| abstract | - "You love me, right?" "That goes without saying." "You have no interest in her, right?" "None at all." "I'm the one you're going to have kids with, right?" "You're too young for that." "Dyan!" "When you get older, yes." This was Dyan and Ikimoshi, having a civil discussion over by a stream the group was passing by on their way. Ikimoshi had been jealous of the attention Dyan had been paying Lisette, which was purely out of interest for her safety because he was perfectly convinced that Nika was going to fry her brain at any moment, believing that would lead her to divulging information. He picked Ikimoshi up and place her on his lap, because, she was still short enough for that to work. She wrapped his arms around him and laid her head down on his chest. "So, you're mine, right? And nobody elses?" "Of course." Meanwhile, Lisette was sitting by Dyan's side. The area was filled to the brim with plant life- probably because that devil woman hadn't started a fight here yet. The sun blazed down- Lisette felt as if the sun was burning down upon her snow-white skin. For some reason, all five of 'em were allergic to sunlight. As if nonchalantly, the young-ish woman tugged on Dyan's arm incessantly, demanding, "Oi, you. Let me sit on your shoulders now, or suffer my wrath!" With that, she shot a somewhat threatening glare at Ikimoshi. Ikimoshi moved her arms to Dyan's shoulders, and stuck her tongue out at Lisette. Dyan let out a weak chuckle reminiscent of Captain Jushirō Ukitake. "I'm sorry Lisette, but it appears as if that's impossible as I am completely taken." He wondered if she would notice the double meaning of that sentence. Isshō, who was picking herbs with Touma, looked over at Dyan. "It seems he has trouble on his hands." Isshō would normally have found this amusing, but, he wasn't at all fond of Lisette. Touma scratched his head in complete confusion. "Yeah, well..." For the briefest of moments, he stared out to the riverbank, where Yuuki kept egging Zakura on about their relationship. From what he could see, Yuuki was chasing that rose-haired idiot around with dangerous eyes. "Love's blind." Meanwhile, Lisette puffed her cheeks out, tempted to smash Ikimoshi's head in- though she kept her composure, spitting, "Well, whether you like it or not, I'll make you mine. I do not give two tugs of a dead donkey's wang, but damn you'll do what I say, got it?" Dyan chuckled. "I don't take orders from anyone, Lisette. Why do you think I'm no longer in the Gotei 13?" He ruffled Ikimoshi's hair, and the younger girl smiled, tightening her hold onto him. "You're more than free to tag along with me if you feel so inclined, but, you won't be able to make me yours." The wind blew past them. Lisette scratched her head. "What da flying flip is the Gotei 13?" Seemed as if, she wasn't well-educated. She puffed her cheeks out- killing intent surged forth, as it seemed as if the land around them was eroding at a high speed. Without hesitation, Yuuki, Zakura, and Touma attempted to restrain her with all their might, all while she was screaming obscenities at Ikimoshi. "O-oi! I'll break that doll's body with my bloodlust...!" All the while, Nika let out a small chuckle. "No you won't." Dyan replied, placing a hand over her face. "Inemuri." Without a word, her pupils dilated several times before she fell unconscious. "Can we throw her in the ocean?" Ikimoshi asked, sounding hopeful. "No." Dyan shot that request down immediately. "And no, Nika, do not start vivisecting her." He wanted to get that out of the way before the woman started. Nika pouted. "You're no fuuuuuuuuun~" Slowly, she picked up the unconcious Lisette and slung her over her back; as if about to carry her for the rest of the trip. Chances were, she would wake up in a few moments and begin to kick and scream once again. Dyan stood up, and, the way he was carrying Ikimoshi was much like one would an infant. And Ikimoshi was enjoying the attention. "So, want to tell us exactly where we're going next?" Isshō called over to Nika. "I love the scenery, but, we need a point to all this traveling." Nika retorted, "...Well, if we keep walking south from here, then we should reach~" Out of nowhere, she pulled out a map. "Uhm, well, Hoshinowa City. I bet, that they'd probably be there~" With that, she performed an odd gesture, declaring, "Well, then~ Let's go~" "Nika, are you absolutely sure?" Dyan asked cautiously. "I don't trust your judgment. Also, throw Lisette to Isshōmaru. I don't really trust you to carry her either." "M-me!?" Isshō stammered. "Why do I have