Hirakata

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A town carved in on the mountain side outside of Kuoh proper. This place like Kyoto seems to live at a slower pace than the city lives of those below. They are reclusive people who govern themselves and though they are open to the public for trade, most will never leave the confines of the town itself. That being said there is an air of mysticism about them, and they believe in things older than modern technology and stronger than religious beliefs. The entire place is hard to navigate and only truly possible by foot. One false move and you could slip and fall off the mountainside to your death.

Early one evening, a red magic circle appeared within a very specific person's room, in a very specific building of the town called Hirakata. This circle produced a black-haired young man with red eyes and a shape that appeared lean within his primarily black getup. His left hand, being the only one of his hands clad in a motorcycle glovelet, swept through his hair as he materialized from this strangely Dragon-influenced magic circle. "Oi. You got my flyer?" he asked in rhetoric - as the answer to his query was quite obvious - of whatever person called upon him. Without wasting any time, he set his gaze upon his summoner. "What do you need a Devil for?"

In this room, Takumi appeared in a girl not much older than himself stood with wide grey eyes. Her hair mostly short was arranged about her head in ornate fashion, it even included golden ornaments and gold beads trailing down to chest level. She was dressed in an ornate old style kimono which was adjusted for more modern times with shorter flyaways. Underneath she wore a solid black almost catsuit also with golden trim. She quite obviously was a very high ranking person in this place, but what was important here was what she needed from him and that was something he apparently understood. His first almost rhetorical question made her scoff a scowl forming on her young face. His secondary question was more to her liking but still a question and as such didn't garner a change in her outward appearance. "I need a Devil to guarantee my succession as Clan Head. Can you do this?" she asked him, it was a very simple question but there were several complicated underlying factors which she'd only fill him in on if he answered this question properly. She had several of these fliers and she'd use another if she didn't think this one would work.

The expression on this extravagant girl was not lost to Takumi. This being far from the first time he'd garnered such a look in his life, he didn't acknowledge it at all. No, he looked to the girl with an impassive expression of his own, waiting only for what he could do to fulfill the contract and acquire his first signature. As her appearance dictated, she was a rather important person. It seemed she was to become head of some clan, or at least had the desire to be such. "That's it?" he asked, also rhetorically. It just so happened that Takumi taking on contracts at the time being was for a very similar reason. If he was aiming to climb in rank, it was only fitting that he get his first finished contract by helping someone else do the same. "If you're willing to sell your soul to get this, you must want it pretty badly," he said while a toothy and slightly aggressive grin stretched across his face. "I can relate. What's the first step?" This was all there was to it. He had no intention to directly answer her question. If she wanted proof of his ability, she could get it whatever way she wished. All he cared about now was getting the job done, and he'd do it at all costs.

This girl's grey eyes narrowed at the notion that what she wanted was a small thing. Perhaps, Devils were much stronger than humans, perhaps their grasp on magic and other such things was enough that he would consider this a small task. It was possible he was centuries old and stories like the one she had to tell were nothing new to him, but whatever the case was... his attitude was enough to let her know she could count on him for the task she had set up. "It isn't that I want it badly, it's that it is mine!" she said in a manner that was just as aggressive as this lad's toothy smile. "Our clan traditions say that leaders are chosen by a specific creature. That creature chose me..." she said and it was true, she'd had contact with that specific creature since before she could remember. "But, our clan is dominated by old males who want empty-headed male heirs. Even though I am better than anyone else, and even though I was chosen in the old way, they gave my title to someone else. But that is just my uncle, who claimed to have a male heir after it was obvious I was chosen in the old way to get everyone to go along with it... but, I discovered it isn't true," she said explaining the entirety of the situation in the swiftest form possible. "My uncle tricked everyone else, my cousin isn't male at all. My cousin is a female in enchanted armor she can't get out of... which brainwashes her and makes her spout the lies my uncle wants her to say. It also makes her believe she's male..." she said calmly. "I can't get her out of it and she doesn't appear often enough for anyone else to try," she mentioned. "So I arranged a battle of succession, when she appears, I need you to break the armor and free her. Then the battle will be void once it is revealed she isn't male and thus isn't qualified either," she said with certainty. "I should add that my point in engaging in this battle is simply to prove my uncle is lying about having a male heir. He is the true target of the aggression, but I need to free my cousin and claim my title," the complication of this moment was made clear by what she said and it was why she actually needed preternatural help.

