There Yue and Siegfried were well-deep in their second session, they heard a woman's voice below that said, "Yue! I'm home!" Yue paused at what she was doing and went down to greet her mother, and as she was descending the stairs she said,
"Mom! Welcome home!" and hugged her mother tightly, and her mother had a warm smile on her face, "How's work?" her mother is wearing a blue backpack, black hoodie, black-and-yellow yoga pants, and sneakers answered, "Tiring. As usual. The gym was more busy than usual. And my client was really dedicated to losing weight. It's kinda inspiring."
Then her mother removed her sneakers and changed into indoor slippers, she dropped her backpack onto the couch, unzipped her jacket revealing her yellow-and-black sports bra, and showing off her toned body then went to the kitchen to grab herself some refreshments.
After drinking Himari asked, "Oh, wait. Has your tutor arrived yet?" she nodded then pointed to her room, "Yeah, he's here. He arrived here first before you did." And due to what her daughter said caught her by surprise as she choked on her water and began to cough uncontrollably, "W-What!?" Yue had a confused look toward her reaction, "What do you mean, 'what'? He arrived at his designated time, around 4:30 to 5:30 PM."
And her mother had a cautious look, "You two didn't... you two didn't fool around while you're alone here, right?" and Yue had a surprisingly innocent look, "Fool around?" Well, before starting our session I did make him Omurice, which he liked, thankfully."
And her mother had a deadpan look before snapping out of it, "O-Oh, is that so? Whew, sorry, sorry I may have overreacted a bit."
Then after a second, it sank into what her mother was talking about, "Oh. Ohhhh." then her face turned bright red as a tomato, and panicked, "W-Wait, what? Mom, no! It's not like that! W-What are you on about?!"
And her mom chuckled at her daughter's cute reaction, "Oh n-no, nothing... Anyhow, why don't you go back to your session?" and Yue suggested, "O-Okay... I'll draw the bath first before I go."
And her mother stopped her, "Aw sweetie, it's fine I'll draw it myself. Besides, we can't waste any more time, can we? He's waiting for you."
And so, Yue complied with her mother's request and returned to her room. "Ah, you've returned, shall we resume?" she nodded, "Y-Yeah." He grunted, "Good. Now, English Grammar." And added, "I laid out questions and answers similar to your exam papers on that particular subject. It's written in English, so feel free to ask if you don't understand some segments."
He handed her the paper and got to work on her desk, and after several minutes has passed he checked up on her work and pointed out her wrong answer, and spoke in English, "Having a hard time? You see it says that 'Mr. Smith has two, A. apple or B. apples, trees in his backyard.'"
Yue thought for a second and chose the former, or the first one, and she was uncertain in her answer and Siegfried nodded in approval, "Correct. It is Apple."
"Whoa, really?" he nodded and replied in Japanese, "Indeed, the trick is that you have to look at what's ahead. If the noun is describing something, let's say an apple tree, then the second word is usually plural and the first one is singular. Although they may be exceptions to this rule, as the English language is often confusing at times." She nodded, "Ohh..." "Mhm! I see..." (Wow, I just realized... This is the first time I've ever heard him speak this much.)
After a brief moment passed as Yue is answering her quiz, she asked, "Hey Siegfried-san?" he grunted in response as he was reading one of Yue's textbooks to get a grasp on the subjects he plans on teaching her, "Hm?" and spoke some words in English albeit in acceptable pronunciation, "In English, if 'horrible' and 'horrific' means bad. And 'terrible' is also bad then 'terrific' must mean bad as well, right?" Siegfried just stared at her awkwardly, pursed his lips, groaned in awkwardness, and shook his head lightly, "Umm... Er, like I said earlier Takahashi-san, I did explain that the English language is confusing at times, but to answer your question: No. Terrible and terrific may sound similar but their meaning couldn't be more opposite."
And Yue's reaction was just full of confusion and question, "W-What...?" and Siegfried explained to her why, after that Yue just said, "This is dumb. English is a dumb language." And he remarked, "I agree with you, Takahashi-san. It is a dumb language, but over recent times for better or for worse it is now a universal language." She sighed in exasperation, "Shit. You're right..."