to carry her!?" "Because I'd be willing to bet Nika can sprout tentacles. And if those tentacles have spikes, and she easily slice Lisette up while we're not looking." That gained a underbreath cheer from Ikimoshi. And Dyan wasn't just spouting this off, he was serious. Puffing out her cheeks, Nika gripped Lisette's lithe, unconcious body with a single hand, before throwing her football style to Isshou. "Fiiiiiine~" To tell the truth, she could sprout tentacles from her tentacles on a whim- though this was rarely done. She continued, "Yes, I'm sure~ You can trust me~" Zakura remarked under his breath, "...Yeah, I can trust you to stab us in the backs." "I'll trust you Nika!" Ikimoshi called to her as Isshō fell back with an "UMPF!" and had to get helped back up by Touma. Isshō slung the girl over his back, but held her like she was poison. "Alright Nika, lead the way." Dyan instructed. Strangely, he'd taken up the leadership role. With honestly no clue to where she was going, Nika Kazoraem lead the group forwards, before reaching the mountain side, pointing up, declaring, "Hihihihi~ It's up there and over~" Zakura's eyes widened, exclaiming, "Wait, you're serious?" Nika's eyes sharpened as she responded, "Whaddya waitin' for~? Get crackin', boy~ Mush, mush~!" "You know, with the power level of all of us here, we only need just one of us to destroy that mountain." Dyan pointed out. "It's easier than climbing up that thing." "I'm inclined to agree..." Isshō murmured, gesturing to the load on his back. Nika smirked, "Alrighty~ Gimme a moment~" She thrust her hand into the nearest tree. Due to vector control, it appeared as if her arm had merged with it. As Nika screamed to the point of blood coming out from her throat, she disorderly swung her arm that was buried in the tree in the direction of the mountain. In an instant, Nika converged together and controlled all the vectors. A *BOOM* echoed throughout the area. In that instant, the Earth's rotation slowed down by about five minutes. Her arm, having taken away the enormous energy of the Earth's rotation, converted it via vector control into a single demonic attack, dragging that energy into Soul Society. The forcibly gouged-out tree was blown away at a horrifying velocity. The vicinity and area that served as an obstructing space between her and the mountain were being destroyed as if they were waste paper, as the tree shot forward at sub-light speeds, before obliterating all that was there. Sighing, Nika scratched her head, claiming, "And theeeeeere we go~ Let's mosey~" Dyan's eyes widened at this. "What the hell is she?" "I'm just gonna pretend the mountain collapsed on it's own." Isshō almost looked like he wanted to back away from such a display of raw power. "I'm magic~" Nika chimed, continuing, "Well, if you don't like it, then you can go shove it~" It was clear, she merely wanted to focus on the travel ahead- for once. "She's actually serious." Dyan noted as they followed Nika over the now cleared path. A passing thought made him wonder had any animals been alive on that mountainside. He certainly hoped not. "If there was any animals or shit, it wouldn't matter, got that~" Nika responded. "Now, hurry the hell up and walk, got it~?" "She reads minds!?" Dyan was taken aback as Isshō tried to figure out who the hell she was talking too. Ikimoshi had fallen asleep in Dyan's arms, dreaming about herself and him most likely. "Yes~" Nika responded. Meanwhile, Zakura applied his palm to his forehead in exasperation, sighing, "...What the heck is she...?" Yuuki answered, "Nobody knows." "My own personal guess is Satan." Dyan suggested, despite knowing full well the Biblical Lore did not apply to them, she was the closest thing to. "I was thinking an amalgamation of people's desire to be pests." Isshō added in helpfully. Lisette opened her eyes slowly, well- it was more like a machine snapping to life. Analyzing her surroundings, she screeched, "Alright, what the flying flip is going on!?" She eyed Nika off, snapping, "You had some hand in this, didn't you?!" Nika nodded, bluntly responding, "Yeppers~" Lisette continued, "What the shit are you preaching about!? There's no Devil, no God. Let me tell you a story. So this nutty Christian fanatic comes to my door, all glazed eyes and clean reproductive organs, asking if I ever think about God. So I tell him I killed God. I tracked God down like a rabid dog, hacked off his legs with a hedge trimmer, violated him with a knife and boiled off his corpse in a acid bath. So he pulls an alternating current Taser on me and