Intermission

Shirone Gang and the delinquent (lol)

3rd Person POV

The mini van slowly parked in the parking lot bursting with life. The wide parking lot was covered in sand for the most part and you could see numerous cars following the same example. Families and lovers would get down from their respective cars with excitement in their eyes as the gazed at the endless blue sea.

The mini van's doors were all opened almost at the same time as the riders stepped out. The damp smell of salty water assaulted their noses as they left the minivan. Looking around with an excited gaze, one of the riders already wearing her 'battle outfit for the beach' along with her 'battle' equipment such as a swim ring on her waist.

"Fuh, finally, Shirone Gang is extending their influence to the coast." Shirone pulled a pair of swimming googles and placed them on her eyes.

Ready to dash at any time to the sea, Shirone was wearing a rather daring choice of a swimsuit if you asked a certain kind of people. An old style sukumizugi, or also called old style school swimsuit. It was a classic that had her name written in hiragana patched on the front area. Her wording was strange, but more than one person lost against her cuteness. More than one felt the need to go toward her and offer her candies, but a strange pressure kept them at bay.

Following after her, a head taller, Ayanami did not say anything, but her expression was beaming with excitement. Her hair style in her usual ponytail was not strange, but her multi-strapped bikini bottom was eye catching to say the least. Her top had a simple design with a cute little bow but that was detail most people looking missed, not only because of the bottom part but because she was 'partially' wearing an off-shoulder shirt. It was not wrong to say that it did not belong to her give the small hiragana that said 'Nora' on the collar of the shirt. It attracted the looks of passer byers and Shirone would sulkily glance at her friend. She gave off a sporty vibe, but no one would guess this girl had pulled an pulling an all-nighter yesterday to win the treasure in her possession in a 'death match' against her fellow travel companions.

Almost tripping as she got down the van, the small figure with twin tails and bunny eared scrunchies. Her swimsuit was a simple stripped sporty bikini in blue and white. The small figure was saved from hitting the ground thanks to a dolphin shaped floatie she was holding. It goes without saying that she raised her head to look around but instead of standing up, she rested her head on the floatie.

"Hey, you can't just go to sleep there." Charlotte exclaimed as she followed after. "Kanna, you will get sunburn."

Her presence was perhaps the one that attracted the most glances. Despite Ayanami already displaying womanly curves, she still lacked compared to Charlotte. It might be because of her bloodline that included a woman of great curves such as Venelana, but Charlotte has displayed a rapid grow despite her age. With a black Ekouaer High Neck Halter Bikini, the young girl probed to be the most 'mature' of the group.

Her exasperated expression as she tried to pull up Kanna was completely missed by the onlookers as they focused on her chest, but they quickly looked away when they felt a strange pressure descending on them.

"Hehe, isn't it ok to let her relax? This trip is to have fun and relax after all." Yume cheerfully jumped down from the van and leaned her body toward the sea with a hand above her forehead to cover from the sun. "The sea is our goal today so we have to enjoy everything, from the sand to the sun."

With a bright expression capable of blinding the sun itself, Yume went inside the van again and pulled a large parasol.

"Let's do our best!" Yume made a peace sign with her free hand.

Her choice of 'battle garments' was a two-piece swimsuit, a white and blue bikini with cherry blossom accents, and a high-waisted bottom to elongate her legs visually.

"You guys can go frolic all you want, but remember to not cause trouble for anyone since this a public space." Nora's sigh could be heard.

His words made the girls and even passerby to stop in place, more than one woman was confused as they tried to understand why they felt drawn to the youth despite his 'look', normally, they would evade him like plagues because the stigma that style carried was not a good one.

A blonde hair medium-length shaggy style that was obviously not the original colour, but rather dyed hair. A small golden erring on his left ear and a tanned skin. The youth looked to be above 18 judging by his tall frame and complexion but his face was still that one of a youth that had not reached his twenty. His blue eyes gave people a strange feeling, like he could see through them, but most onlookers found that to be their minds playing tricks on them. He was wearing a fully open blue shirt with flowery pattern similar to Hawaiian shirts that showed his toned abs, and wearing a pair of brown shorts along with sandals fit for the occasion. He looked like the representation of good for nothing that did nothing but gamble and drink alcohol all the time while wasting the hard-earned money of his friends and family.

