke. He was speaking in a large hall, surrounded by several individuals standing on each side of the hall, at the far end, a large throne was used by a tall skeleton dressed in attire worn by high priests, giving off a creepy aura, it lacked eyes, but in its eyesockets, pale flames glowed to give the appearance of eyes.

"It is still hard to believe that they managed to do all that while we were fighting them off."

One of the dark cloaked figures mumbled.

"This is no time to be impressed, Zeno."

"My apologies, Pluto-sama."

Bowing slightly, the figure called Zeno spoke.

"Hades-sama, allow me to give chase to those people, I am sure that they are not as mighty as they appeared."

"...Pluto, everyone, go and raise the security, check every single entry or exit. No one is to leave or get in until we find the place where they got here. We will talk about what to do regarding those souls at a later time."

The skeleton sitting on the throne, Hades, simply said, his expression hard to grasp given his lack of an actual face.

Most dark cloaked figures, the grim reapers, had more to say, but the mood was gloomier than usual. Hades seemed to be deep in thought after facing one of the invaders. However, Hades moved his bony fingers to make a signal only one person knew, no one suspecting anything.

Staying behind until everyone else left, two figures silently stared at Hades.

"Orcus, Thanatos... Is there something else you would like to say to me? I believe that the task I gave you was very reasonable, nothing you two have to specifically oppose too." Hades spoke.

"I can't speak for Orcus, but I have a question."

"Thanatos, you are free to speak." Hades replied.

The figure called Thanatos went straight to the point.

"Hades-sama, what is your goal? Secretly contacting other gods of death is not exactly a good course of action given how the situation around the world is right now."

His inquiry was met with silence.

"...I see, so you are not going to acknowledge it. Very well."

Saying only that, Thanatos obediently left, his thoughts being kept to himself. 

"...Orcus, what do you want?" Hades questioned.

"Are you not willing to reconsider my proposal?"

"I do not see any use in what you are saying, I will never work alongside other mythologies to procure peace." Hades simply mumbled. "The God of the Underworld working with other supernaturals is absurd."

Sensing an unusual level of irritation, Orcus did not push the topic. He would try to convince Hades once in a while, but Pluto would usually get in the way, while other times Hades would simply chase him away. He could not let things continue as they were, the Greek Gods were continuously trying to get in touch with Hades for the same reason but Hades ignored any attempt to meet when those intentions are involved.

"...understood." Orcus glanced one last time at Hades' indifferent look and took his leave.

After some time of waiting in silence, his most loyal subordinate, Pluto, came in again.

"What are your orders, Hades-sama? The fact that you only called for me must mean that this is an important task that others must not know." Pluto kneeled a few steps in front of Hades.

"You are free to come out." Hades called out.

Pluto was confused since he was the only-

"*Cough* My apologies, I am afraid that I am not the fighter type so I wouldn't be able to do anything with so many people here *cough*"

A rough voice, one that is not too used to talking, suddenly was heard, and soon enough, a figure made itself known. Like a mirage that disappeared, the space distorted and a hunched man, carrying a wooden cane and wearing a tattered black cloak showed up. His presence made Pluto alarmed since he did not notice anything until now, but Hades was unimpressed so he must've been aware since the beginning.

"Hmph, lying in front of me is useless." Hades snorted.

"*Cough* Is that so? Very well, I thought that being humble was the best way to get a positive response from others, *cough* interacting with others is harsh."

"Enough, I am waiting for a reason to not strike you down. You are the same as the ones who attacked us and stole human souls before." Hades said.

"*Cough* *cough* We are not the same, you would be surprised how different we are despite being in the same organization. Our goals might be similar, but our methods vastly differ."

"Is that all you have to say?" Hades glared (?) at the man.

"Let me state my goal. *Cough* I want to remove certain threats to our plans, and I believe you will find my objective to be agreeable since I have heard you don't like them either."

The fire burning in Hades' eyesockets grew in size and the interest of the skeleton could be easily read. Noticing that he caught the interest of the god of the underworld, the man simply asked.

"How do you feel about dragons?"

"...I loath them." Hades replied at once.

"*Cough* Then we can really work together."

The man's tone was filled with joy.

"So you are after the dragon eater?" Hades inquired.

"Certainly, his power sounds impressive enough, however, his lack of intelligence is quite troublesome. He would not be able to follow commands very well, and I doubt that he would be able to work that well in any of my plans. On that matter, I have a suggestion."

