!
"Bring them in." Michael's voice resonated throughout his massive office. The angel standing by the entrance gave the seraph a simple nod before opening the doors to the office.
In came walking two females. By any standards, the two young girls could be considered beautiful and the clothes they wore only accented that fact. Their attire consisted of black, skin-tight unitard that stopped right at thigh level. They both wore fingerless glove that extended almost the entire length of their arms.
The more sedate of the duo had chin-length blue hair that clashed beautifully with her bright, yellow eyes. The girl's stature was upright and stiff as a white, hooded cloak hung from her shoulder. Strapped to her back was a massive broadsword that had a blue blade and a golden edge.
The other girl seemed to be her polar opposite of her partner. She had dark, chestnut colored hair that was styled in twintails and flowed down her whole back. Her posture was relaxed and carefree as a small smile was plastered across her face. Strapped to her waist was a simple long sword that shone brightly in the well-lit room.
"Irina and Xenovia. It is very nice to see you both again. I hope that you two are doing well." Michael started off the conversation in a friendly manner. He knew exactly the gravity of the mission he was about to assign the duo and felt that it was best to ease them into the situation.
Xenovia responded with a simple nod of her head, her respect for man stopping her from giving a verbal response. Since birth, she had been trained under the teaching of exorcists, religious figureheads and angels. The level of respect and admiration she held for Michael and the other angels was unfathomable.
Irina, on the other hand, had no qualms in verbally responding to the man. Similar to Xenovia, she had grown up under a very strict christian background. Since birth, she had been taught about respecting the lord and his followers. She just had a hard time restraining herself at times. She was the very definition of a devout christian. Anyone who mocked her religion faced her wrath.
"I'm doing fantastic, Michael-Sama! I always love coming to Heaven. Everyone here is just so nice and the air is fresh and everything is amazing." The girl spouted out, earning a slight chuckle from the Seraph and his standing guard. Xenovia didn't seem to find the behavior as fun as an annoyed look crossed the young woman's face. She managed to hold back in reprimanding her partner since she was in the presence of one of her idols. She would just wait until later.
"That's good to hear. I'm glad that you two are doing so well. It warms my heart that two of our best exorcist are continuing to excel out in the field." In all honesty, Michael almost felt bad at the happy feelings washing out from the two girls. He honestly hated having to manipulate the two like this but it had to be done.
"Now I bet you two have been wondering why exactly I called you up here. Most people don't get the privilege of stepping foot in any part of Heaven after all." Michael gave a deliberate pause in order to set the gravity of the situation. The pause was purposeful and its purpose was to emphasize the privilege the girls had been given. Receiving some type of special privilege from one of their idols would undoubtedly make the duo ecstatic.
Just as Michael assumed, a wave of excitement coursed through the church duo. Up until this point, they hadn't fully taken in the fact that they had an audience that consisted of one of God's children. And this very same man was complimenting them.
"Now I'm going to be frank with you girls. I know that you are aware of the recent theft of the excalibur fragments. Up until recently, we weren't sure of the culprit and their location but we have finally managed to track him down. The culprit is a former brother of mine named Kokabiel." The named dropped by the Seraph elicited a gasp from both of the girls.
Everyone who read the bible knew who Kokabiel was. One of God's earlier creations, the angel had vast potential in his youth. He was spirited, vivacious and motivated as a child. He could always be found tailing one of the archangels in hopes of receiving lessons from them.
All of that changed before the Great War. No one was certain how or why but the angel fell to his sins. One day he had been amongst the greatest in God's youthful ranks and the next day his wings had turned pitch black as he succumbed to his sins.
Kokabiel had been a major figure for the fallen angel's during the Great War. The youthful man had turned to a bloodthirsty psychopath on the battlefield. The fallen angel loved war. He practically bathed in the blood of his enemies during battle. Even his own comrades seemed to be frightened of him at times.
The fallen angel seemed to have fallen out of relevancy once the Great War ended. To hear that he was the person who had been taking the sword fragments was fairly alarming.
"Kokabiel has stolen three of the seven remaining fragments of Excalibur. We have managed to locate his current base of operation in Kuoh. Kuoh is a devil controlled territory which is the only reason we aren't sending a much larger force there. Instead, we are sending you two to infiltrate Kuoh, retrieve the Excalibur fragments and, if possible, find some way to sabotage any Kokabiel may have in store. We believe he is working outside the realm of Azazel's orders but if you manage to discover otherwise, please make sure to collect evidence as such." Michael finished. The man's joyful tone had quickly faded away during his assignment of the mission. The two girls in front of him seem to pick up on the mood as even Irina straightened up and seemed to be paying more attention.
