Soon as they left the Sekihara estate. Shinji, Nyamo and Aika gathered behind a secluded alleyway to have a private talk and…
"You absolute moron‼"
*Smack!*
"Gweh!"
…Aika smacks her uncle for the umpteenth time today, this time with a powerful dropkick.
"Sorry…" Shinji answers in resignation without showing any resistance. His entire body covered in wounds, bumps and face swelled beyond belief. Looking as if he was stung by a swarm of wasps.
"This is the last time I'm ever trusting you to take charge of anything‼! JOINT BUSTER!" Aika shouts technique name loudly as she easily lifted Shinji's chubby body over her head. She then flips his body upside down, places his neck over her shoulder, grabs his thighs tightly and jumps high into the air.
*Crack!*
She lands in that same position and you can hear the bones from Shinji's neck and joints cracking underneath the impact.
"ORAAAA!!!!" Aika then follows-up the famous wrestling move by pulling him by the arm, spins in circles and throws her uncle hard against the wall, causing a large cloud of dust.
"Shit. I was always dreaded of the day you would learn about this move and use it against me would come…" Shinji slides over the wall and rubs the back of his head, checking if he got another contusion. Looking composed as ever, ignoring the deep pain coursing through his body.
"Last time we were supposed to go to your place and form strategies against demons and stuff. We found you passed out with the TV still on. Ai found that anime's new season airing on it when we got there nya!"
"Great. Note to self. 'Always check if the TV is off before losing consciousness'. Oh! Don't forget to close any compromising tabs on your PC either…and…done!" Shinji speaks out loud as he proceeds to leave a footnote on his phone main screen.
His niece quickly closed the distance between them, grabbed him by the collar, making him drop the cellphone in the process. Aika then did something she always avoided to do and directly stared her uncle deep in the eyes. Full of nothing but scorn and contempt.
"AAHHH! Ai-Chan! You can aim for the face but please spare the phone! My entire album of waitresses from all the Maid Cafes spread across town are there! I never backed up any of those! I don't have the funds to buy a new one right now either!"
"What the fuck were you thinking?!" Aika exasperates as she shakes him desperately. The desperation and derision in her voice was palpable to the least.
"…" Instead of responding to her. Shinji reached for his usual lighter and cigar. Then proceeds to turn his head away from Aika to breathe out the smoke away from her face.
"Look, I'm really sorry okay? The way Sei ran his mouth made me angry and I might have gotten a little bit carried away."
"Only a little bit?!"
"Fine. I admit. I fucked up. Big time. But listen, I'm confident that we can overcome this together!"
"Huh?! You expect me to just say okay and actually think I'm playing along with this shit?!"
"I assure you. I'm not happy with myself either. I'm actually VERY against getting you involved with my stupidity. In fact, I want to beat myself up for dragging you into this just as much as you do. But, what is done is done. I made Sei a promise and now I have to deal with all consequences in my own way. A Tsunaboshi can't go back on his word. Even if that wasn't the case, my pride as a man wouldn't allow that to happen anytime soon."
"Screw your pride! I say we just go back in there and kill-"
"I already told you. We are not doing that! Your parents can't afford to make enemies out of Mrs. Sekihara! Face it! Our hands are tied here! Whether you like it or not!"
"Argh‼! Fuck!" Outburst with anger, Aika punches the wall behind him, lightly grazing Shinji in the cheek.
Multiple cracks start to form around where she punched landed as her hand turned purple.
Nyamo carefully analyzed the damage done to both her hand and surroundings.
(That blow was way more intense than usual… She unconsciously charged her punch with Mana. It isn't much. But, Ai's strength is starting to return bit by bit nya…)
Shinji gently reached for his niece's wrist, whispered in a soft voice and casts a subtle healing magic. The pain stinging in her hand quickly faded away. Shinji then got on his knees and begged:
"Please go along with this man's selfishness just a little bit longer! I promise to make it up to you on Monday!"