Taking from inside his cloak a stack of dirty papers, the man extended it towards Hades, although the skeleton did not make any gesture of taking them, instead, Pluto moved.

Inspecting the papers, he did not find anything weird on them so he went to Hades and handed them over. In a matter of minutes, Hades finished reading them, taking his time in doing so and repeating it a couple of times.

"You are crazy..." Hades muttered.

"*Cough* Oh, yes. I have been called such a long time ago. What do you say? The sacrifice will be minimal compared to what you can obtain. *Cough* *cough* There is even a chance that the subject you will use might survive, and I have heard that brainwashing was used quite often nowadays."

"...very well, let us start with this as swiftly as possible while everyone's eyes are focused on something else. An offspring of Samael, will it have his madness, or will it maintain its mother's sanity, I would like to confirm it with my own eyes." Hades stood from his throne. "Collaboration will be difficult without knowing your name."

"*Cough* Yes, another point I forgot that it is used during interactions. *Cough* My name is Abdul Alhazred."

--------------

3rd Person POV

In a simple room, several figures were sitting around a broad table, the tatami floor along with a cushion provided a comfortable seat, yet there was no one talking. The only sound that was occasionally heard was the sound of tea being drunk or snacks being eaten.

There was a distinctive division in the seats. Sae and Tobio were sitting side by side on one side of the table, on the other side were Natsume and Shigune, while Kouki sat diagonally between the two sides. On the remaining side, in front of Kouki, there was Nora... who was being carried by Lavinia on her lap (against his will). His inseparable girls were taken by Yasaka and Shuri while had his talk.

"...you called us because you wanted to talk, so talk." Kouki spoke, unable to stand the silence.

"You don't have to force yourself if you don't feel like it, your injuries are pretty bad so you can rest and we can speak afterward." Tobio offered.

"No, I... called you. I have to-, for the sake of! Miss, can't you stop with the patting?" Nora complained.

"Fufu, no~" Lavinia said.

Sighing in defeat, the boy was unsure what was wrong with the girl who despite being treated harshly, still clung to him. He firmly told her to leave him alone they entered the room, in fact, he was sitting on a cushion earlier, but Lavinia had lifted him and put him on her lap.

"Don't you know I am a pervert? Letting me rest my body upon you is causing certain reactions." Nora warned.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Lavinia innocently asked.

"...Onii-san is worried about your future, you should be more self-aware of what your charms can cause." Nora sighed.

Nodding at that, Natsume seemed to agree with him.

"Take Natsume-san for example. She might not show it, but she is the typical example of a closed pervert." Nora pointed at Natsume.

Natsume continued to nod only to stop suddenly.

"Hey!" Natsume complained.

"Don't let the other two fool you, Toujou-san and Nanadaru-san might look innocent a proper, but just judging for their blushing faces proves that they know enough." Nora pointed out.

Awkwardly looking away, Shigune lowered her head, but Sae made the mistake of looking to one side and she happened to glance at Tobio who gave her a skeptical look.

"No, eh, I have never imagined anything like that, not at all." Sae shook her head.

"...now that I think about it, there was this time you did not let me use your computer, and you pushed me away in a fluster." Tobio recalled.

"Tobio, you idiot!" Sae pouted.

"No, wait, what did I do?" Tobio was speechless.

"Idiot." Kouki mocked.

"Idiot." Natsume mocked.

"Ah, ah, you made her angry. You need to show a bit more delicacy." Nora smirked.

Turning to Nora, Tobio struck his fist at the table.

"I don't want to hear that from you! Didn't you say something close to sexual harassment before and nothing happened?" Tobio pointed out.

"Nora-kun did nothing bad." Lavinia defended.

"I don't think he actually means anything bad." Natsume spoke.

"...Shiki-san, can I hit you just once? It is ok, I don't hate you at all, just let me hit you one time." Tobio's eyebrow was twitching.

Sighing, Nora stood up despite Lavinia's holding him back.

"Give it up, the allure of these ears can get me the support of the whole female community if I desired it." Nora said with a faraway look.

"Ikuse, I think you should know when to quit." Kouki advised.

Slumping his shoulders, Tobio depressingly looked down.

"Do you feel like talking now?" Kouki gestured to Nora with his chin.

Clicking his tongue, Nora looked at Lavinia, the girl simply tilted her head in response. Gesturing for her to take another seat, Lavinia shook her head. Looking around the table, he went over to Kouki's place and pointed at Lavinia. The delinquent complied after noticing that Nora was unusually serious.

Sitting all alone, Nora's demeanor changed. His eyes looked sharper and less friendly than before.