Not only the on lookers but the party that arrived with him stared hard at the youth. Contrary to looks of the outsiders that contained apprehension, fear, and oddly enough a large number of lust filled gazes toward his abs; the looks from his companions were filled with anticipation. Inwardly sighing, the youth pushed his unkept hair backward and looked at the people around him.

"The fuck is wrong with ya all? This ain't a damn spectacle for ya guys to stare at us, mind yar own business!" Nora glared at the onlookers.

Along with people fleeing the scene when they felt an intimidating air released from the youth, a few ladies went 'kyaaa' even as left the scene, making their daughters cover their faces in shame.

The youth tactfully ignore all of that and looked at his travel companions. They all looked incredibly pleased and gave him thumbs ups. Once again, the youth ignored certain details like some of them had nosebleeds. His first thought was to go and deal with the blood, but he knew from experience than cases like this acting that way will make things worse. Looking up to the blue sky, the youth, Nora, wondered why did he find himself in this situation. He was ok with taking the group to beach, originally, he planned to have some time alone with Shirone but the girl suggested a group activity instead, nonetheless, he was fine with that. However, the youth still could not wrap his head about why they requested that he looked like… some playboy.

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(A day ago, Shiki Residence)

An innocent (?) cat was madly tipping his keyboard, or rather, keyboards. A keyboard for each hand and one for each of his two tails, his vision did not look away from the screens in front of him as he concentrated with his life on the line. It was not an exaggeration given the pink-haired fox coldly observing him from behind.

'Invading' his holy ground, his room, without suffering a backlash from the ultimate defense to stop ladies with 'unhealthy' desires toward the youth, the pink-haired lady sighed as she tapped with nails a small table in front of her. The cup of tea in front of her had already gone cold as she waited for the youth to complain or stop from the penalty she had put on him. It had been almost a day since she had made him catch up to his delayed schedule in his several works. The youth not even once complained and perhaps the reason was more than obvious. He felt extreme remorse and guilt toward the pink-haired woman.

"You know, as the editor-in-chief, I appreciate your hard work, but… as your intimate friend, I think it is necessary that we speak about it." Miko muttered.

Stopping at once, the youth sighed and turned around. 

"There is no much to say, because I left Ei here to guard the fort, she was wounded critically. She was left outside Urakyoto with a heavy injury, the blood loss had reached a dangerous stage. Thankfully, I had left first aid kits in all the possible entries of this place along with spots in the city so she could somehow hold until help arrived…" Nora faced the kitsune. "But it was just a coincidence, if that man had not been uninterested in killing her, she would've died."

"…I will not lie and say I do not feel even a bit if anger toward you for that, I am not a saint." Miko frankly said. "That child's fate is deeply entwined with battle, I always considered letting her stay with you so you would rub off some of your ability to ignore fate, but I was too naive."

Looking at Nora who tilted his head in confusion and how his tails also tilted to the same side, Miko was momentarily torn between maintaining her graceful persona or simply going crazy and take pictures to the Shiki Household Back Alley business with some merch, nonetheless, even if the youth was not bothered with it and magnanimously turned his head to the other side whenever those dealings happened practically in front of him, it would be unbecoming of her to break the flow of the conversation-

"You can take a picture if you want." Nora offered. "I can maintain this pose for a bit more, but it seems awkward. Just don't take things too far, ok?"

"…now then, who is the cunning fox here?" Miko took out a camera faster than a lighting and took several pictures with no shame whatsoever.

"That lack of shame makes it obvious who is the cunning fox." Nora smiled wryly.

Snorting at that, Miko put away the camera away with practiced movements.

"You are making a mistake, I was… I am unable to do something that grand." Nora muttered. "This time we literally scrapped by luck. Nothing more. The defences of the city, the defences of the house, the people around me, and above all, I was severely lacking to muster a resistance."

"Well, from what I heard, the enemy this time was one of the worst kind of enemies you can face, an enemy that has plenty of information about you and it is not lacking in means to deal with whatever you throw at him." Miko objectively said.

Despite not trying to blame the youth, his expression clouded and that did not escape Miko's eyes.

"You cannot expect to be always ready for everything." Miko gave a piece of advice before gently tapping her tea cup.