It wasn't true that this girl wanted the title of clan head so badly. Instead, it was a title she rightfully possessed, but was being kept from due to an inequality of genders in this area. There was even some heirloom in the form of a creature which chose the clan's legitimate heir, and she was in possession of it. That wasn't the important thing to Takumi though. This girl... she was the superior member of her clan, being kept from her rightful place due to the prejudices of others alone. What's more, the alleged 'male heir' the clan had to take up the mantle in her place was no male at all, and was only being manipulated to act as such, just to keep Takumi's summoner from the position. Takumi believed there was even more to this, but that wasn't a topic for discussion just yet. Besides, there was every chance - and reason to believe - that the girl thought the same. "Sou ka. I figured you were more like me. You still are, but... well, that's not important. I can't let somebody have their worth questioned by someone else so close-minded. I'll crash the fight, and I'll deal with that armor for you. When do we make our move?"

The young woman explained the whole of the situation in the briefest version possible. She didn't know what she expected but... strangely this lad seemed to agree with her above all else. For the first time since this male had shown his face before her, her expression softened. He claimed to want to know when their move would be made, and this question made her move towards the window and look further into the mountain range where a line of torches were appearing and disappearing in a seemingly chaotic fashion. "That mountain over there..." she said while pointing. "Is where the entirety of the Stealth Force is gathering. I am their leader, but in a battle of succession I have to fight my way through them to the plateau at the top of the mountain. That I have to do alone..." she mentioned, though her leadership of such a group was strained given her status as a woman and thus they'd be out to get her the entire duration. Even so, she didn't care, she could prove over and over how much she deserved her title. She thought about this as she pulled at the things she was wearing slightly. This revealed that beneath the ornate clothes she normally wore there was a black kimono with black hakama and tiny shoes. The extra ornaments were removed from her hair so that only the beads which held the little braids remained. "Once I get to the top where my cousin will be... it will be your time to shine." she mentioned holding her arm out of the window a small fairy like creature with a giant stinger on one arm flew into her hand. In so doing it became a short wakizashi which she attached to her lower back. "I'm Shaoling by the way. Yoroshiku onegaishimasu," she confirmed as she perched in this window getting ready to head for that mountain she'd so recently pointed out.

This exchange would occur sooner rather than later, so it seemed. In response to being asked when they would act, the girl brought Takumi's attention to a window which gave view of a mountain with a lit path along its incline. She had to make the journey to the actual succession battle on her own, but that wasn't important. Takumi had been given a single task, and until that task was done, he had nothing else to be concerned about. Taking the girl's information, as well as her following introduction, he nodded. "Yasukawa Takumi," he said, offering what was very much a Japanese name despite claiming to be a Devil. "Yoroshiku." With no further words to say, he left Shaoling to her devices. To keep himself out of the path up the mountain, he sprouted a Devil's wing on his right side, and a wing with a reptilian appearance on his left side. This odd pair of wings carried him through the window and high into the air. Whenever Shaoling reached the top of the mountain, he would be waiting very high above her and her cousin, awaiting the moment the challenge was properly issued.

"Yasukawa?" this lad introduced himself with a name that didn't much make sense to the girl considering he claimed to be a devil. "You have a Japanese name?" she questioned this but knew she didn't have much time to do anything but what she was supposed to do. The small young woman jumped out of the window and landed on the ground below taking off at full speed. She moved silently not bothering to unsheathe her weapon even as she made it to the first part of the mountain pass. She started going up the incline with random other masked individuals in black attacking her in large groups. The first of such people aimed to surround her about ten members deep. They would be dispatched with swift movements. The first one to jump was kicked in the face while the second one to move had his throat quickly chopped. The next two had their heads slammed together as they aimed to attack her from opposite angles and so on. Each time someone moved she seemed to be quickly dispatched them, without ever aiming to grip the weapon at her lower back. And only once this entire group was laid down defeated did she continue running up the hill apparently without breaking a sweat.