tells me that only the official Serbian Church of Tesla can save my "Soul". So I hit him. What would you do?" "I do this." Dyan placed his hand over her face again. "Inemuri." Without a word, her pupils dilated several times before she fell unconscious. "I have nothing against her, I simply prefer her unconscious to conscious." He said when Isshō looked at him confused. Nika chimed, "So, you mean~" She pressed her fingers to her lips. "You prefer her unconscious and butt-naked in your loli rape bunker~?" Yuuki mouthed, 'Don't start anything...' Nika continued, "Of course, then a good friend of mine would have to seize your bunker for herself~ Watch out~" Dyan's face became that slight shade of pale pink. He couldn't deny that such an idea did sound tempting, but that was listening to his lower body and not his brain. "Are we almost there?" Deciding to prod and poke at this person, Nika decided to polish feces in front of everyone's faces, responding, "Well, a few hours~" Hopping around Dyan, she continued, "So, admit it, admit it, admititadmititadmititadmitit~ You are a lolicon~ I think, I shall repoe rt you to the authorities...or Sayaka shall steal your children from you~" "Shove it!" Dyan hissed. "And, a few hours? Oh for the love...all the times she's gonna wake up while we're walking..." Nika incessantly replied like a broken record, "Lolicon lolicon lolicon lolicon loliconloliconloliconloliconloliconLOLICON~" Meanwhile, Zakura, Yuuki, and Touma decided to remain quiet, as Yuuki informed Dyan, "...You know, if you just admit it, then she'll be off your case." "I'll pretend she doesn't exist." Dyan replied. "They hate that." So, he and the group kept walking, Dyan choosing to ignore every thing Nika was saying as they moved. Yuuki responded, "...Not a good idea. She has other ways of getting what she wants." Really, she did. With that, Nika started to poke and prod at Dyan's arm without a word, all while a large grin was affixed upon her face. Dyan simply remained silent. Isshō tiring of watching, snapped. "Nika! We're supposed to be following you, and only God knows where we've walked now! Do us a favor and get back in the head of the procession!" Nika let out a booming, cacaphonic laugh. She had achieved what she desired- to get a rise out of the Zangetsu-wielding person known as Dyan Arashi. "Ohohoho~ That's more like it~ Now, to tell the truth..." She paused dramatically, like that dramatic chipmunk meme. "I know where we're going, so don't worry~" All of this was spoken with a devillish smile on her face. Yuuki applied his palm to his forehead in exasperation, sighing, "...We're fucked." "When we get to this little town, I am going shopping for new clothes." Isshō replied, sounding excited at the prospect. "Touma can hold this woman." Touma sighed, grumbling, "Can we just leave her on a bench until she wakes up? It's not like, raping your childhood if you do so." Scratching his head, he continued, "...Do I have to do anything?" "Do anything?" Isshō repeated, puzzled. "Like?" Touma growled while crossing his arms, "...Like, follow you around and shit like that. Don't include me in crap I don't wanna do, got that?" "But...what if I don't have enough money to pay for the things I want...?" Isshō started to sound like he was dejected and put on a forlorn expression. "You'll help me pay if I don't have enough...won't you Touma?" Dyan repressed a chuckle. Ikimoshi pulled the same stunts on him all the time. What's worse? He succumbed to it every time. Touma crossed his arms and stomped his foot on the ground lightly. "...Tch! Dammit, then I'll go with you. Damn poor bugger can't even afford shoes..." Nika let out a booming cackle, before waltzing off, as Lisette's eyes snapped open, stammering, "W-Wait, what the hell? Where am I!?" "Son of a-!" Dyan thought, surprised. "You...fell asleep, so Isshō is carrying you." It wasn't a total lie. Clutching her head in confusion, Lisette retorted, "...Tch! That raises the question of how the hell did I lose it in the first place..." She eyed Dyan and Ikimoshi off, declaring, "I have a WILD guess, that you two did something." Her eyes focused on Ikimoshi. "ESPECIALLY you." Ikimoshi was sleeping peacefully against Dyan's chest, and didn't take notice. "Lisette, please be good and stop complaining..." Dyan sighed. "If it wasn't for me, you'd be either in the river in a bag or Nika would be drinking pure'ed brain. Can you please just behave? I'll put you back to sleep if you wish." "In the words of Jesus Christ...well, I think it was him, "Up yours."" She spat, as she