Then his cellphone vibrated and he picked it up and it was from Lionel. It displayed only two words, "Arriving now." He nodded. And he counted down silently, "5." As he was counting down, outside of the house engines roared nearby. "4." The engines then subsequently died down. "3." The car doors swung open and multiple legs and feet of black leather shoes and a large feline paw descended down. "2."
The men wore black suits, electronic earpieces attached and stood at the door, "1." And he closed his eyes, then at the same time they heard the doorbell ring on the Takahashi Residence's front door.
Yue looked around in confusion and saw the time, 6:27 PM. "Damn it, who's ringing at our house at this kind of time?" it didn't take long before her realizing, "Oh no..." a huge lump formed in her throat, and felt a heavy weight on her stomach, her hands trembled and she muttered, "I should've seen this one coming..." and Siegfried feigned ignorance by keeping quiet.
Reluctantly Yue stood up, "Siegfried-san, stay here. I have to answer that, then we can continue." She gulped heavily, took a deep breath to calm her nerves, then steeled herself for the situation ahead. But before she could go, Siegfried suggested she cover up as to which she agreed and wore her school tracksuit over her lounge clothes.
She exited her room, descended the stairs, and found her mother already answered the door. There a group of four men in black suits was at the door. Yue couldn't hear what they were saying but she snuck closer and at the same time hid from them, knowing they came for her.
Upon closer distance, she could now hear, what they were saying, her mother with an irritated and angry tone, "You." And a deep voice replied, "Forgive us for coming here at such an hour, Takahashi Himari." And what they did next was the one Himari least expected: They bowed down solemnly.
"We are not here to cause nor to raise trouble. We simply desire to finally meet the Young Mistress. And set up a day where she and the Master will be united."
And Himari with an irritated look on her face reluctantly let them have their way, "You bastards are really lucky that my Yue wants to meet her deadbeat old man."
The men's faces including Lionel's were filled with relief and elation, "T-Then...!" and they quickly got up, and Himari sighed in frustration, "Yue! I know you're hiding in that corner... Come on out. Destiny is at your door."
Reluctantly the 15-year-old second-year high schooler slowly came out of the corner and walked towards her mother's side for a sense of security.
As she was walking the faces of the men consisted of surprised, shocked, and dropped jaws. After a brief and awkward pause, Yue with a shy expression angrily yelled, "W-Well?! The hell you guys starin' at?! Got a problem with me?!"
Then suddenly the men all knelt on one knee and lowered their heads at the same time, and said in unison: "It is our absolute honor to meet the future Inheritrix of Shiroyama Industries: Takahashi Yue!"
Needless to say, Yue and Himari's looks were complete disbelief, and doesn't what to do from here. And meanwhile in Yue's room where Siegfried was standing-by, he thought to himself, (An inch closer to accomplishing my mission. But first things first: I have to uncover the identity of Takahashi-san's Assassin. I either have to kill him or kill his employer to negate the contract between them.)
Then he heard a flapping of wings descend as a large crow appeared on the windowsill pecking at the glass trying to get Siegfried's attention. "Ah, you've returned." And they communicated telepathically, (Milord, I've come to report that I've spotted a lone suspicious figure hiding within the shadows not too far out, they seem to be hanging out on the roof of one of the buildings used for cafés and other businesses.)
Siegfried nodded, (I see. Are they related with the men I "took care" of?) and Caligo the Raven said, (I cannot tell, Milord. But I believe it is related with Young Mistress Takahashi. They seem to be waiting for something, or rather for someone.)
He paused and thought for a second before saying, (I see... Thank you, Caligo. I'll deal with them soon. For now, continue to survey the area.) He spread his wings triumphantly, (Understood!) and flew away.
Then finally the storm passed. Yue and Lionel have agreed to set the date and time when she and her father will meet. As previously had a misunderstanding on the day they meet prior but thankfully Lionel cleared them up for both parties. But as for the location, it's up to her father to decide and soon after that, they resumed their session.
As Yue is able to finish the English exam Siegfried gave her with... acceptable results. Inside Yue's room, "This concludes our second session. You did... acceptable Takahashi-san by having over half of the questions right." And Yue celebrated, "Haha! Oh yeah!" and Siegfried interrupted her, "But still failing to get the passing mark." "Aww..." "Nevertheless, there's still room for improvement." And Yue interrupted him, "Oh, I should tell you this because two days from now is a Wednesday, right?"
