Kuoh Town

[Bloodedge]

The day 'Eir' sat on Shouki's desk under the light of the sun, the boy sat upon his bed with a simple toy in his hand. It was nothing more than a faceless doll with a crude drawing on its head. It looked as if it had been squeezed ragged over years, and if one looked hard enough, the drawing on the head looked a bit like the devil Takumi had come to call his friend. When asked what he'd done this day, he held the doll with both hands and looked up to the devil. "I... I colored this. I've had it for a few years, but lately I... it lets me pretend you're there when you have to go," he said of the raggedy doll with its stuffing beginning to spew from the stitching in its side. "What did you do? Do you have any more devil stories?"

[Apollymi]

Eir sat upon this boy's desk looking at the doll he held. It seemed to be well loved and he showed a bit of attachment to it. He claimed he'd had it for years, but today was the day he'd colored it. Upon closer inspection she could see that it looked a bit like her. And if she needed any confirmation of this, the lad's words were ones which seemed to hint that he'd made it to look like her for the times she was away from him. "Sou ka, it looks really cute. I'm glad it keeps you company~ Let me just add in the finishing touches~" she gave a slight moment of pause before a magic circle appeared around the doll causing a minor upgrade. Stitching the side of it closed and adding little bat wings to it. She didn't change it much at all, just added a bit of flare. When asked about Devil stories she thought about what her day had gone before this point. She'd left him the previous night after tucking him into bed.

"Let's see... last night I had a contract. It wasn't really interesting or anything, but... I'll tell you about it if you want," she mentioned. The story was a bit long so she moved, choosing to seat herself behind the lad wrapping her body around him so she could tell him of her night's adventure. "I was summoned to a house, it was said to be haunted. All day and all night they could hear this music, but never figure out where it was coming from. Nothing in the house played the song... and nothing they tried to do would drown it out. It was like the family was cursed to hear this one song, over and over again~" she mused thinking about it now that it was over, the entire thing was just a little funny. "But it turned out, that the house had a secret space, like a play room for the previous owner's kids, covered on the outside by a bookshelf. And they were into the occult, they'd given their kids a music box which played this one song... so they could have it even when they were gone," she stated explaining it. "The music coming out of the box was enchanted with power to make the children sleep, but it wouldn't turn off unless the parents turned it off," she said. "But apparently an impish neighbor found out about the box and went in and turned it on while wearing ear plugs and then just left it there. So, whenever the people were looking for it, they couldn't find it, but it always played over and over again. And since it wasn't enchanted for them, it'd just keep playing forever...." she said. This problem was a rather minor one on the scale of things she encountered but still she enjoyed helping people and would do so no matter what. "So, I found the music box, it was pretty easy after I realized I wasn't crazy and the music wasn't just following me around. And then I drained the magic from it so they could keep the box. It was antique, but they said the didn't want it, and gave it to me... They were nice people," she mused. "Actually that was probably kind of boring for a whole night huh, Shouki?"

[Bloodedge]

Eir delivered a compliment to the young boy on the design he'd given the doll, and he grinned while looking at it. This expression turned to one of surprise as she used her magical abilities to repair the tattered item, and even spruce it up a bit by making it more like the devil she was. He seemed very excited about this, and he even went on to squeeze the doll right then and there. "Sugoi! Your powers are awesome, Eir-san! Arigatou!" he exclaimed.

The female devil did indeed have another story to tell. To do so, she took a position against Shouki which clearly provided him great comfort by the way he immediately sank into it. He listened intently, first staring into the face of the doll, then looking her in the face as his excitement grew more and more. There was much depth to this tale, even though it may not have been very high on most people's lists for its resolution. Takumi had no stories of his own though, and had nothing to use as reference for how great of an experience it was. As such, when Eir claimed it was probably boring, he shook his head with much intensity. "Iie, iie! I tried imagining myself there with you the whole time; I would have enjoyed being there! Everything you do sounds like so much fun," he continued. At this point, the mood of the young male went south rather quickly. He looked at the doll again, squeezing it gently with both hands. "All I do is sit here and be nothing. I want a life like yours, with you there..."

[Apollymi]

"Iie, that's what friends are for. I'm glad you like it," she said in response to the thanks she received as well as the praise of her powers. She concluded that if she had a magic that could help the lad, helping him out a bit for these moments wasn't a really big deal. Besides that she enjoyed his company truly and seeing him happy made her happy.

Though she'd thought the story of her previous night boring, it seemed the lad in her company thought it the exact opposite. In getting to know him over an extended period of time she noticed that he didn't really go out much. He didn't hang out with other children his age, he attended school and came home and she wondered if he knew the kinds of things the world really had to offer. The fact that he thought he would have enjoyed the haunted house which though mild was still potentially life threatening led her to wonder what this child's tolerance for such information was. "Really? You would have enjoyed something like that?" she teased the lad just a bit. Her boring nights didn't make for good material, it barely made for okay conversation. Regardless of that point, she heard what this lad thought of himself and how he viewed his own life and she couldn't disagree more. "Iie, Shouki," she started while she gave the lad a gentle squeeze meaning to be a bit more comfort to him. "You aren't nothing, you're my friend," the girl mused. "If you want a life of interesting things... why don't we go out and do some interesting things next time, hm?" she said. She had no adventures to speak of, but she wanted this boy to experience the fun of life. And deep down, the idea that he wanted her as part of his life made her really happy, in a way she couldn't begin to explain or vocalize.

[Bloodedge]

"Ou. It sounded really great, like one of the mysteries in the books!" Shouki asserted. Moments later, Eir was asserting the clause that the boy was not, in fact, the 'nothing' he claimed to be. Instead, she would have him believe he could be something in the form of a friend to her. This alone was a very big deal in the child's mind and heart, and just as great was the idea of the pair doing something interesting when next they met. Shouki's gaze returned to the devil, and there was much light in his eyes. "Hai!" And so, this blossoming friendship persisted. Again and again they met, for just over two full years. Shouki had never enjoyed himself so much as when the devil woman appeared to him each time. Over the course of it all, he became more and more invested in the idea of her appearing more and more.

All things end though, and this relationship with a devil would be no exception. Shouki eventually had to learn this the hard way, and he did so at the worst possible time. He'd come to accept that there was nothing else for him outside of his interactions with the female devil, even when he attempted to branch out and fill his time away from her. So, he sat on his bed one night, as he had done for nearly a week in wait. She was gone for longer than he was used to, and much longer than he would have ever liked... yet he was excited. The longer he waited, the more excited and anxious he became. Each night away this week was no different than the last. He sat at the edge of his bed, holding in his hands not the doll he made two years before, but a wrapped box... a special sort of present for his one and only friend in this world.

[Apollymi]

As this dream shifted there were years of activities between this pair of people. They saw each other on and off while she cared for a nearby area, while she balanced her life between being a Devil and being friend to this one lonely little boy. But the thing which called her away took her to the Underworld and when she returned she was not happy. It had nothing to do with the boy, but everything to do with what had to happen next and what she had to do. She didn't want this to happen, she'd grown unusually attached to this child over the two years she'd spent with him. He was charming, sweet and exceptionally thoughtful. These were all things, Eir enjoyed in people the selfless sort who thought of others, it was what she strove to be. Knowing this lad had grown up in such a way made her heart warm but after more than a week of waiting when she appeared before him, she'd have to give him news that she wasn't exactly sure he'd handle well. When she showed up in his room this night she wore a black suit jacket rolled up to her elbows fitted to her form with a white dress shirt beneath with a small belt like closure at the neck. To complete this look she wore a plain black mini-skirt and a pair of wedge heeled shoes which were black with gold trim and showed off a single toe on each foot. If one was being honest she looked like she'd skipped out on a party, and in fact she had, but it wasn't the sort of party she enjoyed anyways. Here in this room she felt at ease and she looked to the boy on the bed with a grin. "Konbanwa Shouki, I'm sorry I'm late... how have you been?" she asked the lad opening her arms to greet him with a hug as she always did.

[Bloodedge]

After so many nights of waiting, the moment had arrived. Eir appeared before the boy who'd now become a teen. Her ensemble was something quite new to him, and the sight of it alone brought a tint to his face to accompany the widening of his eyes. "Sugoi," he muttered in a near-silent appraisal. In this moment, he held the box closer to himself in a simple act of reflex. It took the boy a few moments to speak, but in response to the question of how he'd been, he had only one thing in mind to say. When he spoke, he did so in a somewhat nervous manner while hopping forward to tightly wrap his arms around the woman. "Ano... I've been the same as always. I was really excited to see you again though. You... look nice. Are we doing something special today?"