turned around while leaping out of Isshou's grip, before sighing with a slight blush across her face as she hug-tackled Dyan eagerly, "...Okay. What do you want me to do, exactly?" All that was in her brain was 'BURN MAIM KILL'. Dyan was quick to toss Ikimoshi to Isshō before he was tackled, and he was holding her in an almost "sweet" kind of manner. "What do you mean?" His expression was deliberately deadpan. "Yes, I am awake. Now, what is it that you want me to do?" Her voice lowered, "Oh, wait. Not that. Goddamn you lolicons. Dammit, I'm 27- oh, you want me to calm myself. So it's not a request or anything. Ahh." Wait, what? Lisette sounded as if she was on crack, to be honest. "Lisette, you're beginning to ramble." Dyan told her, almost cracking a smile. "And if you were 27, you'd be an infant. Now, shall I put you back to sleep, or are you sane now?" Lisette clicked her tongue in exasperation. "S-Shush...! 27 physically, got that!?" Annoyance could be seen in her posture; her tone pointed it out even more. Clasping her lithe hands together, she continued, "Y'know, if you think about it, other than killing, what do we really value in life? God? Love? Don't make me laugh. When I was a brat, crawling around in that shithole Rukongai, it seemed God and Love were always sold out when I went looking. Before I knew better, I clung to your God and prayed to Him every single night- yeah, I believed in God right up until that night the Shinigami beat the hell out of me for no reason at all. All they saw when they looked at me was another waste of space. With no power and no God, what's left for a bitch who's meant to be discarded like a toy to rely on? It's money, of course, and power. With these two things, this world's less hellish." Sighing, Lisette gasped, "...I have my reasons to lack the aspect you call sanity, now you know. So, save your hugs, cuddles, and puppies for somebody else. I ain't joinin' in with you hipsters. I'm here for one thing and one thing only." At that point, she realized she needed to lay off the nihilistic rants- they sure as shit weren't good for her health nor sanity. "I'm sorry, I seem to have gone momentarily deaf and missed almost all of what you were saying." Dyan said, turning his attention back to her. He had been looking over at the river. "All I know is, earlier, you wanted me to carry you, yes? If you behave, I will do that for the rest of the way into town." "Wow. Dangle the bait in front of the psycho and stick me with the loli." Isshō thought, adjusting Ikimoshi over his back. "Classic." Momentarily, Lisette possesses a spring in her step as a crimson hue glazed over her cheeks, like a schoolgirl with her first crush. Uncharaistically, she sprouted an excited, "Yay!", causing Touma to apply his palm to his forehead in confusion, stating, "...Huh. Odd." "Don't read too much into it." Dyan replied, holding her rather close. He couldn't repress a chuckle at her excitement. "I now think she's bipolar." Isshō murmured to Touma. "How long does he want to keep her alive? She did try to kill us all..." "Oi! I heard that, ya bastard..." Lisette continued, "I ain't bipolar, jus' have a hard time...with expressing...those new-fangled thingamijigs called feelings, got that!?" With that, as if high on a sugar rush, she leapt upon Dyan's shoulders. Unfortunately, she possessed the weight of a 27 year old as well. Of course, Dyan barely registered that. If he would fall to such mediocre weight, he wouldn't have been fit for the 11th Division. "You're too excited." Dyan told her. "I'm not a ferry." "It's your fault, you dangled the bait in front of the rabid lion." Isshō told him. Lisette shot Isshou a 'hahaha, I'm moar favourited than you' glare; holy shit, did Touma want to smack that smug look right off her little face with a brick. Meanwhile, unable to retain her glee, Lisette continued to sing happily, while Touma was as sure as shit that Dyan couldn't stand such childishness for long. "...He has NO idea what he's gotten himself into." "Lisette, I will put you back to sleep." Dyan told her, quite calmly surprisingly. In the human world, he worked with children. This behaviour was nothing different. And he did frequently put the loud ones to sleep. Silencing herself, Lisette chose willingly to shut her trap. "U-Uh, s-sure." Yeah, really. She was somewhat intimidated by the Zangetsu-user's words. "Nika, how far?" Isshō asked. "I'm itching to try new clothes!" Dancing around the two as if she were in a drunken stupor, the devil woman chimed, "Well, well~" Continuing, she chirped