From his place in the sky, Takumi patiently awaited the start of the impending fight below. He figured he would interrupt rather early to avoid wasting any time, but he at least wanted the two combatants to be confronted by one another first. As he floated with occasionally flapping wings that belonged to two different types of creatures, he had enough time to survey the landscape and realize how close to home he actually was. In fact, he could even see his new place of residency very clearly, considering how high in the sky it was. 'I've never been on this side of these mountains before. This is what's over here?' he wondered, letting his mind wander thereafter. 'Yare yare. I think it's going to be a long road to my goal. Either way... it's happening. Just wait for me.'

As Takumi got his sky view of the landscape and the ones surrounding it, Shaoling was moving about below, still with no blade in her hand though that was about to change. She was now more than halfway up the mountain and still not winded. But the members of the Stealth Force who intended to stop her, had started gaining more weapons and more skill as she progressed upwards. 'At least they are retaining formation. It's one I taught them so... ironic but at least they still follow orders,' she thought to herself as one young man approached her with a tanto from one side while another tried to stab her through with a katana. Her body spun in a tight circle as she drew her blade to stop the katana while the tanto was captured within the sheathe of the wakizashi she'd just drawn. She'd then kick away the man who'd so recently lost his short blade before drawing it with one hand and throwing it into his shoulder. Once he was down the man before her was pushed against with all of her body weight, sending him off balance and tumbling forward so that she could trip him off the edge of the very narrow walkway. 'Still you all have a long way to go,' she thought and as such she'd continue after sheathing her blade.

After she reached the halfway point, the elders of the clan gathered about the plateau in a circle. They were whispering among themselves and one person was obnoxious in his words. "I can't believe you all even entertain such a thing. There is nothing that girl can prove over Akito. Even if she makes it up here... we decided already that the spirit of the hornet can't be trusted for not choosing a male heir," he commented. The man had a long graying beard and spoke with a perpetual snarl. He was obviously balding but didn't seem to care, instead he sat there with smugness in his countenance knowing he would come out victorious in this moment.

'I wonder...' As he waited, Takumi's mind continued to wander. There were many things in his mind which sparked his curiosity, all surrounding the matter of his engagement to the Gremory heiress. 'I basically sullied a virgin princess. Whoever the king in this picture is, he might have some sort of problem with that. That'll be interesting to deal with... I wonder if I can.' In the midst of his mental tirade, he occasionally looked toward the ground to see if Shaoling had reached her destination yet. Each time he confirmed this to not be the case, he returned to his thoughts. 'Iia. I'll do it.'

The movements of Shaoling took her through the entirety of her own force of men. They were left trailing behind her down the mountain pass, in various states of injury and consciousness. That being said, she made it to the top and stood in the middle of the circle the blade in her hand held out before her and turned back into the hornet creature and she looked at the entire circle. "I'm here! Where's the heir, uncle?" she asked in a manner none to friendly, of the man with the graying hair who was still stroking his beard. From behind him came someone clad in a heavy set of armor. Each footstep taken dragged forward and the armor itself shined with untold magic. "Akito make short work of her. And when you take her down in the challenge kill her!" this was the old man's words, but as the old Kabuki style armor shifted a strange thing happened. It seemed to twitch just a bit, like it was given an order it didn't agree with. "As. You. Wish... Tou-sama." said this person in an overly masculine voice. It began to circle Shaoling hesitantly and Shaoling watched him following with her eyes narrow. "I am sorry Soifon. I don't want..." whatever this voice had to say was stopped by the words of the old man. "Silence! The time to talk has ended!" he seemed to be in a rush, but Shaoling had exactly the rest of the confirmation she needed. She looked up, hoping the Devil known as Yasukawa Takumi was actually ready to do as he promised.

Eventually, Shaoling reached the final destination of her journey up the mountain, only to be confronted by her uncle and the cousin who 'challenged' her right to clan head. The moment Shaoling looked up, Takumi saw her with an enhanced vision granted to him by a newfound ability of his Sacred Gear. The time had come. Without further ado, he ceased the flapping of his wings to descend with haste and land between the combatants, facing Shaoling's opponent. "Yo," he said to the armored one, as well as to the older male giving orders. "Devil. Interrupting. Fight me."