[Apollymi]

Though his appraisal of her appearance had been nearly silent Eir still heard him and managed to shrug it off just a bit. She couldn't help but wonder what went on in this lad's head. But he greeted her the way she chose with a hug wrapping himself around her and questioning her attire properly and asking about their potential activities for the day. He even commented that she looked nice and this made her chuckle. "Really? I was kinda going for underwhelming with this..." she said of her most recent fashion choices. Whenever she went to the Underworld she chose the most underwhelming outfit she could, mostly on purpose as a minor act of rebellion. She didn't think it actually helped much but it made it stand out when she was trying to impress. "I didn't have anything special in mind but I am happy to see you too~ I do have something I need to talk to you about, but is there anything you had planned for today?" she said, her words at this moment were careful and measured and she squeezed the lad a bit tighter than the norm before gently beginning to release her hold on him.

[Bloodedge]

"Iie. It looks better than anything I've ever seen a person wear!" he concluded. Here in this devil's embrace, the boy called Shouki felt most at ease. As such, her tighter than normal grip to match his own was well beyond satisfying. She made a strange note that she had nothing special in mind for their day, but wondered if he did. This was initially something very strange due to how well-dressed she was the moment of her appearance; Shouki had hoped for something exciting on this day in particular. When she released her hold of him, he seemed abashed and even more nerve-wracked than before. "Well... no, no plans really. I wanted to talk to you too, though. What did you want to talk about?"

[Apollymi]

Eir's eyes widened at this lad's compliment. And for the first time in a really long time, she managed to look a tiny bit abashed. "Ara, well... arigatou gozaimasu~ It's really nice of you to say something like that..." she mentioned to the lad. She got compliments on her looks all the time, it was almost as if people couldn't stop themselves from constantly looking at her and liking her looks. Even so, something about the comment from this young boy, who was her friend first made something warm well up in her chest. It was almost as if this warmth could burst from within her person it became so large so quickly. Strangely this lad said that he had nothing in particular planned except that he wanted to talk too, this brought the light of curiosity to Eir's eyes but she didn't know if she'd be better off saying what she needed to say now or later. Strangely she felt suddenly indecisive so she decided to tell the lad a story as she often did when she was gone for extended periods of time.

She moved to sit down on the bed and motioned for him to join her and while he did that she began to speak. "So, I've been gone for a week, and I went to the Underworld..." she mentioned with a small smile. "A lot of humans get the wrong idea about the underworld, it isn't always this dark scary place full of dead people or anything like that, it's just the realm were Devils live. Each Devil Clan has a large estate with all kinds of stuff in them, and everyone of them specializes in something different. They don't really live very differently from humans. Some are bureaucrats who sit in offices and give orders. And some are soldiers who fight in wars, just like regular armies... Some are parents who have and raise kids. It's pretty normal aside from the wings and long life spans..." she mentioned. "While I was there, they gathered a bunch of the young Devils ones in my age range and showed us all some things. Like our potential based on deeds, whose lands are in better condition, and who's been doing a good job with their assigned tasks. If I had to liken it to something I'd say it was like a review at an internship or something like that..." she mused. "And then they gave us all new orders and they threw us a going away party. More like an all grown up party, it's why I'm dressed like this. I kind of skipped out on the party, I kind of hate those, they can be really annoying," she mentioned, she knew the lad didn't socialize very much so she didn't go into many details on it. But the part she hated about parties like that was when random other Devils approached her based on her last name alone and wanted to talk with her. In moments like that, even in a room full of people, she felt absolutely alone. But her loneliness didn't matter in a moment like this, not with what she had to say, teetering right at the edge of her speech.

[Bloodedge]

"Iia," was his response to her thanks. If anything, Shouki felt this was the least he could say. Being motioned to join the woman, he did so by sitting closely beside her on the bed. What she told him was a tale of her recent excursion to the Underworld, which was simultaneously an explanation for why she appeared before him dressed in such a way. The knowledge of how devils functioned so similarly to humans was interesting, and yet much more underwhelming than he imagined from Eir's other stories over the years. It seemed the life of a devil was better when dealing with phenomenal occurrences here in the human world, but that was an aside. At the end of Eir's story, Shouki appeared quite confused. "Is that what you wanted to tell me? I didn't expect it to be a story."

[Apollymi]

Eir listened to the boy's response to her tale and it made a small smile come to her face. Since he was sitting beside her she slid an arm around him and pulled him closer. She rested her head on his shoulder and sighed. These moments of closeness with the lad, she very much enjoyed as she seemed to with anyone she considered a proper friend to her. Even so, at this very moment she could feel it slipping away from her, and though she didn't want to admit it, she felt strangely as if she didn't want to, but she needed to, for this boy's own good. "Gomennasai, Shouki, that isn't really what I had to say..." she mused choosing to be honest with the lad, as she'd always been that. "I just started the story because I was working up the strength to tell you about my orders," she stated. "Tomorrow, I have to leave this place and I don't know for how long. I have to do what I am supposed to do as a member of my Clan, or rather as the next head of it," she said, such a statement was still bitter to her, but there was nothing to be done about it presently. "So for the foreseeable future... I won't be able to come and see you anymore," she said squeezing him a little tighter. "I'm sorry, really I am." she added, she didn't know expressing this news would be so hard for her, she hadn't imagined it feeling so much like she was severing part of herself. It was as if her very heart throbbed at the idea of leaving this boy behind.

[Bloodedge]

There was more than the simple story for Eir to say, but the story itself was directly connected to the topic she needed to address. Over the course of this tale, Shouki became excited to hear what was next, only to then become fearful of what she meant. One final statement clarified everything. She couldn't return, and she had no clue when a return would even be possible. Shouki's grip on the box he held tightened enough to shake the box itself. The tightening grip she had on him was lost, however; he couldn't feel a thing. His eyes had blanked at the realization of losing the only thing that mattered to him these two years. "But that's..." he said, taking a long pause thereafter. He couldn't fathom why she would give him such news, and now of all times. She was a week late, and his intentions of seeing her at the time he first expected were for naught, but that was fine. This, however... was far from it. Suddenly, Shouki broke away from the devil, moving to stand in the middle of his room and turn to face her with his box still in hand. "Take me with you!"

[Apollymi]

Eir relayed her statements and waited. She knew the lad she was with wouldn't like this either. No the child who'd prayed to Satan for a friend likely wouldn't enjoy the idea of that very friend being taken away for any reason. When he finally spoke she awaited his outburst, his backlash, his anger. She expected a full fit of hatred or maybe she didn't expect it, but thought she definitely deserved it. As such when Shouki pulled away from her, she fought the tears welling up in her eyes but much to her surprise, this boy gripping the box in front of her, didn't want to spew hatred in her face, he didn't want to scream at her about how he never wanted to see her again. He wanted her to take him with her. Her eyes reached their maximum and the unshed tears she held back rolled down her cheeks as she managed to look nothing but absolutely shocked. "You...." the words were stuck in her throat but she had to clear them, she had to be sure she wasn't mishearing him. Though even if she wasn't she couldn't rationalize bringing a child along for what she was going to do, she could feel that warmth still if it was true. "You want to come with me? Do you have any idea what you're saying?!" she couldn't even call that statement asking he'd demanded it and it was if she could feel this demand all the way in the depth of her soul.

[Bloodedge]

Eir wanted to know if he understood what he was saying. In fact, he did. He'd seen it in her eyes, heard it in her words, and felt it in things unmentioned. Though her stories were always exciting and with ideal endings, he knew well the sorts of terrors devils had to be going through - the things Eir either didn't mention, or didn't experience herself as one more capable than many others. Even knowing this, he didn't care one bit. "I do! Take me with you!" he yelled again. If Eira expected anger from the lad, she would be seeing no such thing. All he had within his being was fear; fear of loss, of returning to a life he'd convinced himself was over. As he looked to the devil with tears streaming down his face, his grip on the box tightened to such an extent that he almost seemed ready to break it accidentally. "I used all the allowance I never spent! This isn't how it's supposed to go... You're not supposed to leave me alone again!"

[Apollymi]

This boy claimed understanding with so much conviction, Eir could almost believe him. But surely this didn't come from any place in his heart rooted in sanity, surely he had to know the life she was leaving to enter into, would be very different from all others he could ever possibly have. How could she act so selfishly and take such a thing away from a boy so young, even one who was as lonely as this one, had a better shot at something other than death if he stayed far away from her. She was speechless, and when she met his eyes again she saw tears streaming down his face as well. 'I want you to come with me too...' her heart beat thumped again as this boy claimed he'd spent all his money on something and that she was never supposed to leave again. Her expression softened immensely as she had no idea what this could mean coming from him. He wanted to go with her, but what could he have done. Her own curiosity and her desire to comfort this boy and help him see reason gave her the strength to ask the important questions. "Na-ni? What... did you spend your allowance on, Shouki?" she asked of him. Perhaps he could calm down and explain... perhaps this didn't have to end a mess of tears and hurt feelings for both of them.