The youth chuckled soft and did a small courtesy bow before moving toward one corner of his room where he kept a rather organized and expensive looking tea set.

"Oh my, to have the honor… of taking a sip on a gift from such a esteemed being." Miko made an exaggerated surprise gesture.

"Please, when you act like that it only sounds like sarcasm." Nora rolled his eyes. "So what if this was a gift from Tsukuyomi-sama? She is just grateful from me sometimes preparing her food personally and sending some good sake."

"Oh dear me, how naïve is our poor little Nora. She is the woman who was ready to kill Uke Mochi-sama for preparing unsatisfactory food on one of her feasts. Yet, the same woman sends you gifts using secret means." Miko snorted. "Don't look down on gifts from gods, not to mention goddesses with dark and evil alignments. Both have rather heavy meanings."

"Aren't you a Shrine Maiden? Is it ok to speak so informally about the secrets of the gods?" Nora asked.

The youth handled the tea pot masterfully and soon the tea was ready to be served to Miko.

"It is ok, I am technically a familiar to a certain divine linage so I don't see the issue. Worst case scenario I can just rip off your clothes and throw you to those goddesses." Miko muttered a rather extreme thing with a smile on her face.

"Please, keep the jokes to a moderate level." Nora sighed.

"…jokes?" Miko tilted her head questioningly.

"…another thing I will act like I did not hear." Nora did not pursue the topic to avoid losing sanity points.

Already smelling the aroma of the tea, Miko tapped the small table to signal the youth to sit.

"You might not believe it, but neither Raikou nor Ei were that open to other people. Especially Ei who would most certainly never agree to do whatever you asked in exchange for sweets." Miko took the cup the youth offered to her and took a sip. "She has been aloof and rarely interacted with anyone other than Raikou, Sara or me."

Carrying a faint smile, Miko seemed pleased with the tea.

"Would you mind gifting some of this delicious tea for this poor fox?" Miko asked.

Looking at the woman with an amazed face, the youth wondered if this was her objective from the beginning.

"Don't look at me like that, this one has to ask if the situation presents itself." Miko stated.

"Back to the subject." Nora sighed.

"I can wrap in a ribbon and leave in front of your bedroom door either Raikou or Ei on a maid uni-" Miko opened her mouth but her sentence did not get finished before a heavy bag was placed on top of the table.

Inwardly sighing, Miko was rather surprised by his speed and how he actually agreed to it so easily.

"You should know the value of-" Miko tried to stress the importance of what Nora was doing before another heavy bag was placed on the table.

Miko had to blink in surprise before looking at the glint in the youth's eyes. She inwardly thanked that this youth had self-control, otherwise, surviving his tactics would be difficult for any woman. If she was not sure than other than taking photos of the girls was the most exaggerate thing he would ask, she would not dare to even suggest the exchange. Although some of the maids and him had some… unusual activities, it was between the realm of consensual act so there was no problem. Nonetheless, she felt like she profited too much on this deal so she will throw him a little extra.

"Please expect Sara to be added as well." Miko immediately took the bags and placed them away before the youth changed his mind.

"Oh? Ok, she is actually more than willing to dress like that after pledging her loyalty to me or something after helping Raikou-san and Ei-san several times, but a real man never rejects these kinds of favors." Nora shrugged his shoulders. "Not sure why you are so obsessed with it… I am reluctant to part with it because it is a gift that Tsukuyomi-sama specially prepared for me, not because I don't want to share it."

Freezing for a second, Miko looked at the tea suspiciously.

"There is nothing wrong with it, Tamamo already checked the ton she sent me." Nora smiled wryly.

"Oh, if that rip off Shrine Maiden checked it herself, then there is nothing to worry about… wait, did you just said a ton?" Miko asked.

"I was quite surprised; I did not expect to receive so much for so little… thus I sent a lot of gifts in return. I wanted to hand them in person, but she said I should go to her shrine in Kyoto and pass make an offering." Nora mumbled. "For some reason, Susano-o-sama and Amaterasu-sama made a fuss about it."

Resisting the urge to spat out her drink, Miko maintained a composed exterior.

"Before we start to talk about anything else regarding the topic, tell if you happened to offer anything in a temple." Miko sighed.