"Grrr…" Aika grinds her teeth in frustration.
"C'mon Ai-Chan! You already know how much of a lecher I am! Do you really think I can't make a boy like Sei crack under a week? Just take this as a crash course over how to seduce Shades and make him acknowledge you as a woman or something alongside those lines!"
"Shades?! Since when did you two got so chummy?!"
"Ya mean you didn't hear? I have been counseling him with something dark that has been eating his heart and been best buds for a while now! Ah! I can't tell you what since I've promised him not to tell anyone! Just know that I have information that could help you have him wrapped around your finger!"
Aika imagined herself beckoning Yozo towards her and hugging her tightly in his gunpowder laden arms.
"Argh! Fine! But you better win this!" Aika blushed a little once she realized that she could take the situation to her benefit and accepted her fate.
"Great! Now with this topic out of the way…" Shinji turns his attention towards the cat sitting right next to him, who was cleaning the blood dripping out of his open wounds with her rough tongue.
"Kittypaws. While I kept him distracted, did you managed to find out what happened with Sei, or found any leads as to why he looked like that or the reason why he got involved with the demons in the first place?"
"Kind of! But, I don't even know where to begin explaining nya…"
"Let me rephrase my question then. Is Sei really possessed then?"
"Sensei. Did the Boss ever taught you how the merging process of a Magical Girls between a Sacred Beasts works?" Nyamo answered Shinji's question with one of her own.
"Not really. Agi-Chan tried explaining that to me once before. But, a group of Magical Girls were running laps around the base when she did and it ended up coming in one ear and out the other."
"You see Sensei. As the Demon Purging Ritual previously proved, the human soul is something incredibly malleable and adaptable to nearly any influence. However, they cannot be erased so easily or molded unless you count death as a deciding factor. We might say us Sacred Beasts become one with our Partner but it's more like your own soul is wearing a sleeve made out of ours. It's not that different from how demonic possession works at its core. I've tried scanning his soul back there in his room and only got more confused with what I found…" Nyamo paused for second as she tried to find a way to word her explanation better.
"That's not Sei's case nya! He is permanently stuck. I don't know how or why it happened but, their souls and wavelengths were so similar that they literally melted together into one being. There is no line drawn between them. Sei is Sloth and Sloth is Sei. I don't even know whether to call him human, demon, both or something else entirely nya."
"Is that actually possible though? Don't get me wrong! I trust your assumption Kittypaws but that sounds a bit of a stretch if you ask me…"
"It is on theory nya. But for something like that to happen, you would need something close to a miracle , like having someone being born with exact same DNA as you. Which is why I'm so confused about all this."
"Welp. I've already sent a Mind Mail to Agi-Chan, asking her for more time once I explained to her this mission will take longer than expected."
"Makes me wonder how the hell you keep convincing her to let pull stunts like that…"
"It's not like I don't go unpunished for most of them you know? Anyhow, I have some urgent business to attend tomorrow and have to plan our cards right so I will only see you two by Monday."
"Hold on a moment! You claimed to know Sei tastes right Pig? So why don't we just have Bink shapeshift into a character he likes and end this shit right then and there?"
"Three reasons. A: Speedo has trouble transforming into a female. Trust me, we tried everything to help me with my money troubles and the results weren't pretty to watch. Let alone take pictures. B: That doesn't sit well with me. That sounds like cheating against the promise I just made with Sei. C: I don't want to drag Speedo into our problems just yet because he is just getting used to school and is going to be pretty busy doing his end of a promise we've made back when we first met. I do promise you to keep that in mind as a last resort though."
"I can already imagine that you two are up to no good again…"
"Bwahaha‼ It's for a good cause! Just trust me on this one! If you excuse me, I have stuff to some stuff to be done by tomorrow if I want to find the time to start operation 'Make Sei believe in 3D women Again'! See ya Ai-Chan! Kittypaws! Don't forget to do your homework!"