[Bloodedge]

Of all the things to say, she questioned what he spent his allowance on. More and more, he firmed his hold on the box. It didn't matter in the end. If the end result of this conversation was what he felt within himself it would be, where he felt Eir was taking it in a roundabout way... it didn't matter at all. "... You're not taking me..." he said at last. Since the moment he first made the request, his mind had been screaming these very words at him. He couldn't pose this as a question, as he knew it was more of a revelation than anything. "You said..." he started. If nothing else, he could place the last ounce of his faith in one thing. Hardly more than two years prior to this moment, she had told him of a wish the summoners of devils were granted when contracts were fulfilled. A friend had been what Shouki wanted, but she offered him that without treating it as the wish. "You said I had a wish! Well... I wish you wouldn't leave me alone... that you'd let me stay with you forever, no matter what..."

[Apollymi]

"I can't take you where I'm going, its a war zone. I can't risk you for something like that..." she said her words were soft, she almost didn't mean them. She wanted to take him with her in spite of that. Deep down, she respected this young man. This boy who'd only wanted a friend and prayed to every available deity to find them. A boy who was kind even when he felt like he was absolutely nothing, making him worth more than his weight in gold. The boy whose smiles warmed her heart as they explored Kuoh together, because they always came from such a genuine place. But he was so young, she couldn't let him throw his life away, or worse yet, she didn't know if she'd be able to handle what would happen if this lad settled in with her and changed his mind. With the kind of Devil she fought against being, she wouldn't want to become the sort of person he could hate. While she thought over all these things the boy brought up the one out, the one potential loophole to her leave of him that she hadn't expected him to remember. "That?! That's your wish, bakana!? Shouki..." the wording of this wish was just vague enough that she could use it to continue to protect him and he would likely hate her for it. Was it worth it to her, to know this boy would be safe? Could she talk herself into being this sort of exploitative because in the end it would be better for this boy to be separate from her?

A magic circle appeared on the floor of this bedroom, and Eir moved inside of it, opening her arms to Shouki just this one time. Still there was a bright smile on her face, as if she'd seen something she'd always hoped for. If the boy accepted this physical contact, she'd do something she wasn't really known for, sharing with the lad a power which would make him more approachable to young women of his own age, by allowing them to see, the jewels of this lad's personality. And strangely enough she'd apply this by giving him a kiss on his lips. If this action saw completion she'd explain it. "I enchanted you so when I leave you won't have to be alone anymore. You'll be able to make friends, they'll be able to see in you, what I do," she said very carefully. "And if your will is strong, you'll find me again and I'll let you stay with me forever... no matter what it takes," she said. These words would unwittingly tie Eir into this lad's future. Making it so that no matter what the cost she would eventually have to fulfill his wish, while still allowing her to leave him the time he needed to grow up and make sure that staying with her forever was truly what he wanted. 'Leave it to you, Shouki, to make me into a proper Devil,' she thought.

[Bloodedge]

This final effort of Shouki's was put forth, and Eir seemed surprised by the notion of the wish he presented. The magic circle beneath Eir returned Shouki's hope in this situation. A smile even stretched across his face as he rushed into her open arms, believing his wish would be granted right away and he would be able to follow when she left. Enveloped in her magic as much as her person, Shouki was also subjected to the most unexpected moment of his life thus far: a kiss upon his lips. The wide-eyed teen immediately believed his life would never be the same from this moment onward. But then...

The next words from the devil's mouth were very much not what he wanted to hear. He was somehow enchanted in a way that would ease his loneliness? That was not his wish. Moreover, this nonsense about his will being something that could bring him back to the woman and have her never abandon him again seemed totally unrelated. He didn't want this at all. "But..." he said as he backed away. "That's... no. That's not what it's supposed to be." Eventually, Shouki found his way to the bed and dropped into a seated position atop it. He couldn't believe this was how it happened. Two years and one week had passed since his life changed, and in that time, the boy himself had changed. He didn't care if he made another friend. He didn't care if everything else in his already meaningless life fell apart, if he could hang on to the one thing that changed it all in the first place. 'Why does my will have to be what brings you back? Why won't you just take me with you? I...'

"I can't."

[Apollymi]

She did everything she could to make it so this lad had a fair shot at his life before he tried to turn it over to her. Even so, he seemed crushed by what she'd done but to be honest, such was supposed to be her nature. She went against it more often than not, but, in this one instance she needed to save this boy from his untimely demise. "Gomennasai, Shouki..." this was the last sentence Eir spoke to this lad. Her eyes welled up and her dream state began to fade away around her. Her last thoughts about this situation were ones which led one to believe that she always knew this lad would change his mind about her. 'I know you can't... it's way too much to ask. I can't ask a life so bright to end for my sake,' she thought and that was it. Whatever else happened that day, she didn't know it. She couldn't remember but figured she'd fled that boy's room that night only pausing to think about him ever so often. He shaped her life though, and the rest of her peerage. Though she already favored some strange individuals, the rest of the outcasts, the people with hearts of gold overlooked by society, those were the people she'd fill her life with, all while waiting and hoping for the first one who made her believe in the truth of humanity.

But this was just a dream, and like all dreams it ended. Reia the kitten woke up on the chest of Takumi and found herself staring into the lad's face. She pieced together this dream and this boy, along with that picture she hadn't really recognized and she couldn't believe it. 'No matter what it takes...' did she really enchant herself as part of this boy's wish? Did she actually make Takumi not on a whim but instead on her own previously established pact? Was it simply the case that she didn't recognize the lad? Why was his name different? there were so many questions her little kitten body couldn't handle them all, still she could do nothing but purr her content atop this boy reaching out with a single paw to pet his face and start his morning. 'I still... can't believe... I did that...' she thought to herself.

[Bloodedge]

The paw on his face resulted in Takumi waking within a matter of seconds. The moment his eyes opened, he shed a few tears he had no explanation for. Of course, this was far from a first experience for the young man. He often had dreams of a past he could scarcely remember more than a few blurry images from, and it seemed this night had produced such a dream. A surprised expression was painted on his face as he looked at the cat on his chest. "Chikushou..." he muttered while carefully rising into a seated position. He didn't have the same headache he had the previous night, but his hand grasped his head just the same. "Why... can't I ever remember?" he wondered aloud. Something within him knew this repeating dream was important somehow, but he could never figure out why since he couldn't remember it at all. "Ugh. Screw it; it probably doesn't matter."

[Apollymi]

The paw of Reia seemed to wake Takumi well enough but his waking wasn't a peaceful one. There were tears in his eyes and after working himself into a proper sitting position he even claimed he never remembered what was going on in those dreams. The kitten which had been on his chest, continued purring, never letting go of his person and instead climbing up onto his shoulder to burrow itself into his neck, offering unadulterated affection in the fact of his sadness. 'You don't remember because you don't want to... you need a strong will to remember what you want,' thought this cat, even without saying that the purr was the same it was here she was here to gently feed off this boy and bond with him without causing him stress. At the very least, Eira now at least partly understood the kind of mental stress her presence caused this lad, and the more she learned of this picture, the more she realized she'd ruined him unintentionally. 'I have to fix this,' she concluded and there was only one person she could even ask about such a thing.

[Bloodedge]

The kitten's movements were quite meaningless to Takumi at this point. Instead, his concern went out to the current time, which he checked by setting his gaze on the clock beside his bed. In looking at it, he was able to virtually plan out the first quarter of his day just because of how early it was. '6:42. I could get the shopping out of the way now, I guess,' he thought. Without further ado, Takumi sighed and extricated himself from the bed while brushing off the cat so randomly connected to him. He would go on to bathe himself before heading out into town, aiming to fill his fridge with food, and his house... apparently with cat-related items for his new 'pet'.

[Apollymi]

The kitten was soon brushed off and watched as the boy moved about, eventually leaving his apartment with her locked inside. This kitten could of course leave at any point in time, but she imagined this wouldn't be good for the lad's already strained psyche. For the time being, she supposed she could pace and wait. As such she did exactly that. This small kitten acted in a very cat like manner exploring all corners of this apartment and getting familiar with its layout that she might be able to sneak in and out without Takumi noticing when she left. 'I can't leave him again... hell I never wanted to leave him in the first place,' she thought to herself. 'How was I supposed to know he'd eventually break down to the point of dying... I never wanted him to die for me. I just wanted him to find happiness and be sure,' she thought as she paced round the house. Until very recently she'd been thinking that people didn't really know what they wanted in relation to her, perhaps... Shouki was the first person to receive such treatment from her. The static build up in this little kitten was likely ridiculous but she was just living her life as a house cat so she might as well enjoy it. As such she eventually found herself sitting in the window of this lad's apartment watching everyone on their morning routines walk by waiting for Takumi's return.