The descent of the Devil made the eyes of all in the circle widen. He was a creature the likes of which most had never laid their eyes on before. Shaoling was obviously less surprised by this, and the being in the armor showed a bit of hesitation. Like it couldn't act without something specific. It turned back to the old man as if questioning. "Tou-sama..." it murmured in that hyper masculine voice. "Nothing is sacred anymore. Something as lowly as a Devil would impede upon our rituals and you wonder why the sacred beast chose a woman. The end times are upon us!" the old man claimed seeming to drum up something closer to support. "Akito! Kill him first! Then that sow cousin of yours!" said the man who seemed to be content not to engage directly. "As. You. Wish." were the words spoken by Akito as this armored form aimed to rush the lad with the two different wings. No weapons were drawn but the fist which came forward seemed to fly at a speed higher than most eyes could follow and definitely more than could be expected of a normal human. "Sumimasen... I can't stop." the armored form mentioned, obviously in conflict about its actions but unable to do anything but comply with the wishes of the man in control of them.

Meanwhile, Shaoling looked around this group of adults with abject disgust. "Are all of you really so stupid you can't see what is going on here? You can't tell he's controlling Akito and all of you? Has any of you ever seen Akito outside of that armor?" she asked this with finite passion in her heart. She'd given her everything for this clan only to be rewarded by deceit, lies and imperfection. And here in the face of all that, every elder seemed to be stuck on the words of her uncle the man who'd wanted to be in charge but was unqualified. How could they not see his slimy influence on their children, in their coffers and even engraved upon their souls? The questions she asked seemed to cause a few of these elders to think back over the last twenty years, and none of them could ever say they'd seen this child without the famed enchanted armor he wore.

At this point, Takumi only awaited the moment he would face off against this armored 'heir' he was to dethrone. An order allowed this to begin, giving the one known as Akito the goal of eliminating the Devil. 'It's not that I don't believe her, but...' he thought briefly, readying himself for an incoming assault. As Akito's fist approached him, Takumi began calling upon a power that required him reaching deeper than within himself. The mark on his neck throbbed as he summoned this power for the second time, this time consciously and without using it to tame Dragons specifically. Both of Takumi's hands moved in unison, one reaching out to catch Akito's fist and stop its assault, while the other reached toward the armored assailant's neck. He would aim to pull the fist and push on the throat simultaneously while rotating counterclockwise, aiming to slam Akito into the ground. However, at the very start of this movement, he intended to share a moment of visual contact with the eyes within the helmet, through eyes that were glowing a deeper crimson than their normal shade at the time. Such a thing happening would trigger the ability he sought, which was one of a forced and powerful carnal attraction to himself... assuming his target was of the opposite sex.

Whatever the case, it was obvious that at least the start of a fight was about to happen between Takumi and Akito. Akito would find that their fist would be stopped at the same time that Takumi's other hand would find itself around its armored throat. This would evolve into a throw which would have this armored form topping to the ground but that wasn't all. In fact, strangely enough during this set of movements, eye contact would be made with the body within this armor, and the power flowing from the glowing crimson eyes of this lad would strike the person within. "I..." Akito's voice was caught in its throat as a moment of clarity happened, the extreme level of attraction forced upon her was indeed accepted as her body hit the ground within her armor. She felt as if she belonged to the Devil before her. "I'm yours..."

This was a strange thing to hear from that armored man's voice, but it would be the confirmation Takumi sought about the true gender of the person within the armor. This entire thing would be unheard by the crowd at large, but Shaoling heard it as well. She already knew the true identity of the person within the armor, she only had to wait for the moment of the reveal. "What are you doing, Akito!? I said kill him!" came the voice of this girl's father, which aimed to force her to act again, her hand twitched as if she wanted to stop the commands were contradictory to her own feelings at this point causing a hesitation the likes of which her father had never seen before. "Tou-sama..." the voice within the armor was being forced to acquiesce. "This Devil boy as bewitched our heir. What sort of ungodly things could he have planned? The outrage for one like Shaoling to accept such help, why aren't you all trying to kill her and get rid of this fiend as well!?" the old man asked. Of course, in so doing he hadn't moved an inch himself. And though the strengths of individuals were important they'd witnessed Shaoling fight her way up here, and none wanted to challenge her directly either. An en passe was reached in this way, and events would be allowed to unfold as they would.