*Sigh*
With that, Aika sighed in defeat and Shinji dashed across the streets while jumping over from building to building with his phone in hand, sending multiple messages and making some calls. He then stopped in place for a moment and looked towards the hill where Merry High stands on.
(I'm counting on you from now on Speedo…)
****
A few hours ago in classroom 3-A…
"Ehh?! There's no club activities today?" Akira exasperates. His classmates around him are either busy packing their stuff or chatting, still in their desks.
"I'm sorry Akira-Senpai. Looks like there was leak in one of pipes in the shooting range and the celling is on the risk of collapsing. Mr. Tsun apologized for his carelessness and promised us to have it dealt with by tomorrow morning."
One of his juniors dropped by to pass the message to him and bows apologetically.
"N-No! That's ok! I didn't mean to pin the blame on anyone for that! I'm…just a bit surprised since it looked just fine yesterday…" Akira began to mutter under his breath.
"You won 1st place in the state tournament last month right? You deserve a break every now and then Akira-Senpai! I'm going to a friend's mixer now! See ya!"
"Ah! I…"
*Sigh*
The girl quickly left and Akira is left reaching for the air. The cute junior who just dropped by is one of the few people in the school who approaches Akira without feeling the pressure or feared by his presence and popularity. Not only that but she is Akira's clubmate at that.
He wanted to continue the conversation with her to the point he was gathering the courage to ask if he could tag along with her to the mixer. He was curious about these sort of things, especially given the things his uncle told him that it could happen in one of those. Akira was still a healthy teenager boy after all.
Instead, Akira then sighs dejectedly and plops back into his chair.
"There goes my way to relieve stress and pass the time too…Maybe there's some housework left to do back at home or something…"
As he proceeds to put stuff away into his bag in his gloomy mood. Akira gives up partway, leans on his desk, wraps his head around his arms and decides to rest a little before heading home.
Underneath his desk was a hidden mic which was tapped into a small speaker very close-by.
On the other side of the rooftop. Across the school second building in front of #-A was four boys. Wielding a large collection of airsoft guns strapped in their waist and holstered over their jackets, spying on Akira through the device and a pair of binoculars. Near the entrance, one of the boys stepped away from the group for a second and seemed to be busy in his phone. It was the small part of the elusive Akira-Chan Fan-club.
"That sucks! Akira-Chan is so awesome when she draws the bow too!"
"Too bad nobody tries to get near her when she has that glint in her eye while she is concentrating..."
"Ourselves included…I just wished there was something we could for her instead of just protecting her from the shadows all the time…but it's hard to approach her when she is that squeamish around other people…"
*Sigh*
Mirroring how their beloved idol was feeling, the three boy sighed in unison. Until…
*Slam!*
The door in Akira's class is suddenly slammed open, catching the attention from everyone in the room and the fan club as well. They find a certain new transfer student walking in.
"What's' up everyone?" The gleaming teeth in Bink's confident grin causes even the girl seniors to swoon as his greets them. They even ignored his head slamming on the floor pose.
"KYAA! HE'S SO HANDSOME AND COOL‼"
He ignores their squeals and glances around the class. Bink then finds what he is looking for and walks towards Akira's desk. He then pokes the him in the cheek with his finger.
"Excuse me! Are you Akira-Chan?"
"Hm?" Akira raises his head and rubs his drowsy eyes. Once he realized Bink was actually speaking to him. Akira was genuinely surprised.
"Uh! Yes!"
"So you are the girl from the famous 'Dual Beauties'! The name's Bink! I'm new around these parts and was curious to see how much of a cutie you were! Glad to see that the rumors weren't exaggerating after all!"
"I…uhm…thanks?" Akira was confused and fidgety around the new stranger.
"Listen! I was invited to a mixer by some one of the girls in my class and they seem to be running low on guys! So, would you like to join us? I'm sure the guys will come in droves if they hear you are in on it!"