[Bloodedge]

Roughly twenty minutes after Takumi's departure, he stepped out of a store a few blocks down the street from his apartment. He carried three plastic bags in his left hand, and two in his right hand. He seemed to be just as deep in thought as he had been before going out, but now was the time to return. 'I can't afford cat food. She'll just have to eat like I do. Good thing I like fish, I guess,' he found himself thinking as he approached, and stopped at, a crosswalk.

[Apollymi]

At the crosswalk beside Takumi as he remained deep in thought, there was another just beside him. This young woman had white hair atop her head, and vibrant red eyes. She also seemed to be deeply contemplative, but if one cared to notice she'd basically just appeared beside Takumi. Her cream colored jacket blew in the wind as she took a moment to briefly inspect the contents of his bag. "Hm, a bag full of cat toys and a bunch of fish. You just spent all your money on something not for you... One has to wonder if devils have always been this selfless," she questioned rather astutely. "Well, I guess you're a dragon too, but the one you are isn't really selfless either," she mused. Another voice would be heard and this one be strangely male and not directed at Takumi. "Red One, hasashiburi."

[Bloodedge]

As Takumi awaited an opening to cross the street, a voice met his ear. This was in no way familiar to him, but the female voice spoke with some level of familiarity. He turned his head to look at the girl who so suddenly appeared here, wondering what she was supposed to be and how she knew so much about his existence. "Do I... know you?" he asked. There was something ever so slightly familiar about this girl. As far as he knew for certain though, he'd never seen this person in his life. However, there was another exchange dictating a connection between another pair in this same meeting. Ddraig stirred, speaking after being addressed through the gem on Takumi's hand. "White One... I didn't expect to meet you again so soon."

[Apollymi]

The presence of this white haired young woman was met by confusion. Takumi asked this lass if he knew her and she could only look at him with mild understanding on her face. "You really don't remember then," she stated, knowing the lad's trauma probably affected how he remembered the events of more than a week prior to this one. "Well that is probably for the best." these words came from the young woman who stood with her right hand tucked under her chin, though this action usually came with a white wing wrapped around her person, they were standing at a crosswalk and thus it could not be done. "We are classmates, my name is Cassiel Angelus... you can call me Cassie," she mentioned as if it was normal to appear beside someone and start a conversation in the middle of the morning. "I am the bearer of the Vanishing Dragon's Light Wings. The second Heavenly Dragon. Yoroshiku."

This conversation was likely a strange one to Takumi but the dragon known as Albion seemed to take in stride that which his current partner did. "This new partner of mine... has some very different ideas about the world. And because of that... here I am," mentioned Albion who spoke to Ddraig as if the pair were on friendly terms, more so than most of the other dragons who'd encountered them so far.

[Bloodedge]

There was something Takumi apparently didn't remember, but this girl claimed that was for the best. Whatever it was, he attributed it to any prior knowledge he had of her. He seemed to have forgotten a lot of things that he couldn't quite remember the importance of. "Cassie... Angelus," he repeated, indeed finding some familiar tone in her name. More importantly, Cassiel explained her identity as the holder of the Vanishing Dragon, cementing the idea Takumi already had that it was another dragon presently speaking with Ddraig. "Heavenly Dragon?"

"I never got to explain, Partner," Ddraig spoke, choosing now to clear up a few things he'd been neglecting due to his current host's other issues. "That there is the White Dragon of Supremacy, Albion. Since ancient times in the wake of the battle we had that brought every faction against us, those who hold the Sacred Gears we were sealed in have been destroying themselves to destroy each other. It's destiny for you two to fight through us."

[Apollymi]

Ddraig's words to Takumi were an explanation of what the Heavenly Dragons were. It seemed that Takumi was missing a lot of information, but given what he'd already been through, it didn't surprise her that the lad didn't know much about her or anything concerning Albion. "There is no justice in destruction for the sake of it," these were the words of Cassie pure and simple. They strangely didn't stop here, no, there was much more to be said by this young woman about the nature of their battle. "There is even less justice in destroying one who would so readily destroy himself." These words might have seemed harsh but there was something of a light in this Miracle Child's eye. "But, I've been watching you, Red Dragon Emperor, and I've seen you trying to find your justice. So, I am going to show you what it looks like!" she said. These weren't the words of a straight up fight, nor those of the kind of destructive history that Ddraig's words would have led one to believe existed between the pair of them. No, these were the words of a girl, who'd determined by her own observation, that this young man was one of the same kind of justice she found in herself, and she wanted to help him find the means to use it properly. And in the long term protect everyone else from his potential rampages. "But... you can drop off your groceries first. I'm not rude..." she mused.

The White Dragon chuckled from within this girl's body. "Sorry Red One, it's a new day. And it seems like her ideal Supremacy is very different from the others... but this life seems like it's going to be an interesting one for us," mentioned Albion who seemed to have less problem with the attitude of the child he was partnered with currently than one would have been led to believe.

[Bloodedge]

This girl who spoke as if she knew more about him than he sometimes knew about himself seemed to have solid ideals of what was just, and what was not. Just the same, she had some intention of guiding him on the path to his own sense of justice, which Takumi didn't think he had in the first place. Whatever she wanted with him, she made it seem quite selfless. She even gave him an opportunity to leave his groceries behind, which he wouldn't have expected from such an open, seemingly not very optional, offer. With the way Cassiel proposed this, how could he refuse? Without a word, he crossed the street and made his way home, assuming Cassiel would be accompanying him all the way. He entered his apartment while gesturing for the girl to follow. "Have a seat. I'll be a minute," he said, needing to take a few moments to put away his recent purchases.

[Apollymi]

It seemed that Takumi was amenable to whatever idea that Cassiel put forward. As such she had no problem following him to his apartment. When they walked up to it, she saw in the window a small white cat staring out into the distance. Even so, there was something quite strange about the animal which made her left brow raise in surprise. 'That is Cassie... is Takumi making friends?' the kitten wondered seemingly pleased but there was a problem this small cat creature fully acknowledged. Especially as this other dragon entered the room. "Hai hai..." was the only offering of the Miracle Child who went on to have a seat in the living area of the lad's house. Up close this small kitten jumped down from the window and jumped back up onto the coffee table sitting directly across from the young woman. Cassie's senses were much too good for her not to realize what this cat was or rather who. As she sat on this couch her mouth opened to speak on the strangeness of this situation. "This cat is..." whatever the sentence was it stopped because the kitten jumped again this time placing a paw atop the woman as if to stop her speech on purpose. As she looked at the cat from so short range, she could be sure, sure of the intelligence of this creature not being at all related to being an animal. "Kawaii..." she hadn't told a lie in this but she simply didn't know the situation which would create the necessity of such an arrangement. Beyond this the cat which hadn't made a single sound, made one now before starting to purr. Such a truly animal like reaction made the white haired girl pet the top of this cat's head while it propped itself up on her lap with a single paw, all of this while Takumi put away his groceries.

[Bloodedge]

Takumi first went into the kitchen to put away his groceries, bar a serving of salmon which he began to season and cook on the spot. As it was simmering, he returned to the living room and laid out a scratching post in the empty area of the room previously addressed by Maiko. Nearby, he set up a cat bed with toys placed on the floor around it. He did this in a timely enough manner that he was able to return to his fish pan and check the skin on the salmon. "She came in yesterday. She reminds me of someone, so I decided to keep her," he said to the white-haired girl. Before plating the salmon he had almost finished preparing, he had one more thing to say to this person. "Are you hungry? I have extra. There was a sale today."

[Apollymi]

The empty corner of the lad's apartment was soon given a strange treatment. Firstly, he started cooking. It was very easy for this little kitten to forget that she enjoyed food, until this lad was cooking for her. Reia sniffed the air and mewed under the attention of the Miracle Child. Still there were far weirder things that had been done. 'I wonder why she chose to go along with this...' mused the cat. The rest of the apartment was made complete by the addition of cat related products, including a bed, toys and a scratching post. Reia's eyes widened and the cat settled down into the lap of the Miracle Child for now. Takumi's words about the kitten seemed to be found funny by the white haired girl, for reasons the lad would probably never know. "Hahahaha~ You took in a cat because it reminds you of someone?" she asked most rhetorically. "What did you name her?" she questioned more specifically. Beyond that there was the fact that this young man went on to offer her breakfast, claiming of course that the food had been on sale. "You have been told we are basically mortal enemies. We likely are technically in more ways than you presently realize. The thought that you would still feed me, makes me question everything I know," there was a pause in her speech and a gentle smile came to her face. "Iie, I already had breakfast... thank you though," she said calmly. Her eyes moved to the surprisingly attentive kitten and she looked at her with the clear version of the eyes she'd seen a week prior so full of emotion. 'Sou ka, that's why...' she mused mentally, supposing that there was only so much that one could change about themselves.

