<Nocturnal Harmonia>

[Bloodedge]

Much to the summoner's satisfaction, Miko wasn't going to be a stickler in the face of his joke. He'd have gone insane months ago if he didn't start finding some fun within his own self-damaging combat ability. He could appreciate someone who'd just roll with it while also working to heal his sacrifice. "That's exactly what it is. I don't even know why you'd bother trying to fix it," he played further. In seriousness, the man did raise his right hand against Miko's left. She'd spoken earlier about understanding the part she treated, so it was probably to ensure he didn't have an odd hand after the process. The brunette asked for his name after they'd been working in tandem for this entire raid. Of course he couldn't blame her for forgetting; names were less important than a completed job when lives were at stake. "Hayakawa Aki. Not that it'll matter if we don't make it out of this," he said while looking down at that stump of an arm. Dizziness wasn't setting in as quickly as normal. It seemed the blood flow wasn't so ridiculous either, so obviously Miko had something proper going for a start. "But you're alright," Aki added.

〔SYSTEM NOTICE — BOND ROUTE UNLOCKED〕

Bond Route: Hayakawa Aki
Status Update Detected.

Intimacy has reached 16%.

Route Activated: “Fox & Blade”

Objective: Deepen connection with Hayakawa Aki.

Current Progress: 16%

Warning:
Hayakawa Aki's loyalty is forged in blood and loss.
Betray it, and the fox will hunt you.
Disappoint him, and he will cut you loose without a second glance.

Reward Teaser:

• Exclusive Title: [Fox Blade]
• Access to restricted fox-contract techniques
• Personal favor from Hayakawa Aki (value: deadly)

Accept Invitation?
[ACCEPT] / [DENY]

*Refusal may permanently lock this route.*

*The System advises compliance.*

While yet another route was opening for Miko, Yugi was making some unintentional progress with his fourth overall. Mention of the life-or-death situation they were in didn't faze him at all. Actually, he'd go on to argue that it was the perfect time and place for such talk. "Well it'd only be worse to die on a missed opportunity, wouldn't it?" he countered. Ah, but there was more to add still. "Besides, this is only life or death for them. Let's kick some ass~" Already keen on making his next move the moment those spiders were in range, Yugi charged his blade with lightning. Maki couldn't say no to the assault ─ but as Yugi extended his left hand toward the spider most separate from the others, preparing a different sort of attack, he chuckled. "You didn't exactly say no to the other part either, y'know~" he flirted. Meanwhile, Satoru was pulling a phone from his pocket. He held it by his face, but strangely facing outward while barely even holding onto it. Once the device was answered, Makima's voice was heard immediately. "Not three screens? I've been doing some prime aura farming up here too, you know? Anyway... since you're asking, I take it you didn't catch what just happened. If you didn't, I can't go spoiling it now~"

[Apollymi]

Miko knew people coped with pain and stress differently. She wasn't the type to knock any method, she often used several to get through her manic highs and lows. So she'd easily roll with her current patient's sarcasm. While she continued to dull the bleeding and begin the process of getting the feel for his mana and body form, she'd go along with his jokes. "You know, just taking one of those minor desk breaks... wandering and all that♪~" said of her current meddling. Once she had his had she pressed her own into his palm, sending a pulse of healing mana into to, and hearing and feeling the echo. In her head she mirrored the sound through that first pulse, and as she did, the man's other hand began reforming. Bone, ligaments, tendons... muscles in opposition. Eventually she'd tap a corresponding finger against each one of his, getting a feel for those as well. All the while she was being properly introduced to the man in question, "Ha♪~ya♪~ka♪~wa♪~ A♪~ki♪~, ka? Very nice, Aki-nii... and it's not pointless. We're definitely making it out of here... and then having your name will be really handy. You're supposed to remind me I like you later♪~" she claimed playfully. She was alright according to him, she smiled. Hearing an announcement of a new route. "I accept♪~" Miko chirped for no apparent reason at all after hearing a very interesting set of things. "Aki-nii, we're going to have a lot of fun together later, but for now... let's get you some fingers too~" she mused. More pulses, more muscles, bones and tendons. She was rebuilding his hand based on his right hand but mirrored. It was taking a decent bit of her own thinking power, but that was fine... she had quite a bit to spare.