incessantly, "Well, if you look to your left, then..." She smirked. "Hihihihi~ That's not it~" Pointing to the right, Nika finished, "Look at your hand, now back to me, now back at your hand, now back to me. Sadly, your hand isn't me. But if you look to your right, it could be similar to me~" "Nika, we'd have a better job looking ourselves..." Dyan sighed, adjusting Lisette so she wouldn't fall. "If you have no idea where you are going, a Zanpakutō spirit can probably search faster than us." "Ohoho~" Nika's cacaphonic laugh boomed throughout the air. "Well, you know me~ We'll get there, buuuuut let's have fun while we walk~" Touma growled, "Stop fooling around." Nika sighed with an obvious 'haters gonna hate' look on her face, "Don't be a party pooper~ It's over there~" She pointed to her right, pointing out an obvious shopping mall complex which gave off an aura of futuristicness, if that is even a word. Over three stories tall and about several hundred kilometers wide, this building's door was rather, large- large being an understatement. Lisette commented, "Holy crap on a corn cracker...That thing's like, half the city." Isshō almost dropped Ikimoshi, but managed to catch himself. The sight of the mall shocked him. His eyes were practically sparkling. "I can't wait to get in there! I'm gonna shop 'till I drop!" "Touma, I have a feeling your wallet will be weighing you down alot less." Dyan chuckled, looking at the city without so much as a shock. Nika chimed while placing her hand on Touma's shoulder, "Well, my boy~ You will be broker than a hobo~" Touma sighed as he readied himself to lose a lot of cash. "...Just don't go nuts, okay?" Isshō smiled. "Don't worry, you'll only have to worry if I run out of my own money." "Which you inevitably will." Dyan butted in. "I'll show you Ikimoshi's closet if I ever get a chance. Take a look at how full it is, and how empty my wallet usually is." Touma growled, stating, "Knowing you, that'll be in a few minutes." Yeah, Touma Seisou wasn't too optimistic about such matters. Nika muttered something to herself, which Touma could've sworn was 'I miss that person', but to be honest, he wasn't really sure. It was rare, even though he'd only known her for such a short period of time that Nika Kazoraem would display such seriousness, which was kinda, well, off-putting. As Touma inquired what was wrong, Nika decided to remain quiet for the time being. Scratching his head, Touma growled, "...Alright, then. Have it your way." It didn't take long to get in to town, and Dyan, with quite a few protests, put Lisette down so he could take the sleeping Ikimoshi back from Isshō, who had already took Touma by the hand and went into a Woman's Clothing store called On Display. Dyan decided he didn't want to know the meaning behind the name. He also had promised Lisette he'd buy her anything she wanted while they were in town. "Ok, Nika, explain what exactly we're looking for in this town." Dyan told her, not sure if he could call it a "town" anymore. Nika's expression turned blank for the briefest of moments, before responding, "Ooooh~" Pausing in her tracks, the devil woman answered, "...Well, according to my directions using Google Maps, the ASOCS is located here~ Yes, the real one~" "Google...Maps...?" Dyan asked incredulously. "That website from the human world? That's a terrible source!" Nika scoffed, "Well, when it told me to run past that patch of grass and it'd lead me to the Land of Chocolate, I knew it was reliable~ So our opinions may differ, is all~" Dyan leaned forward slightly, an audible creaking signalling his patience with Nika unhinging. His eyes were wide. Nika was the first ever person to get a reaction like this out of Dyan. "Hihihihihihi~" Nika smirked. "Are you, frusterated or something~?" "...I'm going to ignore you now." Dyan muttered, taking Lisette by the hand and walking off. "I don't know when I'll stop." Nika sighed, responding, "Fine with me~ If you can't take the heat, get out of the fireplace~" "So, Lisette, before any of us actually go and hunt these people down, where do you want to go?" Dyan asked, smiling down at the girl. Her height was always changing, it was so strange. "I'll take you anywhere around here and get you anything within my limits, though please factor cost into it." He had given Ikimoshi to Nika. He hoped she'd treat her ok. Lisette chimed, "It's actually nothing really, to be honest. I just...I..." Really, Dyan reminded her of that person who she loved fifty years ago. Come to think of it, they honestly looked and acted alike. With that, she