[Bloodedge]

"Ou," he said about why he had the cat in his apartment. If this weren't the case, he likely would have still kept it. The person he owed rent to would likely take issue with this, but Takumi hadn't actually considered the problem. "Her name is Reia." In a matter of moments, he was done cooking. Since Cassiel claimed she wasn't hungry, he took care of the cleanup while letting the salmon cool a bit. Once that was out of the way, he returned to the living area and placed the plate of fish meat on the floor for the cat's enjoyment at her leisure. "Ddraig and Albion are mortal enemies. I don't have anything to do with that," was his only comment to the matter of the potential conflict between himself and Cassiel. He had enough issues of his own to deal with; he wouldn't be dragged into an age-old war between these two dragons without his own reasons to participate. "So, you wanted to show me something?"

[Apollymi]

The name of this kitten was given and the eyes of the white haired lass widened. She was no fool and the likeness of the name of he'd chosen to the person who this cat actually was could not be understated. When she looked up there was an intense stare coming from this cat, the likes of which no animal eyes could possess. "Sou ka, that's a pretty cute name," she said. Soon enough the boy was joining her from the kitchen having sat down a plate for the kitten who rubbed herself against his legs before going off to enjoy her meal, such would make the kitten sit and eat quietly all while watching this interaction. The words Takumi spoke to Cassie were ones which made her look to him once more a smug smirk coming to her face. "Sugoi. We are in agreement then about the dragons age old competition having nothing directly to do with us. Good good, there is nothing just about inherited debts," she said seeming to enjoy this as an idea. "There is one more thing, you don't really know me, but I should make clear that I am also a Miracle Child... which means..." she paused thinking about how to explain it. And decided to show while sitting in this room the singular white wing which emerged from her right side. "I am half-Angel," she said. "I should preface this by saying I know what you are, and have known for quite some time. I have been shown that in our current time, our differences don't matter so much," she mentioned calmly her intentions weren't at all aligned to those of any over all faction. She'd been told to do what she thought was just at any cost. "I am here because I have seen you trying... but I can help you because I can already do the things you need to do," she said staring at him from her perspective, he'd have every reason to say no. "It is my opinion that it is for the good of all if you know and understand your Balance Breaker... and I would like to see what you decide as a proper being."

This was strangely a selfless offer to help the lad in his developing stages without caring about his affiliations or anything besides their bond as similarly created dragons. As she spoke these words she felt the ever watchful eye of the kitten on the floor. Those intelligent eyes were almost menacing but would go back to eating without fail until the meal was finished. 'Though I don't enjoy having to explain why I am a cat to her later, this would give him something else to use besides that form that could kill him and everyone else,' the kitten mused. 'It comes from a good place and it would be good for him to gain some more combat experience with his true form.'

[Bloodedge]

Cassiel thought it good that they shared a viewpoint on the dragons' squabble. That didn't matter to Takumi. What did matter was whatever she intended to show him, and this apparently began with the revealing of her existence as a half-angel. As far as the boy knew, he'd never consciously met an angel of any sort before, so the concept of half-blooded ones was certainly new to him. What's more, their powers were seemingly similar enough that Cassiel had access to the things Takumi had yet to properly learn about. She could help him make better use of his Balance Breaker, and thought it to be something better for the general public. Of course, Takumi had no idea he was responsible for so much destruction one week prior to this moment, but he had seen first-hand the destructive capabilities of dragons. "Fine. Let's go then."

[Apollymi]

Cassie watched as this lad processed the information he was given. Apparently his education as a Devil hadn't gotten down to the different species and their ever evolving conflict, which was likely for the best considering that such information had been known to drive humans mad. The only thing remotely strange about this was that the boy possessed a Sacred Gear which should have made him a prime target and thus he should have known about most things way sooner. Still he seemed to possess no problem with what she had to say about showing him how to use his Balance Breaker and helping him work out the best use of his skills. A grin came to her face, "Hai, follow me. I have a place I use for this sort of thing, where we won't be interrupted..." she stated.

She'd leave this apartment with the lad in tow, headed for an abandoned church which had a huge field and open mountain range behind it. The entire area was uninhabited for obvious reasons and as such it was the perfect place to training like what she had in mind. Once she was there she'd stand on the ground with her hand tucked under her chin, doing so she would activate the base form of her Sacred Gear, a giant pair of armored wings with four large light feathers protruding from each. She'd stand across from him and wait quizzically studying him. "This is the base form of my Sacred Gear: Divine Dividing. Come we will see what you have to work with so far," she said. Her posture was relaxed and she would seem almost arrogant to stand in such a way, but she also knew the full capabilities of her own skills and weaponry so it wasn't arrogance so much as justifiable self-confidence.

[Bloodedge]

"Hai," Takumi said as he followed behind this half-angel. Their trip eventually brought them to a church which seemed to no longer be in use. Their destination was not the church itself, but the sizable field behind it. Once there, Takumi witnessed the lowest form of his apparent counterpart's Sacred Gear, which was wings of light interestingly befitting of her angelic existence. This was exactly along the lines he anticipated, then; he would be learning by example, in whatever context such a thing meant to Cassiel. "Sou ka... Ddraig," he called out, prompting the gem on his left hand to flash as the dragon reacted. "Dragon Booster!" was stated to mark the appearance of the red gauntlet covering his hand and entire forearm. He looked to Cassiel the entire time, speaking to her the name of his Sacred Gear when it was properly summoned. "Boosted Gear."

[Apollymi]

"Sou ka..." said Cassie, watching as this lad communicated directly with the dragon within him, and used it to manifest and summon his sacred gear. Having never seen him outside of his Juggernaut Drive, she had no idea what the base form of his power was. Looking at it now, she found it to be suitable to the type of person he's shown himself to be while she watched him in school. "A gauntlet... I see. Now I understand how you'd sacrifice your arm," she said. "I've seen you throw a punch so I know you can do that but..." she decided to take a moment and test the waters, when she bounced off the ground she took off in flight. She would find herself rather quickly approaching this lad, or rather she'd find herself at his left side by virtue of light speed movement. She almost literally vanished as she approached but when she reached his side, she stopped moving having a closer look, "Do you know how to use that properly?" she asked him the question itself was both prodding and a bit of a challenge. She seemed to be more than prepared regardless of what the lad was capable of, and that would be the case given her angelic nature.

[Bloodedge]

This strange girl who appeared to Takumi this day somehow also knew about the arm he'd lost. This familiarity was becoming stranger and stranger with each statement shared, but there were more important matters to address now. For instance, the next thing from the half-angel's mouth involved her knowledge of his punching skill - something else that was strange for her to know. Of course, they were in the same class as she said earlier, so she'd likely only seen this recently... but he couldn't be completely sure of anything with this one.

Making an assumption that she would be coming toward him at any moment, Takumi intended to ready himself. What he couldn't be ready for though, was the sudden disappearance of this girl. His eyes widened before his periphery showed him the edge of he silhouette to his left. This movement was too fast for him to follow; what could he do? As a Sacred Gear holder, she had to also be reasonably powerful at minimum, so he could not at all hope to use his base strength. He had to attack with Boosted Gear. "Boost!" the gauntlet called out just as he needed it, increasing his power as he pivoted to his left and drew back his left fist. He knew he had already lost time on this movement, but there was no real choice in the matter. However, being conscious of this let him know he had to make up for the extra movement somehow, and he aimed to do so by instead opening his left hand and shot from it a red beam of concentrated magical energy aimed at Cassiel's torso.

[Apollymi]

It seemed her movements alone had been enough to set the boy on edge, even so, she was more than a bit surprised that he retained the necessary reaction speed to try and launch an attack after. She watched his fist and knew an attack was coming, but instead of backing down from it, she moved into it, aiming to make contact with the lad causing the call of her own dragon's words. "Divide!" this would half the power of the attack coming from the lad and add it to her own power, making her stronger for the moment than the blast she wouldn't have tried to avoid regardless. After this a small smile came to her face as she dusted off her body. "Good good," she said as her movement speed took her away from him quickly enough that she was floating once again a ways off just above the ground. If this boy was capable of such feats at base level, it was time to up the pressure, just a little. "Vanishing Dragon Balance Breaker!" this chant from Albion created a full suit of armor around the girl complete with those glowing wings. It was all white in color and included large blue-green gems at each of the armor joints. In this fully armored status she was more than ready to continue so she did, flying up quickly and spinning before the lad, whipping round the armor's long segmented tail as she aimed only blunt damage at the lad's fore aiming to knock him back a considerable amount by virtue of this.