"I would like to apologize for my attitude before. Regardless of my age, my comments must be offending." Nora bowed briefly.

"Wait, is this for what I said? I was not being serious..." Tobio hastily intervined.

"It is not like I mind it, I don't feel any ill will from you." Natsume frowned.

"Nora-kun is just being playful..." Lavinia mumbled.

Each of the group tried to say something in his defense, except Kouki who glared at Nora silently.

"Enough." Nora said.

Hearing his sharp tone, no one else spoke.

"Don't make excuses for me." Nora looked everyone in the eyes one by one. "Why do you guys like me in the first place? I have put you in danger, thanks to me, you almost died."

"Don't say that, I am grateful for the time you saved Sae." Tobio responded.

"My pal is safe thanks to you." Kouki said.

"My family has been enjoying their time since they were pulled out of their houses thanks to you. They are treating it like a vacation." Natsume mumbled.

"My parents as well, they say that it is paradise to have an all-you-can-eat buffed every day." Shigune nodded meaningfully.

"You...!!!" Nora angrily banged the table with his fist, making cracks run along it as well as leaving trails of blood. "That is something that has nothing to do with me! They are people that work under Yasaka-san, they just are lending me a hand. It is all because of her, not me. You should show your gratitude to her... And me? Saving her? You are mistaken, it is because of my mistakes that she was put in that position. Everyone got hurt, almost got killed, all because of me! If I had prepared better if I had paid attention to the movements of Hanezu and Augusta, the youkais in Urakyoto, the people at the ritual site, the girls... you guys... I caused all this damn mess! I did not fix it, I did not help anyone! Because of my selfish actions, my goddamn smartass decision of changing things... I have been messing up everything..."

Clenching his teeth strong enough that caused blood to leak from his mouth onto the floor, Nora looked down.

"Nora-kun, you are just a child, it is not-" Lavinia tried to console the boy, but he-

"Oh, I see. You think that fixes everything? Because I am a child because I am young because I did not know. This is not a game! How can I make you understand it!? You could've died! You know what dying is? Your heart stops beating, your eyes close and they have never opened again. You know what happens next? Well, it will not matter, you would not know, but what about your family? Huh? What about your friends? Do you think they will be thrilled? NO! THEY WILL GRIEVE YOU, THEY WILL CRY AND CRY! THE PAIN WILL CONTINUE FOR DAYS, MONTHS, YEARS!!! IT WILL NEVER DISAPPEAR! YET, YOU THINK THAT A SIMPLE EXCUSE IS GONNA FIX THAT? ARE YOU GUYS IDIOTS? ARE YOU!? GET ANGRY FOR ONCE! BLAME IT ALL ON ME! SAY SOMETHING THAT IS NOT A NICE THING FOR A CHANGE! A CHILD ME? DON'T MAKE ME LAUGH, I AM A MONSTER UNDER A CHILD'S DISGUISE. I HAVE TAKEN MANY LIVES UNTIL NOW FOR ME TO BE EASILY FORGIVEN."

Practically growling at them, Nora stood and yelled. The group stayed quiet, not daring to say a word, then let him rant while casting looks filled with pity at his way of referring to himself. They calmly waited for him to calm down, yet someone barged into the room before they could try to say anything. They only saw a golden blur before that figure faced Nora and grabbed him harshly from his clothes.

"So, you are saying you want to be blamed?" Artoria angrily said. "Very well."

Without waiting for an answer, Artoria pushed him toward the table and slammed her fist into his face, resulting in him falling onto the table and breaking it upon the impact.

Not even a grunt of pain was heard from the boy as he simply stayed down.

"Oi, you punk!" Kouki immediately stood up.

"You!" Natsume also took a battle stance.

The temperature around the room was lowered and Lavinia glared icily at the blonde-haired girl. While confused, Tobio stood up and tried to call upon Jin.

"Don't you dare to move even a fucking finger!" Artoria warned. "None of you have the guts to tell this to his face so it will be me who does it!"

Her words made the group hesitate briefly.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Artoria glared at the boy.

"...nothing." Nora said.

"Nothing? Are you fucking serious? How can you say that with a straight face!?" Artoria scowled.

Looking away, Nora simply stated there.