"There is also another issue in Kuoh I need you two to attend to." The girls perked up as Michael continued his speech. "There is an entity there that has caught our attention. Here is a picture of him and his … base." Michael opened up on the drawers to his desk and took out two pictures. He handed each girl a single picture and allowed them time to view it.
"He's cute/Is this a candy shop?" Were the varying reactions from the duo. Behind them, Michael's guard released a short chuckle but was quickly silenced by a sharp glance from the Seraph.
"To answer your question, yes that is a candy shop. The boy in the picture is the owner and the target in question. For right now, I simply wish for you two to observe them during your mission. He is extremely dangerous. For your own safety, do not engage in any manner and for the love of our lord, do not let him know I sent you." Michael said, earning him another set of nods from the girl. A sigh of relief left the man's mouth as his happy disposition seemed to return to him.
"Good! That is all girls. I wish you both the best of luck and await your return. God bless both of you." Michael cheerfully said. A wide smile popped up on Irina's face and even Xenovia had a small smile on her face at the man's cheery nature. They both offered him a low bow before being led out of the office.
"Do you think it was wise to send them into devil territory?" Michael released a small sigh before spinning in his seat. Standing behind him was a smiling Gabriel who looked as beautiful and elegant as ever.
"Do you always eavesdrop in my meetings?" The man asked his sister. She offered her brother a nonchalant shrug before walking forward and taking a seat on his desk, earning her a mock glare from him. She waved off the look before prompting him to continue to talk.
"Meh. Just answer the question." Michael rolled his eyes at the immature response before slumping down into his seat.
"Do I think it was wise? No. Not really. Was it necessary? Absolutely. I'm not stupid. I know exactly what Kokabiel is doing. He has no need for Excalibur. He is simply attempting to goad me into responding harshly which would incite war. Sending those two is the best way to deal with this situation." Michael commented as Gabriel childishly swung her legs back and forth. The woman released a small hum before swinging her legs onto her brother desks, knocking off a multitude of papers and earning herself another glare from the man.
"What about telling them to spy on our little friend?" Gabriel asked. Michael quickly lifted the woman's legs from off his desk before responding.
"I didn't tell anyone to spy on anyone. I simply told them to keep an eye on him." Michael's response earned him an incredulous look from his sister which he promptly ignored.
"You're a terrible liar, Michael."
"You're a terrible everything, Gabriel."
"If you put that dress near me one more time, I promise I'll rip it to shreds." Koneko's low and levelled voice carried through the entirety of the club room. The young girl was sat in her usual place on the couch and sat right beside was her King who had a yellow sundress in her hands.
"But you're going on a date. Don't you want to look nice?" Rias questioned while dangling the sundress in what the redhead assumed to be an enticing manner. The sundress was quickly torn away from her grip, eliciting a yelp from the redhead. The Gremory had to watch as the sundress was shred to pieces by the rook's claws. The dress was promptly thrown back in the older girl's face much to the amusement of the other devils in the room.
"If Koneko doesn't want to dress up for her date, I think we should respect her decision, Rias-Sama." Akeno commented from her position across the room. The girl's words were lost on her King since all of Rias' attention was focused on the torn dress.
"This dress cost me so much money and she just ripped it up." The girl muttered while holding the remnants of the sundress. Koneko shook her head at the girl's over dramatic behavior while pushing herself off the couch.
"Where are you headed, Koneko-san?" Kiba asked from his position in the corner of the room as Koneko walked to the door of the club room. From the corner of his eye, he could see Issei slowly making his over to Rias in order to comfort the girl.
"My date." Were the girl's parting words as the door slammed behind her. Kiba offered her a small nod before redirecting his attention back on his King. The girl was still knelt on the couch while Issei was now sat beside her while awkwardly attempting to comfort her. The boy's attempts were obviously failing if the girl's far-off look and mumbling were anything to go by.
"I did so much begging to my brother … The things I had to say." Were some of the few words that were coming from the girl's mouth. Kiba shook his head at the girl's over dramatic behavior before pushing himself off the wall he was leaned against. Looks like he would have to fix this issue. Again.
Night had quickly settled over the town of Kuoh. It was Friday so the weekend, night activities were in full swing. Lights from varying shops, stores and restaurants could be seen from far away.