"Karin and Asuna stopped me." Nora shrugged his shoulders.

"Oh…?" Miko raised an eyebrow, but did not dwell deeply in the topic.

"They went and delivered the goods themselves." Nora mumbled.

Sipping his tea, the youth spilled a drop and once it fell to the ground, it melted down a hole in no time. Miko's eyebrow twitched at the youth's habit of drinking poison all the time. It was not a secret that he did it, but his nonchalant reaction to drinking a deadly poison was still hard to stomach.

"You should be careful regarding those matters." Miko muttered while turning a blind to how the hole where the drop spilled was growing larger. "Matters regarding… how to say it, giving offerings properly to gods is delicate sometimes. Normal humans can casually offer things at shrines without much backlash because gods are not expecting anything too deep with their actions. They are usually happy with just their simple actions; however, shrine maidens are different, they cannot casually meddle with different gods without displeasing the gods they serve. It is not that much of an issue if they give permission or if they are good natured fellows, but if you happen to meddle with a god who has poor affinity with the god you serve… you will immediately earn the other's side enmity or even your own god might look at you in an unfavourable light."

"Hmmm, that does make sense. I have always heard how eastern and western gods have poor affinity." Nora nodded.

"It is not like they cannot coexist or work together, but they have a rather… delicate relationship." Miko ignored how Nora made of his tails to skilfully repair the damaged floor without looking away from her. "Many of them like to compete against each other and never back down if they lose."

Sighing like it was tiresome, Miko wondered why most gods had a childish behaviour.

"That sounds tough." Nora spoke like it was not his business.

"Listen here, you little… urgh." Miko felt a migraine forming on her head. "What do you think would happen to you if you became one of those gods 'beliver'?"

"…Dunno." Nora replied in an uninterest tone.

"…figured you would not care." Miko mumbled.

"You would instantly gain enmity of many of the gods you will face in the future." Miko explained.

"That's troublesome… but… would that make it so goddesses stop getting interested in me?" Nora asked.

"…what do you think?" Miko smiled.

"Figured as much." Nora sighed.

"Through the years, I have come to a tacit agreement about two things that will never change in this world." Miko suddenly said.

"Love is universal? Nakama power is bullshit? Staying away from protagonists is the way to live a slow and normal life?" Nora spoke.

"…no?" Miko looked at the youth like he had hit his head and had been speaking nonsense. "One is that you will never stop flirting with women and second is that you will attract women even if you do not want to."

"I wish I could rebuke those, but you do have a point." Nora bitterly smiled.

Snorting, Miko pointed her cup and Nora immediately refilled it.

"Do you recall what you did the first time we met?" Miko asked.

"No?" Nora looked away.

"I quote; 'Lady, you are familiar from somewhere. I meet you in my dreams all the time'." Miko imitated the youth's voice perfectly. "Imagine my surprise to hear those words when I am about to meet with my most valued writer…"

"Please forget about that." Nora covered his face.

Smirking, Miko pulled a recorder from her cleavage and pressed the play button to Nora's horror.

The audio was just what the youth feared.

-"Excuse me, are you Nora Shiki?" Miko's tone was business like.

"Oh? Yes that is me." Nora replied.

"My name is Yae Miko and I am-" Miko began to introduce herself.

"Lady, you are familiar from somewhere." Nora spoke in an uncertain tone. "Ah, I meet you in my dreams all the time."

"Pffft." Miko could not help but laugh.-

Covering his face, the youth had a blush on his face that extended to his neck.

"I did not expect you to have shame and get embarrassed over that." Miko muttered in an amused tone.

"I think we need to have a serious conversation about the way you see me." Nora spoke in a grudgeful tone.

"Hey now, you did make an interesting first impression." Miko praised. "I usually tend to look down on most people hitting on me."

"Well, I mostly did it out off reflex rather than expecting to lead to something else." Nora replied. "I don't mean to brag but… I know when a woman has no interest in a guy."

"Oh? You can tell something like that?" Miko narrowed her eyes. "Strange thing to say when you have shown to be able to flirt with every woman you met and not even once showed disgust."

"You make it sound more impressive than it actually is." Nora clicked his tongue. "Whether it is males or females, everyone likes to be praised. Much more when it is honest."