[Bloodedge]

Takumi forced his magic forward, but to no avail. A simple effort of physical contact initiated by Cassiel was followed by her Sacred Gear draining his attack of all the additional power he'd given it. These Heavenly Dragons truly were ones made to war with one another, as Takumi realized in this moment. Whereas Ddraig strengthened himself, Albion weakened others. Having felt basically nothing from his blast, Cassiel shifted away from him and dusted off, much to the young male's discontent. "Sou ka... That's the White Dragon's power," he concluded. Much more was to come. Before doing anything else, Cassiel made use of a power Takumi had only briefly experienced in the Rating Game against Sirtreize's peerage. Hers, however, offered a clearly more definite form and a slight name difference. Balance Breaker was a term he'd heard before, and Albion called it out with Cassiel's transformation. However, Ddraig had said something entirely different when he took such a form.

"Ddrai-" Takumi tried to reach his partner for clarification, but it was not to be. Before he realized what was happening, Cassiel was moving about in front of him, and something struck his torso with great enough force to send him flying, then sliding across the field. A long line of dirt was left in his wake due to the ground being scraped by his sliding body, leaving him quite a mess by the time he lifted just his top half up. "Kuso. This is what the Heavenly Dragons are capable of? Ddraig... help me out..." he groaned, putting forth enough effort to lift him from the ground.

"Boost!"

[Apollymi]

Cassie's initial counter was viewed by Takumi and he seemed to understand now why these two dragons were made to war against each other. She didn't much care for the reason, but she knew that as a pair they were hard counters for each other's powers. Beyond that point though there was a bit of a spectacle made by the use of her Scale Mail. The creation of it seemed to stun him, and make him begin asking Ddraig questions, but having seen him do this for the gear on his arm, she knew then he wouldn't be able to properly obtain the form she had. Her attack with the strength of her tail met the boy's body and he was sent rocketing backwards. She watched him tumble and took to the contemplative posture she used most of the time, only this time while covered in armor. She sought to give advice while she knew she could, and the mastery of skills such as this were ones which she knew all too well. "If you are going to use this form, you have to pull it from the depths of your soul," she said as her posture became that of surety. "You cannot try, simply do or do not!" she mentioned with all the conviction of her beliefs. "Hold the image of what you desire in your heart and mind. Know what you want and manifest this armor as a form of your will!" she proclaimed, and this was the truth. Though she found herself following justice as an idea, and manifested her armor based on this, she figured that the Devil boy would understand that things such as this were controlled and rolled by his own emotions and desires. If he understood this, he could avoid accidentally using Juggernaut Drive and instead control his emotions, his desires, his wants and use an armored form like the one she bore.

[Bloodedge]

"Hrgh... My soul, huh..." Takumi muttered. Being told to hold onto the image of his desire was almost laughable. In fact, he began snickering as if crazed after hearing such a statement. Now, he understood. "Sou ka. I thought you were someone I couldn't remember for a while. If you were, I'd hope you would understand... but no. You don't know me at all," he spoke between nigh-breathless laughs that consisted of mostly wheezes directly from his lungs. The thing he desired most was something he didn't have an image for at all. Perhaps it was even less what he thought it was, and more actual answers as to why it was a desire, and not something he had access to. Yes, that was certainly it; he was convinced of this. Until he understood this completely, he could only persist until he did, and there was once again no other way to accomplish this. "Ddraig. Give it to me," he said in a demanding manner.

"Welsh Dragon Over Booster!" At this command, Takumi's Sacred Gear evolved into a red suit of armor fitted with green gems in contrast to Cassiel's white and blue theme. This state was not quite the Balance Breaker form of Boosted Gear thanks to Takumi's inability to actualize it, yet the form alone was forced into existence - yet again - by his willpower alone.

[Apollymi]

The words that came from Takumi, along with his maniacal laughter brought a bit of unabashed curiosity from the Miracle Child. The fact that he seemed to think she would understand more of his inner plight was something which caused her a bit of worry, because he should have known she couldn't know him that well, and the fact that he didn't meant that he was incomplete within himself. Such a thing was strange to consider, but that as an idea combined with the trauma he'd suffered explained the cat form of his leader living with him in his apartment. 'Sou ka, he is worse off than I thought... if it had been a simple matter of knowing the forms it wouldn't be much of a problem. But he doesn't even know himself...' she thought to herself in that same thinking posture made odd by fully armored look she now possessed. But much to her own surprise he still managed to manifest something. Her eyes widened at the demand of the other Dragon to give something to the lad and the demand being met by what seemed to be the incomplete form of the Balance Breaker. "Sugoi!" she said seemingly surprised, knowing that if the lad had no way of holding on to his desires that he had to have manifested this form by force of will alone. And there was much to be praised about having a will so strong. "Using your will to force a form like that is impressive. It won't last long because of it, but..." she gave a minor moment to pause and think properly about the situation. "I suppose it will do until you find, whatever it is your soul is searching for," she mused. "Show me what your will is made of then..." she changed her statements but the lesson remained the same, if he was to use this form until he had a better one, figuring out the limits of it was important. She flew towards him at light speed, aiming to punch him in the center jewel of his body with the speed of her hit to back up its force.

[Bloodedge]

Takumi couldn't know for certain until hearing it from the words of his counterpart, but he was made to know that his 'Over Booster' was a clear difference from the true Balance Breaker. It didn't matter to him so long as it functioned, and so long as the true form eluded him. If it didn't last long, he just had to make it count... and make it count, he would. "It's not you, then. Sou ka," he said, having additional confirmation given by Cassiel's words. As she came his way, he made use of the fact that his right arm could be wielded now by holding it out in front of himself. "Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost!" his Sacred Gear called out. The back of his hand managed to defend his torso against Cassiel's fist, but at the cost of that hand's jewel and some of the armor surrounding it. When the strike connected this way though, Takumi was given some immediate insight as to Cassiel's location, in the crucial moment of her swift movement being halted. As such, his left hand formed a fist which he quickly aimed to drive directly into the White Dragon Emperor's abdomen, using every ounce of power the Boosted Gear had granted him in the past few moments.

[Apollymi]

Things could have become very awkward for Cassiel, if a Devil boy decided to latch on to her while searching his soul for what his heart desired. It was good for her that he knew she wasn't who he was looking for, though to be honest she was rather curious about it, she had the warmth of divinity to know that he would likely find his own answers. In the meantime her punch towards the center of his body was read and followed up on by the lad, but since contact had been made the calls from her Sacred Gear began soon after. "Divide! Divide! Divide! Divide! Divide!" was called without true limit, but it wouldn't be fast enough to do anything about the fist aimed at her abdomen. In fact it still made impact with enough force to shatter the center console of it, releasing the jewel and several pieces to fall to the ground. Beneath it though the girl seemed unhurt, if not a bit winded as she flew back and coughed through a chuckle. "Hgh! Ack! Bwahahaha! Sugoi! No one has actually hit me in quite a long time... " she said even as she spoke the armor itself reformed perfectly leaving that one jewel on the ground near where she'd made her exit.

There was also something else, an additional call "Seraphim!" which was given as the light wings let off a burst of energy behind the girl and she rolled her shoulders. "Sugoi! I can usually take a lot more than that before then... how interesting," she mused. The power of her Balance Breaker protected her from self-harm, letting off the extra energy she absorbed at the point it became too much for her body. Even so, it seemed that in taking on its counterpart the Red Dragon of Domination, it was is if challenging someone of greater quality all together. As such she could only aim to meet this challenge and perhaps help set the boy towards the path to finding what he was looking for, she moved once more aiming to twist her tail into him slapping him again and following up with a spinning upper cut, if successful while the boy was up in the air she'd go on to spin kick him into the ground skidding away from her. Her movements while simple were all done at great speed, and were more powerful than the average blows anyone should have been used to taking.

[Bloodedge]

With his tactic of choice, he managed to land a single blow on the half-angel and repay the loss of his own armor's gem. He was allowed a short breather after this exchange since Cassiel was launched away from him, but he figured it wouldn't last very long. Something strange happened in the wake of his attack having its power reduced and landing. Cassiel's Sacred Gear uttered a previously unheard command, which ejected energy in the form of light from her wings. Takumi wasn't given much time to think of what this could mean, as she was on the offensive again. Once more, she essentially vanished from his line of sight before a sudden impact from her tail turned his head and shattered his helmet. Immediately afterwards came an uppercut with power he hadn't come to expect based on what Cassiel previously showed herself capable of. As he flew into the air from the second strike, he wondered the cause of this while hanging onto consciousness through great necessary effort. 'What is this? The last one wasn't so strong...' he thought. From within his subconscious, Ddraig responded in kind. 'That's the power of the Supremacy Dragon, Partner. Boosted Gear lets you double your power and give it to others. Her Divine Dividing lets her half her opponent's power and add it to her owns. That light? That's the safety protocol to get rid of the excess.' the Dragon explained.