"R-Reall- Ouch!" He was so excited that Akira bit his tongue on accident as he stood up.
"Since I'm the one inviting you. I promise to act as your escort and step in and help you out if any of them gets too rowdy or make you uncomfortable too. What do you say Akira-Chan?" Bink extends his hand towards him with a gentle smile.
"I..." Akira was about to reach for Bink's hands but stops once he realizes the people around them were gossiping without any regard whether they could hear it or not.
"That bitch! She got the new kid all over her already! Just how many more does she need in her little cult before she is satisfied?!"
"Shh! You are speaking too loud moron…"
"Is he a first year? Never seen him before..."
"Can't believe the balls on that guy! The Fan-Club will probably be all over his ass pretty soon…"
The situation and being the center of attention a made certain trauma Akira experienced in the past to resurface. The voices began to overlap with ones that don't comes from the girls in his current class but others. Because of that, he remained frozen in his seat and hesitated to take Bink's hand.
Soon as he noticed that was making him restless, Bink turned his attention towards the closest pair of girls next to him.
"Ladies please! Why don't you two join us? There's enough of me for everyone! Besides, don't yall feel bad for Akira-Chan being put on a pedestal all the damn time? From what I can see she barely has any memories of her time in here because of silly stuff like that! Let her at least have a great time here before she graduating with all of you! Don't ya think so too? Girls?"
"…" The girls tried to find a comeback but couldn't and remained silent, feeling bad once they pondered over what Bink just pointed it out. They looked at each other before saying anything.
"Guess you're right…Sorry Akira-San. We would be happy to join and have the chance to know you better." The two grumbled as they bowed and apologized to them.
"You guys too!" Bink smile faded as he points at the rest of the boys in the room.
"You all admire her so much that nobody had the balls and tried to even strike a conversation?! Are yall that afraid to talk with such a cutie like her?! Grow a pair already! Aren't you all in high school?! Third-years even!"
"Bink-San…" Aside from his family and Yozo, nobody else stood their neck out for him like that. That made the nasty thoughts in Akira's mind to disappear as if they never happened. His eyelids were watery and so he tried very hard hold back his tears and hide his urge to sniffle.
"No matter how good, bad or far you think someone is out of your league or maybe in completely different realms to the point that you isolate that someone! Nobody deserves to live throughout life all alone, without having someone to lean on or at least confide about their problems!"
The loneliness Akira was going through and the things Shinji told him about Akira resonated with Bink's demonic heart on a personal level. Both were outcasts in their species albeit for completely different reasons and circumstances. It made Bink think of both him and Akira as kindred spirits regardless.
"…" The entire fell silent under Bink's rather passionate speech.
"Let's get going Akira-Chan!" Instead of waiting for him to react. Bink started pulling Akira by the hand. The latter not showing any resistance or hesitation this time around.
"Ye-Yeah!" Akira answered his newfound friend with the happiest smile he had all year.
"That asshole! Who does he think he is?!" The boy perching over the rooftop corner got pissed, readied his gun with a noise suppressor and sets its sights to Bink's head.
"Eat rubber!"
Soon as he pulled the trigger, the boy who was on the phone behind them swooped instantly and grabbed the rubber bullet with his bare hands as soon as it left the barrel. The full impact on his palm was not enough to make him even flinch from the pain. His pair of shades almost fell off his face but he managed to keep them in with his free hand. The sunlight reflecting underneath the boy black spiky hair revealed that person was none other than Yozo. Leader and founder of the Akira-Chan Fan-Club.
"Captain?!" The members were surprised with their leader reaction and actions.
"Stand down men!"
"Captain! Are we are just going to let that dude run his stupid mouth like this and take Akira-Chan away just like-wha?!"
"…" Everyone fell silent once they saw Yozo letting go of the bullet and taking off his sunglasses to stare back at them. No one in the school ever saw his eyes before so they were left slack jawed.