Meanwhile Yugi was flirty successfully with a girl unused to prolonged attention. He claimed it would be worse to miss an opportunity and die on it. "I mean that's fair enough, I can't argue against it," she said sheepishly. Apparently, it was only life or death for the spiders, she could handle that, "Ryokai~" she said happily going on to attack creatures. She'd note many hit by the large sweeps of her weapon took the normal damage she noted and also seemed to be poisoned in some way. "Well... that's a problem for a different time..." she said not able to take the time to push her glasses up. Flirting wasn't her strong suit, she only understood fighting really. As such she did that, watching his new developing techniques and appreciating them for what they were. She also enjoyed his flirting even if she wasn't quite sure how to respond just yet. Oh well, it'd be worth another 3 percent in their Intimacy. At the same time Gojo was answering Makima's call and she couldn't see him on the screens but she'd also not asked for one of him. "Well, it isn't like I don't know what you're doing... though I'm not entirely familiar with the term aura farming..." Makima said the lax nature of Gojo made him one of the people who kept her young and up to date, mostly so she could tell when people were being disrespectful but that wasn't the point now. No, she'd apparently missed something while her attention was on those screens and he wouldn't be spoiling it. "What? Is it that good? They're already progressing so nicely, what else could they be adding at this point?" she questioned with an undertone of excitement. She didn't care about the original party, the lost Hunters no her concerns were different. "Also I have three screens, I'm also keeping track of the annoyance, watching his plan fall apart... that one is basically a comedy," Makima said suppressing a chuckle.

[Bloodedge]

Introductions were such a simple, normal part of society. Aki didn't care much about giving his to the brown-haired girl, but she seemed to appreciate having his name... a little more than anyone should be expected to. "It's... a name. You seem a little too happy for an introduction," he said. Whatever the case, Miko's efforts had his arm slowly growing anew. That barrier of hers was doing a fair bit for his mana as well; perhaps he'd be able to summon the fox again if needed. She... accepted something. Aki had only claimed she was 'alright' just before. What a strange way to reply. As feeling began returning to his limb, the girl talked about whatever fun they'd be having later. "Are you one of those crazy types? You keep seeming like one of those crazy types," Aki wondered aloud. All the while, the third centipede was having its head chomped off by Aki's summoned beast. With it, there was enough experience gained for both Players to see [LEVEL UP!] once again. "The centipede's dead. I should be able to take down a lot of the spiders too. Maybe a second summoning wouldn't be so bad."

Yugi didn't often find sensible people willing to argue against points he made in seriousness. In this case, he was learning a fair bit through observing Maki's reactions. Yugi managed to produce a thread of mana similar in nature to a spider's web ─ something he made only a short version of with the initial test. "Web!" he exclaimed, pressing his middle and ring finger against his palm... only to release that thread from his wrist toward the nearest spider. In only a moment, he'd have that one bound by its legs and pulled toward Yugi at a rapid pace. In that time, he heard Maki claim her lacking 'no' was a problem for a different time. "Sou ka. You want me to adjust your glasses for you this time? Just so you know, the 'smooth' approach is overrated anyway~" he said in a teasing tone. Following that, Yugi would be swinging that spider around as though he were wielding a ball and chain. As for Satoru, he was very directly told Makima had no idea what 'aura farming' was. That was to be expected; she could be a little out of touch at times. "No way! It's just being cool to get your street cred up! Like when the dark hero stands on top of a building, just waiting for the perfect moment to save everyone! Usually right at the pivotal moment where someone will die if they're even a second later. Something like that~" he explained. Those teens were becoming such an interesting pair to observe. Sadly, Makima would just have to wait for the grand reveal of their latest discovery. "Still got that bucket near you? It's probably even better than what you're thinking. Looks like they've each got a new partner too ─ pretty good for the Losers Club," he said while rotating until he stood in the air upside-down. Makima's mention of 'the annoyance' had him scanning the battlefield, and there... he saw Sato Kenta trudging through a veritable army of spiders in the distance. "A comedy, huh? I might make it funnier. If he stays alive through all that, it might be a valuable first lesson for the young'uns!"

[Apollymi]

Miko found herself excited about the new man in her life. It was interesting that he introduced himself using his actual name. Beyond that she couldn't keep how pleased she was about the new route out of her face, nor out of voice. "It's not just the name, though I do like it... it has a nice flow. I'm way past that part♪~" Miko admitted. In healing his arm she had a good feel for how restrictive this summoning contract was for his fighting ability. It'd become common place for a man like this to joke about how much pain he was in to summon a formidable part of his power. At this point she was just as happy to potentially be able to help supplement his fighting style as she was to potentially bed him. One hand was still placed against his heart, even as the centipede die, Miko felt the restoration of a level up, "Wooh, made it in time♪~" she mused, seemingly relieved and suddenly feeling no worse for wear. "If you are asking if I am clinically diagnosed the answer is yes. But... the world is crazy now, might as well not get left behind, right?♪~" she said with a slightly flirty tone. "Besides, most people don't complain about the kind of crazy I am, not while interacting with me directly anyway♪~ It's more like a part-time gig♪~" she offered a playful wink as his fingers came back into existence. The bones of his wrists settled and the skin and nails grew back. It'd taken quite a bit to regrow a limb, most of her remaining mana and part of her newly refreshed stores. Once it was all done, she gave one final pulse to make sure he had it back fully, sending those deep vibrations through his body until they echoed back in perfect harmony with his original limb. "That should do it. How's it feel... I've never done that before does it need tweaking or is it back to normal?" she wondered making sure his fingers were okay. As for his idea of doing it again she scoffed almost playfully, but a little pout came to her face, "Don't go signing up for more work just because you cleared the desk, Aki-nii♪~" she chirped playfully terse. Still, he could go on to sacrifice his arm again, so long as she had enough mana to do something about it.