A single statement spoken by the armored fighter was all Takumi needed to be absolutely certain. He'd specifically used his power as if targeting a woman, and a woman it was indeed. "You're right," he said while standing, sparing a lingering moment of physical contact with the armor Akito wore. His attention was brought to Akito's father when the older male began speaking of killing the clan's true heir. Since it didn't seem like Akito would be attacking him right away by the man's order, he took the time to speak. "You said sow earlier, didn't you? I haven't forgotten that," he said, as if to convey the distaste that had constantly been building within him for this man, heightened by what had only just been heard. As he stared, his gaze was no longer that of a seductive force, but instead of a blazing inferno that reached the very soul of those in its path. "Dress... Break." With this phrase, and a click of his fingers, Takumi triggered a magical seal placed on Akito's armor. The armor itself, and in fact anything she happened to be wearing, would rip itself to shreds the moment his fingers snapped, revealing the body within in such a way as to leave no questions as to its gender specifications.

Akito's hand kept twitching, it was like there was a contradiction in her form. Her mind said to follow her father's orders and attack, but her body said not to do any such thing, being physically smitten with Takumi. It seemed that Shaoling was indeed right around this being a young woman within the armor and soon the rest of this group would be privy to that. The mention of the word sow seemed to have set Takumi off a bit, much to the surprise of Shaoling herself, who'd apparently gotten used to such distasteful things. 'Why... bother?' she wondered what kind of man this Devil was that something like that would even register on his radar. "She is a sow, my elder brother's sow of a chi..." whatever this man was about to say was lost completely as a snap of Takumi's fingers led to the breaking of the armor around the person known was the heir Akito. When all those pieces of enchanted armor shattered, this person's naked form was revealed to all present as obviously female, with long dark hair and large violet eyes. "AHHH!~" this girl's voice even shifted immensely. Small breasts, perfect skin, and a round bottom, her eyes widened and a blush immediately over took her face as she aimed to sit up and cover herself. One arm wrapped around her chest while she tucked her legs into herself.

Shaoling looked wide eyed and nodded. "See, she's a girl too. I was chosen, she wasn't, but that doesn't even matter. Uncle wanted all of your money, all of your backing, and all of your children to himself. Is this really the face of the man you want to lead you!?" she said pointing at the deranged old man who seemed like he'd try to talk his way out of it anyways. Even as the murmurs of the others began to get louder still. "What? She's a girl? Honestly I didn't know, my wife must have lied to me... yes that's it. I was led astray as well... I could still have a male heir anything is better than..." whatever this man was going to stay would not leave his mouth officially. Shaoling moved across the circle jumping behind him to kick him into the circle. His older body went tumbling in front stopping before the wakizashi. "Jinteki Shakusetsu..." the words themselves made the sword rise from before his eyes and transform around the girl's hand giving the middle finger of her right hand a singular long stinger which she held directly in front of this old man's face. "She wasn't just chosen by it, she can wield it properly... it's true form." said one person. "We were wrong to follow... our way is still obvious." said another. "This battle is void call it off!" finalized another voice. All of these things were exactly as she wanted. But her uncle looked up at the girl and frowned. "Akito! Kill her!" said the old man once more. This one went through loud and clear. And though she was naked, there was nothing Akito could do but try and follow the order. "As. You. Wish." she said those three words with tears in her eyes. Shaoling was her favorite cousin and she didn't want to harm her, but her body moved on its own as she aimed to close the distance between them, she spun around on a thick leg aiming to kick the smaller girl in the back of the head. In her father's mind it didn't matter what was seen here. If he managed to kill Shaoling before the end of this day, then he could continue the way he always had.