"I won't deny your words have some truth, but…" Miko mumbled.

"I know." Nora nodded. "You got tired of it, right?"

"Indeed." Miko smirked.

"You have beauty and money so the number of suitors after you must be staggering." Nora sighed. "Every day you must hear all kind of praises about your looks and smart decisions."

"I understand that I have a beautiful face and my body is attractive, but-" Miko spoke in a tired tone.

"Talk about narcissist." Nora rolled his eyes.

"I don't think I heard you correctly just now." Miko smiled.

Looking at the arcs of electricity buzzing around Miko, the youth feared for his laptops and coughed.

"I was saying that they have great taste if they can recognize an ethereal beauty such as yourself." Nora muttered. "Who would be so foolish to ignore a beauty like yourself if they cross path with you? Look at your pale and flawless, almost porcelain-like skin. Your almond-shaped and mesmerizing vibrant purple eyes in which you can find a mischievous glint, hinting at your playful nature. Your nose petite and refined which adds an elegant touch to your features. Your eyebrows delicately arched and slightly tilted upwards, adding a touch of playful curiosity to your expression. I like to look at your lips, plump and soft with a subtle pink in color, hinting at that hidden sensuality beneath your mischievous exterior. Of course, your body-"

"Ok, stop. I understand so stop." Miko pleaded.

"Hmmm. Sure." Nora nodded.

Looking at Miko who lowered her head and used a hand to rub her forehead, the youth decided to not mention how he could still see the subtle pink on her neck, proof of her embarrassment.

"You really are a natural." Miko glared at the youth.

"I am just being honest." Nora shrugged his shoulders.

Snorting at the youth, Miko was about to take another sip from her tea, but she just noticed that the youth had taken away her cup and had a sly smile on his face.

"You can actually be a mean guy." Miko glared at the youth.

"And for some reason I am not disliked." Nora smugly placed the tea cup in front of Miko.

Clicking her tongue, Miko inwardly swore to get back at him.

"Aren't you being a little too smug for your own good?" Miko asked.

"This might be a payback for the recording, but I truly mean all I said." Nora sighed. "I don't plan to chalk it to a joke."

"This is why you are such a troublesome man." Miko sighed as well. 

"If you had not met me, what would you do about Ei and Raikou?" Nora asked.

Looking at the youth with sudden wariness that she could not really understand, Miko pondered that question for a second but she spoke the conclusion she reached long ago.

"I would smite any guy who tried to get close to them if your question is related to how I would deal with any potential suitors." Miko spoke in a cold tone. "I had already given up since many guys had been swarming around them with uncouth intentions."

"I see…" Nora mumbled.

"Why are you asking this…? If you think I will just let you walk off after they have started to believe in you, think again." Miko smiled.

Chuckling bitterly, the youth shook his head.

"Miko, you saw what happened to Ei, how can you say that?" Nora asked.

"…I am angry with you, but I am not stupid enough to not see that you are not guilty." Miko sighed. "I know all about. That guy asked everyone that stood in his way to scram, that also included Ei."

"The one who asked her to guard-" Nora tried to speak but-

An arc or lighting left Miko's body and zapped Nora, the youth did not seem to stop because he felt pain but because he felt Miko's mood plummeting.

"Ei might be childish regarding her sweet tooth and by dealing with people, she has been too focused on the way of a warrior, training like crazy because of her heritage and the expectations of her clan. However, it is not like her skills in dealing with people are null. She by no means is a fool that would not recognize when it is worth to risk her life for 'a favor' or because she was bribed with 'sweets'." Miko's cold words did not let the youth to interrupt her. "Has your arrogant mind ever considered that she risked her life because she genuinely cared enough to protect her home. Can you get that? You conceited fool."

Looking down, the youth did not dare to lift his head.

Sighing heavily, Miko began tapping the table but said nothing more. Minutes went by and the youth remained crestfallen as if waiting Miko to continue chiding him.

"I get that in your head, you see all those close to you as targets that need your protection. It is nothing but praise worthy how much you care about everyone." Miko muttered. "I was surprised when I noticed how observant you are. It is not wrong to say you pay attention to minimal details and act upon them. One of the best examples are the girls surrounding your white cat. None of them are normal kids, they all have some sort of tough circumstances yet you do not see them carrying worried faces when they go around in their daily lives."