In one of these restaurants was a rather interesting looking couple. The male looked to be over a foot taller than the female even while they were sat at their table. His cheerful, almost sunny disposition seemed to be stark contrast to the girl's sedated and shy demeanor.
"I don't know why you took me to such a fancy place" Koneko murmured out as she took a glance at her surroundings. To say that the restaurant they were in was expensive would be a massive understatement. One could gauge that just by the attire of the other occupants. Most were dressed in intricate kimonos adorned with different patterns and designs. Waiters dressed in fancy suits ran back and forth while dropping off varying sizes of platters filled with food.
"Well I thought it was time for us to spend some time outside of my shop or the middle of the forest. Plus I heard this place has amazing sushi." Naruto commented while smirking at his girlfriend. Just by her reaction, he could tell the girl was feeling some embarrassment due to their current situation.
The duo stood out immensely from everyone else in the restaurant. Naruto was dressed in a simple, white dress shirt that went well with the black suit pants he had on. Compared to the other males in restaurant, he looked like a delinquent with his wild hair and casual clothes.
Koneko was dressed in her usual school attire and was currently regretting not taking Rias up on her offer for the sundress. At least she wouldn't be getting all these weird looks from the other couples.
"I figured .. I just …" Koneko trailed off as her eyes slid over to Naruto. Unlike herself, the blond seemed to have no problem with their current attire. He had on the same natural, carefree smile that he always seemed to have. The stares the duo were receiving didn't seem to be bothering him one bit.
"Hmm?" Naruto questioned, snapping Koneko out of her thoughts. Her eyes made their way up to Naruto's and saw that there was now a spark of concern in them. Internally, Koneko sighed to herself. Sometime it was hard having a boyfriend that cared so much. It made it hard for her to be mad at him.
"Its nothing." She mumbled while slinking down into her chair. It was unfair that she couldn't be angry at him
"Excuse me sir and ma'am." Both Naruto and Koneko looked up and saw a waiter standing at the edge of their table with a tray of food in hand. A look of confusion crossed Koneko's face as she realized that they have never ordered. Naruto, on the other hand, was attempting to hold in a chuckle at the adorably confused plastered across his girlfriend's face.
"You can set it down. Thank you." Naruto said, prompting the waiter to give a short bow of his head before setting down the tray. Now that the food was on table, Koneko was able to get a good look at it. And boy did it look delicious.
Row upon row of sushi sat in front of the young girl. Everything from tempura rolls to sashimi to dragon rolls were sat neatly in front of her with a large bowl of soy sauce placed gingerly to the side. A single pair of chopsticks were wrapped neatly and placed in front of a smug Naruto.
"So … much … All of these are my favorites." Koneko mumbled as her eyes glided over the enormous amount of seafood in front of her. She couldn't spot a single dish that she hadn't tasted before and absolutely loved.
The devil was snapped out of her trance by the sound of chopsticks breaking apart. She tore her eyes away from the sushi in order to look up at Naruto who was holding the only set of the wooden utensils. Just then, the realization that there was only one pair of chopsticks struck Koneko.
"Why is there only one set?" Koneko questioned as Naruto reached down with the chopsticks and picked up a particularly tasty looking tempura roll.
"I'm going to feed you, of course! I spent all day tasting and sampling sweets. I don't really need to eat. Now open up." Naruto said while moving the piece of sushi towards Koneko's mouth. She immediately moved her backwards while looking around the restaurant once again in order to see if anyone was watching the exchange.
"I … I can feed myself though." She said as blood rushed to her cheeks. In all honesty, she absolutely loved being fed by the blond. It was one of her favorite daily activities. But, with them being in this restaurant surrounded by other couples, she wasn't really up to it right now.
Naruto rolled his eyes at the girl's reluctance before abruptly standing up from his seat, catching the attention of several people around them. The blond made his way around the table to Koneko's side before taking the seat next to her, his hand still holding onto the chopstick with the sushi.
"I know that you can feed yourself but do you really want to feed yourself?" Naruto asked while enticingly dangling the piece of sushi in front of the girl's face. Koneko's eyes instinctively locked onto the seafood as drool started to pool in her mouth. Unconsciously, her head began to slowly move towards the sushi. Just as her mouth was inches away from the chopsticks, Koneko seemed to snap out of her trance as she quickly moved back from Naruto and the sushi.