squeezed his hand tighter with a slight blush. "...I'm happy to meet you again, I really am." To be honest, she sounded like she was on crack, but it was clear that her words possessed some truth to them. Dyan removed his hand from hers, and wrapped his arms around her as they walked. It was a nice gesture, platonic in itself but meant to make her feel good. "I see. I cannot return your feelings, but, I do enjoy seeing you like this. You could say that I am happy that you are happy." Lisette noticed; that since Dyan's hand was around her, so all he needed to do was raise it to her face and knock her out. Going batshit insane for the lack of a better word would mean she'd hit the sack earlier than expected. For the briefest of moments, Lisette's eyes glazed over, becoming grey and listless, before she responded quetly, "...Okay." He noticed her tone. "Why do you sound so depressed?" He asked, genuinely curious as to why. He held her a bit closer, as if deliberately just messing with her. "C'mon, I'm here to make sure you have a bit of fun." Lisette remained completely silent, before responding in a hushed tone, "...Yeah, sure." Dyan frowned, and stopped walking. "You do know I have to enjoy this to some point as well. If you're going to be like this, we can go back to Nika. I won't put you to sleep, I am simply trying to help you enjoy yourself for a bit." Seriously, a pissed off Lisette Ienaga was worse than 'trollololol' Nika Kazoraem. One couldn't help but think, what was he thinking? Some people found it hard to enjoy themselves when they were absolutely crushed, but still...Lisette faked a smile, responding, "...Okay, then. Let's go." Dyan sighed. He decided he'd give her a treat, since she seemed to like him so much. He removed his arm from her and bent down slightly to be on her level. In a surprise move, he kissed her deeply. Dyan was easily able to fake passion and emotion. He broke the kiss, waiting to see whether her reaction would consist of rage, embarrassment, or perhaps both. A faint shade of crimson flushed over Lisette's face, as all sorts of thoughts rushed through her head. What should she do? What the flying flip should she do? Quickly, she broke away, crossing her arms and turning, hissing with a slight hint of annoyance, "...Kuh! Damn bastard...Don't touch me." It was...it was all too similar to that time; this lead her to try to remove such a sensation from her mind as quick as possible. "Something about your reaction implies to me that you enjoyed it, but are one of those steadfast denial types." Dyan said, chuckling. He scooped her into his arms. "Come on, let's go." Something about this felt, well, rather off. Almost nostalgic and eerily haunting. As if, well, putting two and two together, Lisette drew her own conclusions. Eerie. Two hours later....Nika was being Nika, poking and prodding Ikimoshi until she gave the devil woman her sneakers, to sneak around like a goddamn ninja. Ikimosho however was still asleep. This was a girl who could sleep through pretty much anything except maybe rough sex, though that was a theory never tested. She slept on peacefully. Nika could see the narration clearly, and for that moment, decided to use some random power to transform into her true form, a tentacled monsterousity. With that, the devil woman continued to poke at the Mod Soul, shouting, "Hey, hey~ Waaaaaaaaaaake up~ I've got candy~" Several of her tentacles went flying by a simple Ken'natsu. The delivering of the damage of was Dyan, who had returned with Lisette on his shoulders. They both had a cotton candy in one hand, Dyan was holding Zangetsu in the other. Lisette was actually smiling, which proved that Dyan had managed to make her enjoy herself. "Nika, what are you planning on doing in a form like that?" Dyan asked, his blue eyes like ice on her. "Besides, you're terrifying the townspeople." He was right, several people were horrified at Nika's current form. Except some of them weren't horrified at her form but most of them were to an extent, rather seeing it as if it was similar to a guy walking past; treating it with absolute calm. Nika responded, "Because I feel like it~" Before Dyan could speak further, Isshō was walking out of the store, chatting with a young girl. He was laden down with bags that Touma, who looked like a man who had lost his life savings, was helping carry. Dyan chuckled when he saw Touma's expression. "Isshō run you dry?" Nika, possessing that usual spring in her step, performed a series a one-handed backflips after morphing into her usual form from her monsterous