"Maidlover was the one who called me earlier. He asked us to do him a favor and not interfere this time around." They raised their eyebrows and tilt their heads in united confusion in response to Yozo's comment.
"Huh? Sensei did? He never asked us anything before…fuck. I still owe him for helping me get over my ex and introduced me to Akira's brilliance and you guys…"
"He helped me accept my sister's new boyfriend…"
"Knowing how he goes about things; Ero-Sensei probably has a plan or reason as to why he is doing all this…he's probably scheming something…"
All them realized they had many stuff to thank Ero-Sensei for and were considering to reluctantly accept his request.
"Don't forget he also saved our sorry asses by covering for us during the school festival last year! We almost got caught by President Hannya that day too!"
"…" Once Yozo reminded them from that fact, all of them reigned in their hostility and found hard to answer him back.
"Trust me. I'm working with Kaori-San as vice president for well over a year now and know how she operates. Getting suspended would be the least of our worries if she caught us red-handed."
"But are we really just going to let a newcomer like him run his mouth freely just like that?"
"I'm not fond of the idea either. But, the newcomer has a point. Akira-Chan deserves better. Better be someone new and not a middleman between her bullies and us to hang out with. Last we tried something like that it ended horribly."
"…"
"Either way, Sensei only asked us to observe the transfer student for now and judge by ourselves if he is to be trusted or not. I say we just sit back and watch things unfold for no-"
"Gyahahaha!"
Their conversation is interrupted by a noisy laughter echoing through their small mic.
"Sorry for being so nosy! Now, let's get going Akira-Chan! I made a agreement with the others before that the first girl to get there gets to peck me on the chee-"
*Blam!*
Under the span of a second, Bink suddenly went flying with incredible force. Enough to fly above three desks and break through the wall behind him. His body as twitching and his face was in ecstasy despite his current situation.
"Bink-San/ Bink‼" Akira and the people in the room shouted.
(Hm?) Akira heard something falling on the floor and rolling next to his feet. He crouched under his desk and picked it up to see what it was. He tilts his head in confusion of what he found.
(A steel...pellet?)
The projectile Akira found was shot with power equal of being hit in the face with a cannonball. The metal was completely bent because the powerful impact against Bink's diamond-like skull. It was still warm to the touch too.
Akira tried to look around and figure out from where the projectile came from but it was too fast to even see from which angle it was shot.
The boys and Yozo proceed to cautiously duck under the roof's benches and hide from plain sight.
In Yozo hands was a bulky-looking slingshot with 'Baby's 1st Railgun' etched on its handle with bold and stylish letters. It is reinforced with springs, durable threads and copper wires attached to a very small battery strapped to his hips right next to a now opened pouch.
Filled to the brim with iron balls of variable sizes, marbles, smoke bombs and many steel projectiles in all sort of shapes and sizes. The sheer weight of the slingshot would probably be way too heavy for a regular person to lift it above their waist. Let alone use it properly. The friction caused a small trail of smoke and faint sizzling sounds that still haven't been dissipated yet.
"So much for sit back and watch huh Cap?" The boy who had previously fired his gun and stopped asked sarcastically as Yozo shrugs at him.
"I don't know what you are talking about. My hand just slipped…"
"Suuuure..." The boys gave their leader a doubtful look as they answered...
(Sensei lines were on point! Good thing we rehearsed for this beforehand! Hopefully this makes the boys garner enough hate to ambush me in a corner sometime soon…I can't wait to hang out with Akira-Chan too! I would never had thought that the prospect of school would turn out to be this much fun!)
{Please become friends with my nephew and help him have the best year of his life!}
That was the second request Shinji had asked of his demon buddy.
(Just you watch Sensei! I'll make his dream of a hundred friends come true!)
Bink was very excited with whatever is to come and prepared to live his life in ways he never thought the embodiment of the Sin of Lust would have the chance to experience for himself…