"There are people around." She mumbled to herself as she lowered her head. The girl was forced to look back up as Naruto gently took hold of her chin and turned her head upwards. Her eyes met with Naruto's.
"If you think I really care about these people around us then you are very wrong. I like feeding my girlfriend food and my girlfriend likes it when I feed her food so I'm going to feed her food no matter what other people think about it, believe it!" Naruto's loud outburst caught the attention of everyone around them. The blond didn't seem to care much as his eyes stayed locked onto Koneko.
"Now, are we going to sit here and have an awkward date because of other people or are you going to open your mouth so I can gently shove sushi in it?" The blond asked with the utmost seriousness in his voice even with the ridiculousness of what he just said. The boy's voice was loud enough for others to hear it as well as the couple was receiving even more crazy looks. None of this seemed to bother Naruto whatsoever as his eyes stayed solely locked onto Koneko.
"Well?" Naruto asked again when he received no answer from the shocked girl. The boy's second question seemed to snap Koneko out of her slight daze as she began to take notice of all the looks the two were receiving. Her eyes eventually made their way back to Naruto and the piece of sushi as the blond awaited her answer.
The teen received his answer in the form of Koneko slowly opening her mouth, much to the blond's joy. He slowly glided the piece of sushi into the girl's mouth and allowed her to consume the food. He happily retracted the chopsticks from the girl's mouth before quickly picking up another piece of sushi.
"Are you going to do this for every piece?" Koneko mumbled before opening her mouth once again, giving Naruto the opportunity to slip another piece of seafood into the girl's mouth. Inwardly, the devil wanted to feel some type of agitation at her boyfriend's stubbornness. Not only had he completely ignored her protests, he had also forcibly fed her food. But could she truly be angry when he was being so sweet?
Her taste buds and the warm feeling in her chest were currently telling her that the answer to that question was no. And with each piece of sushi, she was finding it harder and harder to go against them.
"Yes I am. So you can either suck it up and freely enjoy the nice food or I could tie you to a chair and make you enjoy the nice food. Your choice." Naruto casually said while offering Koneko another piece of food. The girl's eyes traveled in between the sushi and the blond before she choose the obviously better decision and opened her mouth. Naruto seemed happy to slide yet another piece of food into her mouth before allowing her time to eat it.
Seemed like tonight was going to be a long night.
"I can't believe you got us kicked out." Koneko commented as Naruto and her made their way down an empty Kuoh street while holding hands. It was now much later in the night and the streets were completely deserted. The only light being provided were several dim street lights.
"It wasn't my fault! What type of place doesn't allow couples to share plates? I spent all day working and I'm not allowed to have one piece of the sushi that I bought? Thats ridiculous. That waiter better be happy I didn't rasengan his ass for being so rude." The teen grumbled out. Only five minutes prior, the duo had been merrily sat in the restaurant with Koneko happily munching away on sushi. The girl had very quickly gotten over the initial embarrassment of being fed in front of a bunch of strangers and was simply enjoying the food. She had actually managed to convince Naruto to take a piece for himself since the guilt of just eating all of the food was starting to eat away at her. Unfortunately for the two, a pesky waiter seemed to have been keeping a very close eye on the two and swooped in to remind Naruto of the restaurants "No sharing" policy. Being the person he was, Naruto didn't take the warning so well. In fact, he had taken it the exact opposite.
After much arguing, yelling and sushi throwing, Naruto and Koneko had escorted themselves out of the place. That process consisted of Naruto picking Koneko up, throwing the girl over his shoulder, yelling "I make candy sushi that tastes better than his crap" before charging out of the restaurant
"Uptight assholes. Can't share food my ass. I'll share as much food as I want." The blond grumbled beneath his breath as he continued to stomp his way down the street while holding Koneko's hand. The blond was so wrapped up in his frustration that he missed Koneko attempting to hold back a smirk at his behavior.
"I'm going to make it my goal to put those bastards out of business. They will re-" Naruto was interrupted in his ranting when he felt a sharp tug on his hand. He looked down at Koneko and saw that the devil was now sending him a rather expectant look. It didn't take him long to get the meaning behind the look as he quickly released her hand and prepared himself.
Not even a second later, he felt Koneko land against his back. His arms instinctively went back and found their way around the girl's thigh, securing her in place. He could already feel the girl snuggling into his back as he continued his journey down the street.