"Oh, I see. You must be a damn impostor." Artoria moved to the table and pulled Nora from the ground by grabbing him from his haori. "I can understand how you want to blame yourself for the nearly dead experience we went through, you have a conceited mindset that you must take the blame for it, you feel responsible for us, I can accept it. Yes, it is one of your good traits, how you wish to properly take care of others. However, we are people, not your goddamn pets. We can also take the blame for our actions if push comes to the shove, we have thoughts, and we have a will of our own. That said, I still understand why you believe it is your responsibility to take care of us. I do have the same problem with Alice. Still..."

Artoria pulled him to his feet only to strike him again until he fell again. Her actions were pushing the group to the limit, Lavinia barely managing to hold back since she knew that the girl was a guest of Nora, someone he treated kindly.

"No one fucking asked you to take the blame this time." Artoria shouted. "Responsible for the attack at Urakyoto? I don't think you ordered those people to invade and kill anyone. I am pretty damn sure you would never do that. You love this place that much."

Moving her arms since she felt them stiff, Artoria removed a bandage around her shoulder.

"Your healing is as amazing as always, it pisses me off." Artoria sighed. "This must be another reason why you think it is your fault."

Glaring at the group, Artoria did not look away even if their looks could kill.

"What? Do you want to have a go? I don't care how high he always rated you, I will mop the floor with you guys even if that is the last I can do. Do not dare to interfere if you know what is good for him. Especially you, Miss Icy." Artoria pointed at Lavinia. "You think you are doing him any good by using those unnecessarily big tits to bury his face? Let me warn you, keep doing that and you will fall into a hole you cannot climb from. You will get as idiotic as the black cat that follows him around, or the purple-haired one, that girl is crazy."

Tilting her head in confusion, Lavinia was unsure what she meant, although Natsume reacted strangely by looking away.

"Don't call Kuroka-chan idiotic..." Nora said.

"Oh, look what we have here. The stupid idiot who cannot talk back to defend himself is spurting bullshit? Who cares about her? You should be more worried about yourself. You godamn impostor." Artoria scowled again. "Thinking again you are some hot shit? What are you going to do? Run straight to your death? Thinking that sacrificing yourself will solve anything... Is that not the same shit you scolded me for back then? Why the heck did you do it multiple times after you left yesterday?"

Straddling Nora, Artoria pulled him and began shaking him.

"I am not an impostor..." Nora managed to say.

"Oh, of course, you are." Artoria let him fall. "The real Nora can be a pervert, a delusional idiot, his sweet tongue is always making girls on the street have heart-shaped eyes, he has the most dishonest hands you will ever see, has a terrible sleeping posture where he hugs anyone close to him, his food taste like heaven, I must mention again that he is pervert, has a terrible sense of humor, does not make me enough sweets, always pats your head if you are not careful."

The group battle intent dropped sharply as they were unsure if the girl was cursing him or praising him, although one of them understood why certain descriptions were unusually on point.

"Yes, there can be many bad aspects to that idiot. However, he does not whine like a little bitch about his mistakes. He does worry unnecessarily, but will never blow up and start ranting. Being honest with others? No, the Nora I know is not like that. Not only his hands are dishonest. He lies a lot. Yet, he will never tell anyone about his hardships, it is a bad trait, but also a good one." Artoria glared at him. "Not to mention... why the heck are you avoiding my eyes?"

Her tone was pretty harsh, but the disappointment was what you could tell it radiated as she spoke the last words.

"Very well, I understand what is wrong here. What you need now, is a good thrashing." Artoria raised her fist and struck Nora. "Get you, you lazy ass cat!"

Her fist sunk into his face but Nora did not react.

"Tsk." Artoria clicked her tongue. "You are really an impostor. The Nora I know would be able to look me in the eye regardless of what happened. He is that kind of shameless individual. Yes, his smug smile when he brags sometimes pisses me off, but it's better to look at the pathetic face you are making."

Fist after fist struck Nora but he did not react even as blood began leaking from his mouth.

"Damn you! Damn you!!!" Artoria only got angrier after seeing this. "You are just a coward acting like him! The stupid cat who saved my sister, who saved me, cannot be this pathetic! Stand up! Strike back! What is wrong with you?"

At this point, her voice sounded not only disappointed but also pained.

"You leave no choice. If hitting you will not make you react, I will go find those girls and- Urgh!"

The blonde-haired girl did not finish her words when a fist struck her face, pushing her off Nora.

"...if you lay even one finger on them, I will make you regret being born." Nora's tone was icy.

Slowly standing up, he glared at Artoria with sheer hostility. Watching this, Artoria smiled.

"That's more like it." Artoria stood up. "Did you finally grow balls again? Come on, I want to see if you are back on your feet, if you are not... I don't mind trashing you until you do."

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