'... Sou ka.' Takumi's eyes were wide open and viewing the sky as he rose. Just then though, another attack met its mark. "Augh!" he gurgled, blood spewing from his mouth. The wind was more than knocked out of him as a kick made contact with his chest, breaking numerous ribs in the process of launching him back to the ground where an elongated crater of sorts would be formed from the impact and subsequent slide. By then, his eyes were closed. There he lay for a few moments, no helmet, no chest plate, and a nearly-shattered right gauntlet. Still though, he rose over time. "Gi...mme a break. This is how you show someone something? Hngh..." In his attempt to rise to his feet, Takumi only managed to take a knee. His breath was labored. He was almost certain there was blood in his lungs. What he was undoubtedly certain of however, was his will to continue. He had no reason at all to go on with this, and yet... perhaps deep within Takumi was the idea that pressing onward no matter what would bring back something long lost to him... something he couldn't even manage to bring back to the forefront of his own mind.

"That's... what a Dragon of Supremacy is, huh? You're leagues above me... that's for sure." Takumi had landed in a very interesting place. To his left was the blue jewel that had been released from Cassiel's armor before she reformed it, so Takumi thought it was a wonderful idea to pick it up while staring down the armored Miracle Child. "Maybe I'm just dumb... but what's a Dragon of Domination? Is it possible to dominate supremacy itself?" he wondered aloud as he gradually brought the jewel over to the back of his right hand, where his own had been missing. It didn't fit in the slot, or rather, it shouldn't have fit. And yet, he was determined to force it, causing himself a great deal of pain on a spiritual level. "Hngh! Haaah..." An open mouth and widened eyes portrayed the strain this act alone forced upon him, but in the end... the Boosted Gear spoke: "Vanishing Dragon Power is Taken!" it announced. A metamorphosis occurred in the gauntlet on his right hand, both fixing it and turning it white, as well as turning the jewel by its elbow blue to match the one on its hand. "Go figure. It did something," Takumi finalized while raising his now white-clad right hand to point it in Cassiel's direction. With a single chant spoken not in the voice of Ddraig, but that of Albion, he aimed to bring back what he'd wasted in moments prior. "Divide!"

[Apollymi]

Cassie's offensive seemed to be making itself work harder than expected. She succeeded in all three of the maneuvers she set forth, with more of a reaction than she expected to garner from the lad she fought against. She'd never displaced someone so strong before, and as such she didn't expect the sort of physical damage she'd been able to met out to the lad as he pulled himself off the ground. Strangely enough as she floated off the ground his words to her made her take the same contemplate stance with her right hand tucked under her chin even in her armored status. "Yes, this is how I show you something. You seemed like the type to understand this method better, but we could have tea and cookies next time if you prefer," she said and though this statement sounded snarky, she hadn't meant it as such. She'd been very genuine in the idea that the boy would gain the lesson she meant to put before him more easily through physical contact. And that if he decided this method wasn't satisfactory the next time she felt the need to share something they could just discuss it, though admittedly this battle was something which Cassiel found exciting more so than many of the works she did.

Takumi's musings were strange to Cassie, but she would continue to watch with wide eyes as he worked through the true power of the Dragon of Domination. He seemed to think the idea of dominating supremacy was a good one. 'Bakana... that isn't something you should...' whatever Cassiel thought she then got to watch the boy struggle to force the jewel from her armor into his gauntlet, determined to take for himself the power of the Vanishing Dragon. As a half-angel she could practically hear his soul crying out in pain as he forced this thing to happen beyond all forms of reason or sanity. Strangely, it was accepted the power of hers was taken and as if further confirmation was needed his gauntlet became white and the voice of Albion was heard from his gauntlet as he gave one command. "That... shouldn't be possible but here I am watching it!" this was the sentence which came from the half-angel's mouth as her posture became awestruck at the sight she had and she felt the drain of power from her very being. Her body buckled from this feeling and it was one she'd never felt before this moment. "He... took it from me," her eyes widened as she looked at the ground she floated dangerously close to and looked towards him.

Her sense of justice found that this wasn't an acceptable outcome, there was nothing just for losing without gain, her own drives couldn't let this stand. She moved forward again, zipping by the lad and grabbing up the piece of his armor that remained a singular green jewel which had fallen from his chest piece. "You are such a strange boy. The things that happen around you... amaze me," she said. "But I am only half-angel after all... I can't give freely. I must remain..." the thought didn't complete as she placed the missing jewel into the opening in the center of her chest. She forced it into the center of her being for the purpose of absorbing it into herself. Her own desire to not be overtaken by someone so unsure, to remain supreme. Her sense of justice and fairness required her body to accept this piece. And... it did. A unique previously unheard of call from Albion noted this. "Welsh Dragon Power Accepted!" This caused a light stretch from the lass' back producing a second set of red wings beneath her first set. "Boost!" was the call in Ddraig's voice this time. And with this she hovered before the boy, moving forward, markedly slowly for her own sake. Only to have an angel descend between the pair of them. A blonde woman with her hair up in a messy ponytail stood between this pair of young dragons, she had two pairs of glorious white wings. "Yare yare, Cass. To think you'd set out to help someone and end up having so much fun..." she said calmly looking to Takumi and offering a kind smile. "Forgive me for interrupting but the pair of you aren't going to last much longer, allow me to offer this as recompense..." she said. An odd green light emanated from her core which aimed to envelop both of this individuals. Strangely it wouldn't hurt either of them, but instead aimed to heal both of their injuries and would do so exceedingly fast to boot. Knowing what this meant, Cassiel's Balance Breaker disappeared around her and she was left standing before Takumi with a slightly bowed head. "Sumimasen, that power was a bit more than I was used to, I got a bit carried away," she apologized earnestly for harming the boy beyond her initial intent of showing him how to use his own power.

[Bloodedge]

In halving the power of Cassiel, Takumi managed to restore some of his own energy. Even so, he remained where he was due to the unacceptable state of his physical self. While he struggled with his own condition, Cassiel encroached upon the jewel he had replaced with one taken from her, speaking in a way that made her intentions clear. It seemed that in the way Takumi intended to embody domination, she wore the mantle of supremacy to suit the dragon within her. Takumi was further shocked by the ease at which this occurred for the half-angel when compared to his own ordeal. Moreover, the contrast between the two dragons showed itself once more when the Divine Dividing Balance Breaker announced the 'acceptance' of the Welsh Dragon's power. Much like Cassiel's Sacred Gear in its base form, Ddraig's power unveiled itself for her as a pair of red wings. Takumi gritted his teeth upon seeing this transition. "Kuso..."

Prior to anything else happening between the two, another angelic feature made herself present in the space between them. This female angel took a moment to heal the pair after noting that they wouldn't be lasting much longer regardless. Such a claim was even more annoying to Takumi. 'Still useless,' he thought, though it did not seem to be his own. As if triggered by this event, other thoughts that had never belonged to any form of Takumi began circling his mind.

'The White One has taken from us.'

'This is unacceptable.'

'Kill her. The Vanishing Dragon must fall at last.'

'Use it!'

A great struggle was occurring in the subconscious of Takumi, as if within the Sacred Gear itself. Even though his body had been healed by this newcomer of an angel, he still seemed pained. "I, who shall awaken..." he muttered under his breath whilst in a trance-like state. In the very next moment though, his teeth clenched again and his eyes squeezed tightly shut. The seal on his left hand glowed during the time in which it assisted his efforts to fight this powerful urge. Eventually, he was back to his previous self enough to look toward Cassiel. "... Ou," he said, setting his gaze upon the other woman thereafter. "Arigatou... gozaimasu. We're done then?"