form before grabbing the young woman's hand, shaking it a wee bit enthuastically. "Hihihihihihihihi~ Hiiiiiiiiiii~" "Uwaaaaahhh..." The girl was thrown off guard, and slipped her hand out of Nika's, appearing as if she slid through it, and hid behind Isshō. She didn't take surprises well. "Oh? Kagome, it's fine, it's just Nika." Isshō processed what he said. "Ok, it's not fine, but this is Nika." It was never fine with Nika. It really never, never was. She continued to attempt to chase her around- Nika Kazoraem was oddly fond of cute things, to be honest. "Nika!" Dyan called out, but he wasn't looking at her, he was feeding Lisette some of his cotton candy. "Will you just stop and focus for once!?" Kagome had recovered from her initial shock and stopped running. "I'm sorry, I don't handle surprises or excessive force well..." She bent in a bow to everyone as a method of apology. "It was just so...shocking." Nika placed the tips of her fingers to her lips, relishing the fact that she was causing misery for people. "...And you are~?" "I'm Kagome Otoso." She said, smiling and bowing once again. "It's nice to meet you." "Thanks again Kagome." Isshō said as he tried to help Touma balance the bags. "You helped me choose and try on some really choice clothes." "It was nothing." Kagome replied, her smile persisting. "Think nothing of it." Nika, being Nika decided to dick around with her some more, inquiring in an alien tone, "Taaaaaaake me to your leaaaaaaaader~" Kagome seemed taken aback by this, nearly stumbling. "W-what?" "Nika...." Dyan sighed, exasperated. "Don't torture her." Nika pouted. "Awww~" With that, she put away her scalpel, which she would quite probably inadverdently cut herself with. Lisette gritted her teeth, hissing, "She's not kidding. This bitch is fuckin' suspicious." Lisette Ienaga did not have the cleanest mouth around. "Now what do I do with these?" Isshō whined. "I can't exactly carry these when we conduct our raid." "Raid?" This caught Kagome's attention. "Let me take them." Dyan murmured, forming a few hand signs. He extended his hand, opening a small dimensional wormhole, which sucks the bags neatly into, before he closed it. "That's a spell I've worked on. Not exactly the use I'd intended it for..." He turned to Touma. "You can thank me now." Touma sighed, "Wait, what? What is this I don't even..." Nika interrupted, "Maaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaagic~" Lisette responded, "...Alright, we're gonna start or not?" Her tone seemed rather serious. "I'm not helping you out because I like you or anything. It's because my interests have changed." "First, c'mon Lisette, you have to get down." Dyan nudged attempted to nudge her legs with his shoulders, but it seemed to press her butt cheek instead. He didn't notice. A faint shade of vermillion crossed Lisette's face as she kicked at Dyan's face violently; ahh, a typical pervert revenge reaction. "D-Damn bastard! Watch what you're doing!" Dyan sighed and forced her off his shoulders before going over to wake up Ikimoshi. She rubbed her eyes, looking around. "How long was I out...?" "For awhile." Dyan told her, petting her head. "C'mon, we're in town now." "Um..." Kagome spoke up, sounding nervous. "I'm not sure what this "raid" is, but, may I come along, please?" Lisette snapped, "...Do whatever the hell you want. I don't care." Nika remained silent, while Touma scratched his head responding, "...Yeah, sure." "Should you?" Isshō asked, concerned. "You don't really look like a fighter." "I'll try not to drag you down, I promise!" She said, sounding almost determined. Dyan frowned. "Why does such a fragile child want to follow us into a dangerous raid...?" He couldn't fathom it. Lisette crossed her arms, seething, "...Damn bitch is probably a spy." She charged up spiritual energy in her palm, as if preparing a spell. "Let me fix this..." "No!" Dyan and Isshō both shouted as Kagome backed off in fear. "Are you insane!?" Isshō hissed. "This is why we should have offed her!" "That's too drastic." Dyan told Isshō, glaring at him slightly. "Lisette, no." His voice was reprimanding, but too angry. Almost like a father correcting a child who had done wrong. Lisette puffed her cheeks out, noticing the comparison. "...Why don't you just shut your damn mouth?" Nika immediately, as if shockly repreminded her by slapping Lisette's hand away and negating her spiritual energy. Kagome breathed a sigh of relief as Isshō flashed Lisette a furious look. "So, Nika, where to?" Dyan asked, sorry that they had to keep asking Nika for directions. Now