There had been many rumours regarding the reason those girls began living with the youth. It would be a lie to say Miko did not have her doubts or misgivings regarding the youth at the beginning. It was not like she knew nothing about it, but nothing beats first-hand information.

"I heard that you have brought brides-to-be so you can imagine the expression I had." Miko muttered.

Reading the mood, Miko did not press that rumour anymore. The youth did not take kindly how people see the girls as women he is raising to marry when they get older. Regardless of how they would not mind if he married them or how few of them already imagine themselves as his wives. 

"Not just anyone has the guts to punch the face of the current Head of the Bael Household, or go down to basically hell to kick the father of the child that wanted to run away from shame because she was sent to kill you but ended up becoming your friend." Miko listed some of the situations of the girls. "You were a little… forceful, but I can understand that you were angry for their sake and also did a superb follow up by cleaning your mess."

Recalling those times, Miko almost chuckled. The youth had almost left the man leading the Baels, one of the most powerful devil families, toothless. Only because, the man had sent Charlotte with the intention to spy on him, and in the future become his wife so he could influence the youth through her. Now days, that man was unable to look at the youth in eyes and would lower his head. The rest of the Baels played tricks, or at least they tried. Those that went too far disappeared and their bodies were never found again while 'luckiest' ones ended up unable to even used their so prided power of destruction. It was interesting how everyone attributed that to Zekram, the ancestor of the Baels that favoured the youth. Nonetheless, the organization that she and the youth belong knew all about it. The youth himself did all that with his bare hands and even had the galls to submit a report to Zekram and the man whom he almost left toothless.

"Listen up little one… or not." Miko recalled certain details about him so she abstained from calling him 'little'. "Nora, please do not look down on the resolve Ei had. It is an insult to her as a warrior and as a friend."

"…sorry." Nora could only mutter that.

Inwardly sighing, Miko thought that he was really troublesome. He was really like Ei and Raikou himself even if he did not see it himself. Miko was not the only one who could see that and little by little the girls were beginning to see his flaws. She reckoned that such a thing terrifies him greatly, but he has to understand that nothing will stop a woman in love from wanting to know more about the man they have entrusted their heart with.

"Well, if you feel truly sorry, why don't you do a little something for me?" Miko suddenly smiled.

"…I have no idea what you want, but my legs want me to escape so bad…" Nora shook fearfully.

"You can be such a tease, when have I done something that brings any kind of harm to you?" Miko chuckled.

"How about putting me to write the material I was behind without rest? Even as a youkai, anyone relative normal might've passed out by now." Nora replied.

"So, you can tell you are not normal huh." Miko mumbled.

"Please, I am a Super Cat Phase 3." Nora snorted.

Sighing at his nonsense, Miko made her request.

"I would like to punish that child a bit for worrying others, you see…" Miko giggled.

"Consider it done!" Nora agreed to it at once.

"You have no idea was this is about." Miko's eyebrow twitched.

"Does not matter, you ain't letting me go anyways." Nora sighed.

"Now then, since you seem to understand that point very clearly, let's start by changing your appearance for a bit. I actually wanted you to try this look and appear before Raikou to see what kind of reaction she will have." Miko laughed deviously.

Inwardly praying for Raikou to leave the house, Nora had the feeling that the chaos that would be brough from Miko's idea of fun will not be easy to clean up after.

…

…

…

It did not take long for the youth to come looking for Ei, but he happened to pass by the living room before that. The Shirone Gang was chilling in the room while playing game in the big TV that was as big as the wall.

The first one to notice the youth was Kanna who was drinking a soda and spat out all of the liquid from her mouth with widened eyes. Her actions made the rest that were focused on the game to look at the youth. Charlotte who was eating popcorns began coughing as she tried to spit the popcorn that got caught in her throat while Shirone and Ayanami dropped the controllers they each had on their hands and were left with their mouths hanging open. Entering the room as she brought more snacks for everyone in a tray, Yume almost dropped the contents on the floor as she hastily brought one hand to her nose to stop the nosebleed but the quick reflexes of the youth kicked in and he dashed near Yume and pulled her toward himself, with her head resting on his chest and one of his arms around her shoulder while using his other arm to catch the tray without spilling anything.