And Siegfried thought for a second before nodding, "Indeed. What about it?" and she clasped her hand, and sheepishly said, "I'm so sorry, but my friend and I are planning on shopping together that day!" and Siegfried blinked his eyes twice before grunting in approval, "I understand. Then Thursday then, is it all right?" and she nodded, smiled widely and did an OK gesture with her hand, "Yep, yep!"
He then asked to confirm something, "Your midterm exams are fast approaching, correct? At the end of this month?" "H-Huh?" then nodded, "Oh y-yeah, yep." And sighed in exhaustion and sarcastically said, "Exams hurray..."
And Siegfried assured her, "Fret not, Takahashi-san. I will see to it that you will pass."
Yue wasn't expecting words of encouragement from Siegfried and she was slightly taken aback, "Uh, t-thanks!" he shook his head in disapproval, "Thank me when you've passed."
And Yue grinned confidently at his assurance, "Heh. All right, if you say so, Mr. I'm-so-cool-and-mysterious." Then remarked, "Ya know, you're a weird one Siegfried-san." And he repeated her response, "Weird...?" before Yue flashed him a wide and warm grin, "Weird in a good way!" and he silently repeated the last thing she said in her head, (Weird in a good way, eh?)
Then a painful memory intruded on his head and a girl's voice repeated, "You're weird but a good kind of weird, Doo-doo head!" as an image of a girl's smile flashed momentarily, and shook his head, and clasped his head in pain.
"Whoa, you alright?" the young girl asked, and once more he shook his head, "No, I-I mean yes, just a minor headache is all."
Then they went outside of the residence, the cool spring breeze of the night was felt by the two, the skies and cloudy skies and the ever-vigilant moon acting as a silent sentinel above the darkened ether.
"Thanks for everything Siegfried-san. I learned so many things thanks to you." Then bowed politely, and Siegfried did the same, "My pleasure, Takahashi-san. Oh, and before I go. Hold out your hand, I have something for you."
"Whoa, really? What for?" She asked, "A thank you gift for accepting me as your tutor..." he softly said.
He fished out something out of his pocket and placed it on Yue's palm, "A necklace? Whoa, the symbol looks pretty sick, is it a crescent moon?" the necklace's design is a simple silver chain and a silver-colored crescent moon design with a star attached in the middle of the crescent moon.
She cupped it and giggled in excitement, "Hehe! Gee, I dunno what to say, but thank you Siegfried-san! I'll be sure to wear it!" He grunted, "You don't need to wear it. Just keep it near yourself." He then bowed, "Well then, good night, Takahashi-san. I'll see you in our next tutoring session." And Yue went to her house's front door and waved Siegfried goodbye, "Good night, Siegfried-san!" and turned around and walked away, (Likewise, good night Takahashi-san.)
After their tutoring session concluded, some time passed as the sound of splashing water echoed in the bathroom, a young girl with red hair sat still with a satisfied look on her face, "Ahh... That hits the spot. God, what a long day..." with a contemplative expression she starts recalling that happened earlier, (My old man, eh? Guess, I'm gonna meet him soon thanks to his lackeys. That masked-man that helped me when I got jumped on... and Siegfried... Fuckin' weirdo...) slowly she submerges her body and half of her head on the water and began to blow bubbles on the water, (It really annoys me how good he is at teaching... God, why me?) "Blrrrb..." she sighed in surrender and continues her bath.
Yue began to caress her wet skin with the warm water in the bathtub, soon she exited the bathroom topless as her towel was the only thing that covered her top, for her bottom she wore cotton shorts and entered her room with a refreshed look, "Man, that felt good! Nothing like a warm bath to soothe my tired brain and muscles!"
She passed by her desk that lay the gift Siegfried gave her, she had a judging and disappointed look, "Man, this necklace looks cheap as hell now that I've gotten a good look at it."
And at the very next second, her expression turned into a warm and grateful grin, "Hehe, guess I'll keep it then."
Then onto Siegfried's point of view...
Finally, I was walking home after my session to honor my contract as her tutor even if this identity as a tutor is nothing but falsehood anything goes when it comes to accomplishing my mission, all in the name of the Org.