While Miko made light of her own mental illness and tried her hand at flirting in a way she'd not done before, Yugi seemed to be doing the same. Admittedly from Maki's perspective he was much better at the flirting aspect than she was... and his fighting style was developing nicely as well. "Iia, I'll fix them myself later," she chimed in about the state of her glasses. Of course, it was surprising to hear that the smooth retorts were overrated. "Hm, news to me... but if you're looking for unadulterated fuck-ups, I got you covered~" Maki said knowing that both her personality and physicality weren't exactly everyone's cup of tea. Just the same, she'd taken to a more acrobatic approach, flipping over a few spiders and the swinging on a group of four in quick succession. She really did feel pretty energetic right about now. At the same time, Makima was being given a definition of aura farming and having some very strange ideas about it. "Sou ka, you keep me young, Toru-pyon~" Makima said. What was she going to do with information on aura farming? Well, that was for the world to find out at a later point. For now, she was being teased with the idea that the information she would gain would be something worthy of another bucket reference which she adopted from the children as 'amusing'. "Another bucket really? Toru-pyon, you're teasing me... I'm getting excited~" Makima claimed. What else was there to be covered in the moment, the comedy of Sato Kenta. "Oh? going to have the little ones take care of him? That seems to be something they lean towards naturally, I do wonder if they have the nerve though... killing monsters is easy with the right attitude, but learning to deal with other humans is... usually difficult for morally aligned individuals," Makima said seeming to think long and hard about things and also casually casting her gaze towards Kaito who counted as one of those oddly moral individuals, which was likely why he was so jumpy every time she called his name.

[Bloodedge]

"Uh-huh. Not getting any less weird," Aki stated about Miko's earlier reaction. He didn't really know what she was getting at, though he also didn't think it mattered much. Making it in time, as Miko pointed out, was something Aki attributed to killing the centipede before the spiders got too close. That made sense, so Aki nodded. He had it in mind that Miko and that partner of hers were crazy in some way, and though she emphatically confirmed being such in a clinical sense, she also claimed most didn't complain. Aki's head shifted back slightly, one brow quirking in disbelief. "Can't imagine why they wouldn't," he said, even though he also wasn't complaining in any true capacity. That wink may have had an implication of some sort, but Aki didn't really pick up on the flirt. He did, however, notice something unrelated when his arm was restored enough to move. It didn't feel the way it normally did. Aki was no stranger to losing a hand and having it grown back. This particular healing method was very new, and the result was something he couldn't immediately place. "I can't say it's normal. It feels... wrong, but in a good way?" he mused. Aki took the time to flex those fingers ─ even reaching out to place that new hand atop Miko's head while she pouted. "I haven't clocked-out yet, but this helps. Arigatou. Let's get back to finishing this shit."

According to Maki, she'd fix those glasses herself later. Yugi figure she would; her signs of fluster were adorably obvious for the tomboy type. She went on to call herself an unadulterated fuck-up when he dismissed the necessity of smoothness. As he used that first spider to sweep a full row of the beasts into a pile, Yugi scoffed playfully. "I haven't seen anything fucked-up so far. I've seen a lot of good stuff in my head though. Wouldn't mind seeing how reality compares. I think we could both use some decompression~" he flirted. Meanwhile, Satoru was laughing ─ specifically at the notion of keeping Makima young. "Don't get too young! I'll have to make a woman out of you again!" he said as if aghast by the thought. These moments of excitement from Makima were like none before, which spoke to the teens' potential more than anything else. Those two would have to learn what it was like to face other Hunters at some point. Satoru thought Sato Kenta was a prime opportunity while he still outranked them. In terms of power alone, he should be capable of defeating the entire remaining group... so of course Satoru wanted to see them fight to the death. "I wouldn't give many points to morality for those two. The girl decided to blow me within five minutes, and the guy was bending that doctor over an in-house onsen when I went to pick him up. They don't view things like normal society~"