the poor new girl was going to get lost with them. Nika pressed her fingertips to her rosy lips. Spinning around in a circle, she would decide the direction by mere chance. Stopping in the north-east direction, she declared, "Thaaaaaaaaaat way~" Surprisingly, that actually was the way. "Woe betide us if you're wrong..." Dyan muttered. "Lead the way then?" "Um...why do you sound like you don't trust her?" Kagome asked, curious. Though no behaviour Nika had shown so far indicated she was to be trusted at all, so the bigger question would be how could anyone trust her? "Because I don't." Dyan replied simply. "If we manage to somehow get lost in the moon without leaving the planet, you'll see why." "You can always trust me~" Nika responded. "T-R-U-S-T me~" Wait, what was with the fabulous text? Ah, well. The group continued to march on, all while it was rather unclear where Zakura and Yuuki were. "They'll catch up." Dyan answered the group's thoughts as Ikimoshi danced around him. "So what do you do?" Isshō asked Kagome. "Um...I guess you could say I work as a servant." She chuckled nervously. Nika inched back slightly to join in this conversation, completely disregarding that she was leading. "...A servant to somebody who's so suspiciously like me, perhaps~?" "My master is not...um..." She wanted to find the right way to say it without being rude. "My master is not an eccentric nutcase, no." "What kind of servitude is it?" "Basic things. Household cleaning, odd little jobs." She said all of this smoothly. "This is one of the days off my master gives me, so I wanted to enjoy it." "Hm..." Nika pressed her thumb to her lip, responding, "...Hm~ Maybe, this person is somebody who has manipulated all the events leading up to this point and is my polar opposite yet similar~ And she's a freaky demon who eats people with her neck~ That means, you're a villain and infiltrating us to dig up dirt~" She smiled. "...I'm joking, dont'cha know~?" "Um..." She looked from Isshō to Dyan to Nika and then back to Isshō. "I don't want to sound rude but...has she recently stopped taking the medication that has probably been prescribed to her?" At this, Dyan let out a roar of laughter. The fact that someone else saw Nika as insane was refreshing indeed. Nika puffed her cheeks out. "Hmph~" Though she was indeed insane; people telling her such managed to grind her gears big time. However, the sheer force of her insanity actually warped reality; the world changed to accomedate her insane view of the world. She declared, "I AM THE WORLD'S DEADLIEST HOOD ORNAMENT~! PIDGEONS, CRAP ON ME AT YOUR OWN DEMISE~!" She paused, responding in a serious tone, "...It should be just around this corner, if you must know~" Kagome jumped at this, looking at Nika in shock and surprise. "So, what do we do when we get there Nika, if you're so confident this is the genuine organization and not another terrible joke that will give Touma an ulcer?" Isshō asked, curious. "I don't know~" Nika responded. Touma merely applied his palm to his forehead in exasperation. "Touma..." Dyan turned to him. "Please tell me you have some idea?" Touma scratched his head. "Well, I guess when we get there it'll be like a dungeon in an RPG. You know, dozens of floors and something; at the end there's the boss. Or something." "I am beginning to think this mission was doomed from the beginning." Dyan sighed, exasperated with his company. "I don't want to sound rude, but I am inclined to agree..." Kagome spoke up. "You all don't seem very...reliable." She edged around the word, not wanting to seem rude. Nika did naught but flip Kagome off; restraining herself so that she wouldn't tear her in half. "Well, screw you~ Why don't YOU do better~?" "I couldn't..." Kagome replied, inching away from Nika. "I simply don't think the rest of you all are up to it, at least, not without some actual thinking..." Nika sighed. "Very well then~" With that, the devil woman led the others to a large, surprisingly demonic looking building. It couldn't get more obvious that they were there if they tried. "They really don't get "subtle"." Dyan said, looking up at the building. He was getting weird vibes from it. This had to be the place. "Are you sure you want to come in with us?" Isshō asked Kagome, to double-check. "Well, I'm not a fighter, but, you'll protect me, right?" She replied to Isshō, answering a question with a question. "Of course!" Isshō replied, smiling. "Let's just hope you don't get into a situation where saving is actually necessary."
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