The night was even colder than usual, it was most likely due to the rainy season arriving sooner than I expected. But the warmth of my hood and jacket covered me against the cold atmosphere of the night and my black fabric mask aided in concealing my identity even further. I then purposely went to an alleyway with a dead-end to lure a... certain someone. A presence that had been following since the Takahashi Residence.
Then not too long, in the darkness, a single blade went flying out toward me, but I dared not even look back as I simply leaned my head to the right and dodged the blade without much effort. Then I turned around to face the cowled figure, (About damn time you showed yourself...)
And the figure pulled out a traditional Japanese fan called an ōgi, they unfurled the fan and despite seemingly looking like an ordinary object I kept my guard up, as the figure gently and gracefully held the fan before a sharp point appeared on it and then flapped the fan across launching a kunai blade in an abnormal speed and accuracy and I just simply leaned my body sidewards as the blade hit the concrete wall of a building behind me in a loud clink. (No doubt about it, it's most likely Takahashi-san's potential killer. My bait worked...)
But there's more where that came from, with each flap of the fan a kunai blade launched toward me but I evaded them with ease.
Then the Figure like lightning followed up dashing towards me while carrying a blade aimed at my neck as I evaded to the right but the figure landed at the wall and used it to rebound right towards and nailed a horizontal slash at my jacket, then it soon split apart but I managed to not get my flesh caught in their blade.
And the figure slid across the pavement blade in hand and stood, and the Figure launched another assault but this time it ran towards me as it parkoured towards the wall and ran across it as if defying gravity and leaped up into the air then threw multiple blades at me, but I managed to evade every blade as it got stuck into the concrete ground, and by backing off to keep some distance between us.
But the figure wasn't finished yet, as it landed on the ground it quickly picked up the kunai blades and held one of them in its hand, and attempted to drive the blade through me, but I successfully parried the attack by grabbing its wrists with my left hand and shoving it to the left with my right hand and the figure dove head first and did a safety roll and despite their face being unseen their body language says it all. "You..."
Then the Figure pulled something out of its cowl and cupped it in its hands. And instinctively I raised my guard further and it threw something at me at breakneck speed, but I swatted it with the backside of my hand but then that was my first mistake, the moment I swatted the small black ball, it then exploded into a bright explosion blinding me momentarily then a thick cloud of black smoke obscured my vision further.
And the figure used the opportunity to close the gap between us and tried to lunge a blade deep into my chest but despite being blinded by the smoke I managed to grab their knife hand and with all of my restricted strength launched them into the wall but they were well-versed in the art of acrobatics and landed their feet into the wall and launched themselves to me again, tackling while I felt something cold ran deep in my chest, the area around the wound stung then numbed all in a second then used the momentum to drive me into the grimy alleyway's footpath.
The Reaper lay motionless, as the figure stood up and was highly disappointed at their opponent, "Was that it? Tch. Weak. I thought he could give me a proper challenge." Whimpered in disappointment by the figure and below them, the Reaper's voice said, "Be careful what you wish for..."
He pointed at the figure who was on top of him then pointed to the left. And the figure couldn't believe what they saw. There, another Reaper was leaning on the wall with his arms crossed, and despite his face concealed through a mask, the assailant could tell that they were being toyed with by him.
The figure who was very confused stammered, "What the hell...? How did—" and the figure looked down and saw the Reaper they stabbed muttering, "I won't go down so easily." then dissipating into the darkness like a black mist.
And the figure grunted confidently, "Hah! I knew it... Of course, you... you're a Psionic, aren't you?" and he remained silent, "No use in keeping silent now!" And the figure cracked their neck to warm themselves up further.
The figure slipped another kunai blade into their hand and dashed headlong into the Reaper and began their assault, a combination barrage of slashes and stabs, punches and kicks and the Reaper countered with parries, blocks, and dodges, and when the opportunity showed itself, the Reaper launched a counterstrike by doing a sweeping kick and the figure was swept under the foot and fell to the ground but almost immediately got up by rebounding and twirled their legs like a break-dancer and used it as a blurry fury of repeated leg kicks causing the Reaper to back off and used the momentum to launch itself into the air threw three blades at the Reaper two of them missed as he evaded but one nailed on his left shoulder.
The figure confidently chuckled, "You can't keep dodging forever you know?" and the Reaper just glanced coldly at the kunai buried deep in his shoulder and blood started to drip out.