"Stop worrying about stupid restaurants and walk me home." Koneko's muffled voice came from behind him. Even though she couldn't see it, the Nekoshou got a roll of the eyes in response.
"Can I at least get a please?" Naruto sarcastically asked. The blond was taken off guard when he felt something lightly wrap around waist. He felt Koneko's grip on his body tighten as a light purr began to emit from the girl.
"Naru-kun, can you please take me home. I'm too tired to walk. You tired me out today" Koneko's voice had taken on a deceptively deeper tone as she tried her very best to imitate a tired voice in order to fluster the boy. The usage of her tail was just a backup in case Naruto didn't fall for it.
Going by the sudden stiffening and sputtering coming from the shinobi, the girl's strategy seemed to walk. A smug smirk made its way to her face as she imagined the blush and thoughts running through the blond's head.
"What happened to me quiet and shy Koneko who used to ask for piggyback rides and not making me blush?" Naruto mumbled in mock frustration. Koneko softly giggled at the blond's comment before wrapping her tail tighter around his waist.
"Your personality started to rub off on her. Now stop complaining and take me home." Naruto released a mock grumble at the girl's response before tightening his grip on her thighs and picking up his pace.
He had created a monster and now he had to deal with it.
"Looks like Heracles has finally returned, Cao." A pair of light green eyes lazily fluttered open as the announcement rung throughout the room.
The room in question was rather spartan-esque in designs. The walls were painted a dark black and was surrounding in red trimmings. Hung up on the walls were a few different paintings that depicted different landscapes. Sat directly in the center of the room was a medium sized desk that was currently being occupied.
The man occupying the desk could best be described as a handsome youth with short black hair. He was dressed in button down shirt that was reminiscent of Chinese school attire. Around his waist, an intricate jacket was secured by a large black belt. One hand was holding up the man's head while the other's fingers were steadily drumming on the table.
"Oh really? Ophis must of grown tired of him. Tell him he can come in, Georg." Cao Cao said as he sat upright in his chair. Several weeks ago, the dragon god had suddenly requested to "borrow" the greek descendant. The tone of the message made it clear that there would be no compromising with the dragon so Cao ordered Heracles off. He honestly didn't know nor cared what the girl wanted with the man.
Georg gave his partner a small nod before pushing open the doors of the office. The sight that greeted the two men actually managed to take them off guard.
Standing in the frame of the door was an obviously damaged Heracles. The man looked to be on his last leg. Every single one of his veins were visible and seemed to be pulsating with a sickly, grey light. Parts of his body was covered in cuts and bruises that were caked in dirt. The man's usual clothing was gone and was replaced with a shirt and a pair of pants that looked several sizes too small for him. His signature club was nowhere in sight.
"You're looking worse for wear." Cao commented as the greek hobbled into the room. The man didn't seem to be too amused by the comment as he shot a glare at the faction leader.
"Shut your damn mouth, Cao. You have no idea what type of hell that bitch of a dragon has put me through." Hercules growled out as he stood in front of the desk. Cao raised a single eyebrow at the man's outburst before leaning back into his chair.
"Feel free to try and explain your plight to me. I'm all ears." Cao said, prompting Hercules to start the retelling of his experiences.
Cao listened intently as the man explained Ophis 'poisoning him' with her powers. That part had been rather interesting to him considering what he had planned for the dragon. To hear that the god's powers were poisonous to the man was slightly worrying but he was sure he would find a way around that.
Another thing that interested the man was the blond that Hercules had been tasked with defeating. The Greek had been rather bitter during his retelling of his battles with the shinobi. From what Cao could gleam from the man's recounting, the battles had been rather one-sided and embarrassing. But the part that had caught his attention was the Greek's persistence that the boy he faced was human.
"I'm telling you he was a human. I didn't sense a single ounce of supernatural energy coming from him during our fights. I wouldn't lose to some mythical freak." Hercules insisted as he attempted to save the last remnants of his pride. In front of him, Cao sat silently laid back in his chair, seemingly taking in everything that had been said.
"This … is all rather interesting. Go get yourself patched up. I'll deal with Ophis." Hercules didn't even bother to respond to the man as he promptly turned and left the office. Georg closed the door as the soon as the man went stomping by before turning to gauge the man's reaction.
"Well?" Georg articulated after several moments of silence. Very slowly, a grin began to work its way onto the man's face as he stood from his desk.
"Well, it looks like we have another piece added to our chess game. Time to see if he is playing for our side or the other."