"Are you ok?" Nora's tone filled with concern was very powerful.

"My prince…" Yume mumbled with a flushed face.

Ignoring the camera flash that came from Shirone's camera and Miko who was secretly following him, the youth did his best to also ignore how Yume was taking this chance to sniff him stealthily while also using a hand to feel his abs. 

Feeling the glare on his back, Nora prevented his body from instinctively running away. One of the things that Miko asked of him was to play the part and escaping would be going against it.

"Have you girls seen Ei? I got some business with her." Nora furrowed his eyebrows when he saw that no one moved a muscle.

Sighing, he first moved toward Charlotte who keep staring at him even as she tried get that pop corn out of her throat, the tray was passed to one of his tails so his hand was left free to use. The youth gently taped the back of the girl.

"Just relax." Nora spoke.

Without doubting for a moment, Charlotte relaxed and the popcorn went down. Sighing in relief, Charlottle gave the youth a grateful look.

"Great Mother of All Cats. Nora-nii has gone to the dark side." Shirone stood with great vigor and camera in had already taking pictures.

"…he is more powerful than usual." Kanna tried to imitate Shirone but she gave up and leaned back on her seat, but her eyes were on the youth.

"To think the boss of the house was not Saya-kaa-san, but Nora-nii…" Ayanami made a fist with her hand. "Charm attacks can be more troublesome than physical attacks…"

Ignoring how the girls nodded vigorously, the youth gently pushed Yume away despite her disappointed sigh.

"Have you really turned to the dark side? Hmmm, how should we call this form… if that grown version is Nora V2, no, it would be a crime use that kind of name." Shirone furrowed her eyebrows.

"How about Yankee Nora?" Charlotte chimed in. "He looks like a delinquent from the movie we saw the other day…"

"Oh! Me! Ask me!!!" Yume raised her hand gleefully. "How a Host Nora!? He looks like those popular hosts from the clubs that have many posters in the city!!!"

"Ganguro Nora could also work…" Ayanami added.

Smiling wryly, the youth placed the tray on a nearby table.

"You guys seem to be having fun." Nora commented.

"This is a rare event." Ayanami made a peace sign.

"W-well, we could have more fun if you joined us…" Charlotte gave a sidelong glance at the youth full of expectations.

"Oh? What kind of 'fun' are you talking about here? Charl." Nora smiled meaningfully and leaned toward the girl. "I am curious about what kind of fun, joining you and me… could have."

"Jeez, we get distracted for a second and you begin to flirt." Yume sulkily spoke. "No lewding."

Lending a hand to Charlotte that had turned red and kept opening and closing her mouth but was unable to reply to Nora's teasing, Yume got between the two a little envious.

Finding that cute, Nora did not only not back away but he even smiled.

"Hey now, no need to get jealous. You can also join this little 'fun' of ours." Nora grinned. "It would surely make this more… 'exciting', don't you think so as well, Charl?"

Unable to reply, Charlotte blushed heavily. Yume was not far off behind, proof that her imagination was not that different than her friend.

"You two are really precocious." Nora chuckled and straitened his back before lightly flicking their foreheads with his tails. "I might consider this kind of offer after you grow up into splendid young women."

Winking at them, the youth left after waving at everyone else.

"Now then, where is Ei?" Nora sighed.

Instead of following after the youth like she was doing before, Miko stayed hidden to observe the young troupe.

"…his attack power went up." Ayanami commented after seeing the duo who was just 'attacked'.

"He is not called 'ultimate' cat for no reason." Shirone proudly said.

"…I always thought that title was because he was strong." Kanna mumbled.

"He is the future and hope of the nekomata race, he not only needs to be strong. Otherwise, do you think the cat brigade would stay to live here? They could just do kamikaze attacks until they get his seed or even ask for it in another format." Shirone explained.

"…you have a rather down to earth understanding of his situation." Charlotte mumbled.

"…I have always wanted to be of help to him somehow." Shirone looked down. "I am unable to catch to his hard work and Onee-sama is also ahead of me so I am doing what I can. I will learn all I can so it can be of help to him. That is one of the reasons why Shirone Gang exist."