His limb trembled and couldn't feel his left arm. As for the kunai, the pain was searing hot as the cold knife was stuck in his body. (Ah, that bright explosion from earlier still hurts my eyes. I can tell they're no ordinary assassin. Their moves. Their speed. Their technique. Honed to the edge and refined and polished; a worthy opponent...? Either way, I can't fight them like this.)
And the Reaper did what he had to do to fight on equal terms with Yue's assailant and silently commanded, "V-class Suppressors and self-imposed Psionic Limiter Release... Level One..." His bracelets that were hidden beneath his clothing shone a dim green light under them.
And Siegfried's partial strength and Psionic Abilities returned and the first thing he did was to remove the Tantō on his shoulder, he gripped the hilt of the blade and slowly removed it as parts of his jacket and blade were hued in a dark scarlet color then subsequently dropped the weapon on the ground then dark smoke started to come out of the wound and stopped the bleeding. And seeing this in a front-row seat all the figure could say was, (Oh...? The wound is fresh but you somehow stopped the bleeding. Interesting...)
Now it was his turn to attack, he got into position and dashed toward the figure faster than the eye could follow, he held no weapon but to Siegfried, his hands and legs are all he needs to dispatch Yue's assassin.
And as Siegfried closed the distance he immediately followed up by doing a heel kick aimed at his opponent's face but the figure managed to dodge it just in time as the force of Siegfried's kick launched an air pressure that was strong enough that it left a crack on the side of the building.
The Figure countered by striking him on his stomach, soon they exchanged blows, traded hits, and parried each other strikes.
And from the figure's point of view, the moment they saw the leg of the Reaper about to perform a side-kick, they immediately dove to the right where there was more space. In response, the figure pulled out three small black balls and smashed them between their feet and a thick cloud of smoke obscured the Reaper's vision and filled the entire alleyway.
And a brief pause happened as the Reaper's senses are going overdrive but his training kicked in and calmed his nerves as he breathed steadily. And as the Reaper stood motionless, the figure amidst the smoke lunged at him, blade in hand. "Die!"
But it was at this moment the figure made their mistake, as the Reaper focused all his strength onto his loaded fist and launched a powerful downward punch an immense wave of air pressure blew away all the smoke and the figure launched and crashed back-first onto the building's wall before crashing onto the ground, as the Reaper simply muttered, "To think I'd need to release a portion of my strength... Unthinkable."
Disoriented, the Reaper just walked up to the figure, then placed his left hand on their neck before raising them upward, and spoke in Japanese, "Now, you will tell me EVERYTHING you know."
The figure coughed twice as their legs went limp while suspended mid-air in a chokehold, "Grah! *cough* *cough* I... I am not telling you anything...! Not telling you shit!" and the Reaper grunted in disapproval, "I don't need you to tell me."
And lowered the figure to ground level to the level of his face but still, the mysterious figure's legs or feet couldn't touch the ground as the Reaper suspected that their height is smaller than he originally anticipated. Then with his right hand, he placed his hand on the top of the figure's hooded head and immediately felt a sudden sting of pain as if it electrocuted him.
He gazed at his right hand there he understood, (Ah, I see... a Mind Barrier? How annoying... With this barrier, I can't read their mind...) and had no choice but to offer the figure a proposal, "I don't plan on killing you... not yet anyway, as you still hold valuable information about whom you work for."
And he continued, "My proposal is very simple. You tell me whom you work for, your employer, and who leaked the information about Takahashi-san, and I just might let you go and let you live. Sounds reasonable, no?" and the figure choked out, "Bull...shit! That's... nonsense! I told you once, and I'll tell you again: I ain't telling you shit...!" and the Reaper interrupted them, "Shame."
But the figure has had enough, secretly it quickly threw out another batch of flash bombs to the ground lighting the dim area with a blinding light then drew out a Tantō and slashed at the Reaper's arm but the Reaper expected this and dropped the figure to the ground, fully knowing how outclassed they are, they only did the logical thing in the situation: They fled.
Quickly they ran and jumped high into one of the buildings and leaped from building to building effortlessly. Now the Reaper could've easily caught up to the figure/assassin but chose not to. The Reaper pulled down his hood and mask and remarked, "Shame."