[Apollymi]

Cassiel seemed content to have reigned supreme in this moment. Even so, she wasn't unfamiliar with the things the Red Dragon Emperor was experiencing. Even as they were healed, it seemed that he was struggling with something within himself and Cassie observed this with a knowing light within her eyes. Sariel observed it with something much closer to fear, the last time this particular dragon had rampaged, he'd rather easily dispatched a fallen angel and would have taken out a large chunk of the city without the help of almost a dozen other devils, and various creatures of lore working together. Right now, she didn't much like her chances with just herself and Cassiel as the only thing standing between this lad and the kind of destruction he could reign down upon them. Even if Cassiel were capable in this moment of doing something great about him, with their current exchange of abilities, in their Juggernaut Drives their battle would be closer to fair than the last time, and that would be the sort of battle which could wipe this whole town off the map. Whatever the case, these fears were not realized. Either by the mark on his hand, or his own will, he overcame those voices at least once, and didn't finish the incantation which would have started the pair of them onto another epic battle. The bit of tension that had built up in the angel, was let out in an exasperated sigh. "Whew, I thought I was about to be in trouble for a second there. I am glad, she managed something..." she said without much detail on the point, but seeming to understand the lad had been reigned in at least a little by his master. "I am Sariel, the Angel of Mercy and also the Guardian Angel of Cassiel, it is nice to properly meet you, Yasukawa Takumi..." she said, already being privy to the name which the boy had and among other things choosing to be polite in this moment.

Regardless of this, Cassiel had one piece of advice for the lad, which likely would let him know at the very least, even though she was already past this point, she understood what he was going through. "Yasukawa-kun, if you are truly the Dragon of Domination... make sure your voice is the loudest. Drown out the others with that will of yours," she said giving the lad a curt nod. "Arigatou na..." she said turning to walk away now. She had plenty more to think about and all of it surrounded the strange events which seemed to constantly take place around this boy. Meanwhile the angel who'd landed with them so recently simply nodded her head. "I am sure that is all she has to say. Thank you... for keeping her company. She may not show it well but, she appreciates it," she said acting as emotional speaker for the girl who seemed to be a bit of an anomaly as she was fine with abandoning this fight having given the lad the only advice she knew could help him.

[Bloodedge]

Takumi glanced in the direction of the angel Sariel, taking her introduction without much to say. He nodded to her, but split his attention when Cassiel mentioned that he should make his voice the loudest if he were to claim the mantle of Dragon of Domination. Such a statement could only mean she knew what he had experienced... which meant she had already overcome the same issue, and had access to whatever incredible power had just threatened to consume him. 'Kuso. Whatever that is... she's at that high a level,' he thought. Cassiel left after sharing these words, while Sariel stayed behind for a moment to translate the meaning behind the girl's words. Something about this portrayed a certain loneliness about the Miracle Child, and though Takumi was unsure how to fully interpret it, it made him wonder if this was some cruel fate of dragonkind. It was too much to think about when added to the other things floating around in his mind, so he decided in the end to just get up and walk away. "Arigatou. I guess... tell her too," were the only other words he had for the angel.

As Takumi headed home, another individual appeared via magic circle. The form which materialized was that of a jet black male cat in contrast to the white female one in the apartment. One would note this as a very familiar creature, but regardless, it was sure the other feline it sought would be more than aware. 'Ohayou gozaimasu, Eir,' it communicated by use of telepathy and a single meow.

[Apollymi]

It seemed that Takumi took the meaning that Cassiel meant to portray by her words. Beyond this even the words of Sariel seemed to echo a certain loneliness of the Miracle Child. Truly, Cassiel had a very interesting path to take in life, and beyond what she had mentioned she found few people as interesting or entertaining as she found this lad in the moment. She wished to help him because she understood at least as far as his dragon was concerned what he was going through. Sariel nodded her understanding of Takumi's words and gave a swift bow of her head. "Hai hai, I'll pass that along. Ja ne, Yasukawa Takumi." The angels' words were the last spoken by her and she took off after the girl, who'd already gained quite a bit of distance on them, all while Takumi began making his way home.

Meanwhile, sitting in the window of Takumi's apartment was the kitten 'Reia' who was now confronted by a strange male cat. Well, strange was a bit of an overstatement as the appearance of a magic circle and her own knowledge of previous events let her know exactly what... or rather whom, this male cat was. It went on to meow and communicate with her telepathically which caused those clear eyes of hers to shift directly to it, in a look that could dishevel many but likely not him. The smallest of noises would escape this kitten like it was vying for attention. 'Ohayou, Nii-sama. To what do I owe the pleasure of such a visit?' she communicated to the Crimson Satan directly into his mind. She had no idea why her brother was here, but she supposed it didn't matter much so long as he didn't blow her cover.

[Bloodedge]

This new cat brushed up against the one that could apparently be considered a resident here at the start of their interaction. Introductions were shared, followed by the questioning of his presence in this building. 'What's the matter? Can't a man pay a random visit to his darling sister while she stalks her pet dragon?' he asked in response. Having achieved such close quarters with the female, he sniffed the air around her briefly. 'You've been using your powers? Sou ka. But... still incomplete. I'm surprised.' Indeed, this cat form seemed curious at the time of sharing this information, and yet this was precisely the reason he was here in the first place. 'By the way, it's time for you to move... again.'

[Apollymi]

As this black cat brushed up against her, the little kitten seemed less than disturbed. Even so, the words shared within their mind as well as the actions of this black cat seemed to cause some mild form of irritation. 'One would think the Crimson Satan would have more to do with his time, than stalking his darling sister...' this cat sat with a hint of a hiss. She was displeased at the idea that he thought she was stalking Takumi, she wasn't doing anything like that. Beyond that point, there was the fact that he was more likely stalking and meddling with her, but she was trying to give him the benefit of the doubt, and assumed her own crankiness due to various factors.'I am not stalking him and he's not my pet,' she'd almost snapped, but she was well beyond that sort of action at this point. 'I've had an eventful couple of days. Ooops, I mean week, whatever. I could do without the teasing,' she said exasperated. To be honest, she couldn't have helped using her powers considering the things which had taken place over the course of the last few days for her. 'Yes, I've been using my powers, but it wasn't something I'd planned on doing. Glad to know I am still surprising even you...' she mused. As their conversation progressed though, what this male cat had to say made the small white one turn around and stare with great intensity. 'WHAT!? AGAIN?! WHY?!' she didn't like the idea of moving again. She'd only recently settled into her apartment properly.

[Bloodedge]

'Of course I don't! Since the war came to a standstill, I've had nothing but free time,' he replied. Hopping over to the couch, he grew this form into that of his natural, crimson-haired state. In doing so, he took a seat with his right leg overlapping his left, and his arms stretched out over the back of the couch. "If the Red Dragon isn't your pet, then I might ask... what is he?" he said, though it seemed to be somewhat in rhetoric. Sirtreize skipped right over the matter of Eira having to move again, deciding to make use of his magic to dispel Eira's transformation just before Takumi stepped into the room. The boy noted Sirtreize before anything else, and was quite surprised by the Satan's presence at all. "Ohayou, Sekiryuutei. Before you ask any questions, let me explain... I've already taken the liberty of... convincing your landlord to evict you. It's all taken care of by now. Time to move out!" he said, prompting Takumi to stop all movements and stand before Sirtreize with wide eyes.

[Apollymi]

'Ugh, your boredom isn't my problem... I have enough of my own,' Eira's words were the truth as far as she was concerned. Her brother's constant meddling in her affairs was something beyond what she found to be well meaning. At this point he was influencing outcomes and she didn't like being at the root of this. He asked her a question which she seemed to have an answer to, but it seemed rhetorical so she didn't bother trying to explain herself, and even if she had, it would have come with her actual voice as she was transformed back into herself and now standing in Takumi's apartment. "He's..." she could have gone on to explain that the lad was quite precious to her. Her first real human friend after branching out, the reason she was so attached to this particular town, the guiding force that had made her into the type person she'd come to be, but... none of that would be said as Takumi rather suddenly entered this apartment much to the shock of Eira herself. Sirtreize went on to explain that he'd gotten Takumi evicted from his apartment and that it was time for the lad to move out. "Oi! Nii-sama, that is way too much! Why would you even do something like that?" she questioned him, rubbing her face, trying to suppress the outrage. She wished to gain control of herself and for one of the others to hold onto to help her keep what little of her demeanor she managed most times. More than all of this she wanted to question why this man couldn't just leave her alone. He had to have something more to do than meddling in her personal affairs, truly it was bordering upon obsessive.

[Bloodedge]

In response to why he would do such a thing, the question posed by Eira, Sirtreize only looked at his sister with a grin. Takumi was clearly quite confused as to why specifically Sirtreize and Eira were here, why this was something to note, and why it would be happening in the first place. Sirtreize took a moment to place his right forefinger in front of pursed lips in an effort to silence Takumi before the lad even spoke. "As I was saying: no questions," he said both to Eira, and to the unspoken clause of Takumi. To Eira in particular, he had a few more things to say. "Oh, did I forget to mention? You're evicted too. Are we ready to get going then? Alright!" Without further ado, Sirtreize used a form of teleportation magic which required no seal or circle. It would happen instantaneously, transporting the trio to a new location where they would have to start calling home at some point.