Yet again, Takumi heard something rather disgusting from this old man. He'd deal with that later, as now there was the matter of the man's obvious daughter being exposed to the masses as one not suited to be heir by what they had already agreed upon. If Takumi meant to address the elder after this, he was stopped by two facts. Firstly, the man's ranting was met by the physical response of Shaoling. Secondly, he gave another order to his mind-slave of a daughter, which still took effect despite her being without armor. 'It wasn't the armor?' he thought while taking action of his own. Deft movements led him to Shaoling's side in time to reach out and hold off the leg of Akito. In doing so, he also aimed to thrust his palm into the dark-haired girl's abdomen, placing another, stronger magic seal on her. If he managed this, he would use the time of her being launched away by his attack to snap his fingers again. All the while, a statement from years ago was repeated in his mind. 'Haunted houses are my specialty because I can dispel curses and magical influence.'

"Dress Break, Astral," was spoken to utilize an enhanced version of the previous technique, which would shatter magical influences and the like to remove the mind-control plaguing Akito and cease her onslaught. In doing so, it would inadvertently swap the stress of manipulation with a pleasure equal in intensity to whatever strain was previously felt.

Though she'd tried to follow through on the order, Akito's kick was stopped again by this Devil she didn't know. There were tears in her eyes, but a look of appreciation on her face, even as his palm slammed into her abdomen. As she went flying backwards, she was put under another spell, but this one, was entirely different. As the girl went flying away her entire body felt numb and rush with heat, it was as if all the strain of fighting against her previous orders was translated into pure pleasure. "Uuuuuuuuaaaah~" left her open mouth as her body pulsed with relief and strangely freedom from her father's mind control.

Meanwhile the man referred to by Shaoling as 'uncle' was still pressed against the ground completely shocked by this happening. "Akito, get back up here and fight!" he yelled trying to order her, only to find that when she sat up, covering herself again, she didn't have to move by his order. "I'm free... Soifon, you actually found someone to free me?" she said looking to her cousin as she held a very poisonous stinger at her father's throat. "Hai, sorry it took so long, Aki..." she said, apparently what Shaoling had sold her soul for, was the freedom of her favorite cousin. All the while the rest of the elders seemed to be stirring even as this old man kept trying and yelling obscenities. "I can't believe you! All of you! I have done nothing but the best for you! So what if I wanted things! They were mine!" his greed an overwhelming cry for all of those who'd been afraid to see exactly the sort of cowardly beast he was. Shaoling for all of her part in this looked down at the man a sadistic grin coming to her face. "Nigeki..." she said as she pulled her hand back aiming to stab it first into this man's chest causing a large butterfly shaped crest to appear marking him in magic and causing him to scream out. "You can't let her kill me, you sow! You can't!" he tried. He looked to his daughter once more and pleaded "Akito, you can't let her kill me, I'm still..." Akito then said the first real thing she'd had on her mind since becoming a slave more than a decade ago. "You are dead to me! You always have been..." and these words were all Shaoling needed to hear. "Kessatsu." the secondary stab would inject within this man a magical poison which in combination with the first set seemed to begin dissolving him where he was. Shaoling stood after this and all remaining elders bowed to her, even in the fact of the screams of the dying man below her.

With Akito both exposed and freed of her mental binding, Takumi's job here was basically done. The general population of the clan around them seemed to be finally favoring Shaoling as their true heir, as they should've done in the beginning by virtue of their own traditions. As Takumi watched Shaoling interacting with her uncle, he knew what would come the moment Akito spoke to the man. Takumi himself would have nothing to do with giving the man what he deserved, but that was fine. Shaoling herself deserved this moment, and he wouldn't dare take it from her if she sought to have it. The use of her weapon was something he found strange. As the older man faded away, Takumi was brought back to the teachings of Youmu regarding Sacred Gears and the like. 'Something that chooses its wielder. Independent Avatar?' he wondered. Strange though this situation might have been if he were correct, he believed he was still on the right track. 'Is that what she meant? It has a will of its own, and it decided to stay with this clan?'