"Now onto step 2: we wait and lead us to them." He glanced at his shoulder wound and partially activated the second level of his Limiter and there his left eye glowed a menacing red light as smoke came out of his body like a candlelight's flame above a candle then slowly and surely did the wound closed and fully healed as if it was never damaged in the first place. (Your mind may have been protected by a mind barrier but I managed to scratch a little of the surface and found your codename: Dawn. But that level of Psionic Energy...) and added, "Suppose I shall report to Shiroyama-san and about this mess..."
Meanwhile, some time passed, and on a working construction site on the highest floor, stood the figure from earlier who was panting heavily and carefully caressing their neck. The wind from the city blew past the figure as their cowl flapped with it. Then a familiar voice spoke behind, "Bit more than you could chew?" The figure didn't bother looking back and replied, "I simply misjudged and underestimated him... Joker."
And the voice was shown the man who raided Siegfried's home back in April, with his purple pinstriped suit, a cocky and arrogant grin, and his perfectly tousled hair, "Alas, I did warn you. But on behalf of your employer, I will warn you again: That...? That was barely a warmup for your opponent. And you are very, very lucky that he let you go." And the figure growled, "I... don't need to hear that from the likes of you." And the Joker chuckled, "Aww, is that so? Anyway, some advice for free because I'm nice like that: If you cannot out-strength, out-speed, or out-skill him, then outsmart and outplay him. Plan ahead on handling him, after all, your job isn't to kill him. It's to kill the Takahashi girl. Distract him or drive him away from his target then once disposed of you can seize the opportunity to take the girl out."
The figure sighed in surrender, "Fine. I'll take that advice of yours to heart, Joker." In the end, Dawn gave in and took Joker's advice, but after what the Reaper did to Dawn earlier, after humiliating them; their pride and honor were wounded by the Reaper they had come up with a plan, a killing-two-birds-in-one-stone kind of plan. And the Joker chuckled, "I will aid you in taking out the Takahashi girl. That is the mission instructed to me due to a favor I owe to your employer, albeit, indirectly, for I cannot allow myself to be discovered by my peers. But I can pull something given with the proper information."
Then at the same time, somewhere within the cityscape...
"We STILL haven't captured that girl?!" a man's voice roared in anger inside a private office and echoed in the hallway outside as he slammed his fists onto his desk. "How?! We deployed four! Four groups of my fucking men to seize her right outside of their home! It's that easy! And they did what?!"
A quaking voice responded as it stammered, "I-I, uh, b-boss... Th-They're gone. I-I don't know how or where they went but... they're gone." And added, "When we came to investigate, each group's car was there. Perfectly untouched. But..." and impatiently the boss yelled, "BUT WHAT?!" shakily the underling told him, "We found traces of fighting. Or signs of it anyway: craters on the concrete ground, bullet holes and noticeable damages on the building, on top of that fresh tumbled over trash cans, and visible dents on dumpsters."
And the older voice somewhat calmed down and asked, "And the bodies? The most obvious sign that there's been a tussle in those alleys!" the younger man sighed, "We do not know boss. No matter where we looked it's as if someone erased them from existence. And yes, we've searched each car from each group if the bodies were inside, but no, there are no bodies. No damage to the cars either. Just the usuals inside of it, untouched."
The boss sighed in exasperation and frustration, (What the hell...? Once the boss finds out I'm dead meat.) "One way or another we'll get that girl. After all, her daddy is the 4th richest man in the world! There's no way in hell that he ain't paying for her ransom." And the underling who told his report earlier grunted in agreement, "True enough, sir. But what if he's not paying? What do we do with the girl?" and the elderly man smirked maliciously, "Then we'll have other uses for her. Instead of killing her outright, why don't we have fun with her first before sending her to the streets so we can get our money's worth?" then the subordinate smiled in an excited and twisted manner as he licked his lips in a perverse sense of anticipation.
Current information bestowed for the public, provided by the Knights of Nights.
Subject: Reproduction of Non-Humans and Hybrids. (2/3)
"With the passage of time also meant the passage of scientific and biological studies within the Org. What we learned is that certain species of Non-Humans may breed with Humans without consequence. (I.E the offspring unable to reproduce their own offspring or possessing any genetic defects.) When we say certain, we mostly mean human-like Non-Humans, such as possessing features such as the face, arms, and appendages and built similarly to bipedal form."