Wrapping up the matter of being lost in his own thoughts, Takumi let his eyes wander between those involved. Shaoling seemed to have no problem wiping out the real problem in the situation, and the other clansmen didn't seem to have any more issues. Akito, however... "Oi," Takumi said as he pulled off his own jacket and held it out to the lass.

Having properly dispatched her uncle, the stinger at the tip of Shaoling's finger disappeared, turning into the small sprite-like creature it was before it flew off to amuse itself in whatever way it chose. Shaoling watched this and exhaled a sigh of relief having had this ordeal finish out in the least violent way possible and everything well taken care of. Akito on the other hand was soon enough offered a jacket by Takumi and the girl looked up at him confused but accepted it gently covering her still exposed nudity. With a word of thanks uttered. "Arigatou gozaimasu..." she said avoiding eye contact and skittering off to her cousin. Shaoling watched the whole of this confused by the Devil boy's nature. She turned to him confused by what he'd shown her of himself. "So, you're a Devil... with a japanese name, a strong sense of honor, weird unmatched wings, and the ability to break people's clothing and mind control. It has to be one hell of a story about how that happened..." she said finding this combination of things to be a bit ridiculous. "Whatever the case, thanks... for helping me free my cousin. I need to sign a contract for you... right?" she asked knowing that with his end of the bargain completed she needed to fulfill her own end. Still she snapped her fingers together and several men in black showed up. "Oi. Escort Aki back to my place and get her some real clothes..." she commanded. "Hai!" and with that the other girl got an escort with just another nod in Takumi's direction to thank him for his kindness.

"Iia," he replied to the nude girl. Takumi was then assaulted by the confusion of Shaoling, regarding basically everything he'd revealed about himself to her thus far. Upon hearing these concerns, he supposed they made a lot of sense. For whatever it may have been worth, he explained a bit of the situation then and there. "I am Japanese. I grew up just on the other side of this mountain. I live right over there," he said, gesturing toward the incredibly tall building in view with an entire homestead atop it. He then continued with his explanation. "The wings are because I'm half Dragon, and that power... I got them from the Devil who reincarnated me into a Devil." A spare moment was taken for Takumi to return Akito's nod, before he returned his attention to Shaoling for the purpose of answering her final question. "If you think this is worth signing the contract for, then sign it. Whether you do or don't, I'll be on call if you need me for something else."

It appeared that Shaoling would have a few of her curiosities addressed. Apparently this boy had grown up just on the other side of the mountain and currently lived in the rather extravagant building she could see even from here. Her eyes widened at this news, but beyond this he went on to explain that he was half-dragon and that the powers he possessed at least in part came from the one who created him as a Devil. All of this was interesting news to her, but she lived in such a closed off little space, it wasn't really surprising to her that she didn't know very much about how such things worked. "Hm, that's kind of a lot, to be honest. But I guess the world is as big as the window you see it through..." she said, even so this lad had kept up his end of the bargain and as such she'd sign the contract, even though he'd given her an out. "Iie, I'll definitely sign it. You kept up your end of the deal, and I definitely couldn't have freed Aki without your help..." she said the contract she took out and signed magically, doing so made the paper disappear from her hands. Perhaps one day she'd get to know what adventure was like, and she'd leave these hills and see something besides the same old faces, but for now, there was something more important to her than her own desires. "I have everything I need now. But... if I change my mind... I'll let you know," this young woman said as she turned on her heels and sprinted down the hill to join her cousin. Strange as she was, she had to admit that the Devil known as Yasukawa Takumi had the makings of a man worth following.

"You're right," Takumi said in regards to Shaoling's 'window' reference. He could very much agree with this notion, considering what he'd been through. "I was made to realize the same thing very recently. I wouldn't normally say this, but you should get out more. Your uncle wasn't the only bad seed, though... but the type of person you are might mean that'll help you really solidify your resolve." With that said, Takumi observed the signing of the contract. He could even feel it occurring within himself, as if some other-worldly bond had been created between Shaoling and himself. Shaoling went on to state that there was nothing else she needed at the time, but now that they were contracted, it didn't quite matter if she needed anything right this moment or not. "Do let me know. For someone like you... my contract will always be open. Ja ne," he said, taking that time to spread his wings and fly into the distance.