Hearing her solemn tone, the gang remained with stunned expressions until Ayanami addressed everyone's question.

"…didn't you create the gang after watching that movie that one time?" Ayanami spoke.

Coughing awkwardly, Shirone looked away.

"If I had not used that as an excuse, Nora-nii wouldn't have allowed it." Shirone sighed. "You should all be aware how much he watches over us…"

Nodding immediately, the group could not disagree with that except one of that looked like she had something to say.

"I cannot become strong like him fast so… I wanted to use other means to help him." Shirone said.

"Sorry, I always thought you were playing around, yes." Ayanami mumbled.

"Same." Kanna lazily replied.

"I am ashamed to admit it, but I always thought the same thing." Charlotte hung her head down.

"It is ok, I have been doing my best to hide it…" Shirone spoke in an understanding tone.

Putting on a sagely expression, Shirone was about to walk away before Yume opened her mouth.

"…was't all that something you eavesdropped from Kuroka-nee and Saya-kaa-san when they talked to one another?" Yume mumbled.

Instantly, the eyes of the group were directed at Shirone.

"…you snitch." Shirone clicked her tongue.

"Please give me back my respect." Charlotte sighed.

With similar expressions, the group seemed to be used to Shirone's antics.

"The usual aside, don't you all think we need to take revenge?" Charlotte suddenly said.

Noticing the puzzled expressions of her friends, Charlotte coughed and spoke up.

"Nora's teasing is almost impossible to avoid that much we are aware of. However, I don't think it is bad since he has never done it out of ill will." Charlotte said.

"I have read in mangas that boys tease girls they like." Yume pointed out excitely. "So he teases us because he likes us..."

Hearing that, everyone seemed to agree, except Charlotte.

"That's the problem!" Charlotte raised her voice.

"Eh? You did not like to be teased...? I see, if that is the case. As the leader of the Shirone Gang, I will make sure he behaves next time." Shirone spoke in a determinated tone.

"NO! I don't want that..." Charlotte pouted. "I am not talking about that. You know who he just teased us and called us precocious."

"...he is not wrong." Yume looked away.

"Information Age changed youth..." Kanna sagely added.

"A child who owes a phone with internet access cannot be said to be an innocent child anymore." Shirone put on a fake beard and stroke it slowly.

Failing to say anything witty, Ayanami decided to focus on the topic.

"Is it bad that he called us that?" Ayanami asked.

It might be her personal opinion, but she did not feel that the youth was doing anything bad. She knows that he is not the innocent type and he is quite perverted. He responds in kind when some of the older ladies try to do 'things' that adult do, but always in moderation. He also makes sure to not expose them to such a thing, although the gossip of the women is not something he can control. Nonetheless, he has always maintained a relationship in which he would not take advantage of them in 'that way'.

"Of course it is!" Charlotte exclaimed. "He can only see us as children."

"...it is hard to rebuke that." Kanna looked at her chest.

Patting the shoulder of the smallest one of the group, Shirone gave her silent support.

"...you are in the same boat." Kanna felt somewhat annoyed.

"Heh... this is not even my final form." Shirone crossed her arms arrogantly.

While the dainty duo clashed, Ayanami, Yume and Charlotte continued to talk.

"We are not the same as before." Charlotte said. "We are slowly growing and he will continue to treat us a children if we cannot show him that."

"I don't think it is bad if he treats us like that. He will play videogames with us, get us sweets, pat our heads, yes." Ayanami muttered.

"Ayanami-chan." Yume mumbled. "You know, that is because he does not see us as targets for anything else."

"Anything else...? I don't understand, is there something more, yes?" Ayanami asked.

Sharing a look, Charlotte and Yume wondered if they should meddle, but they soon decided to do it anyways since they were in this together, although they wanted to see the 'fallen' level of their friend. it was purely out of concern and had absolutely zero relation with gossip.

"Ayanami, imagine this." Yume took the initiative. "You are playing games... the two of you are now alone."

Pondering for a second, Ayanami let her imagination do its job.

"Instead of you sitting in different places, you decide to take the most envious position, his lap. You ended up being embraced by him, and you listen to his heart beat all the time. His warmth surrounds you and you feel safe. You probably want to muster your strength to use the controller in your hand to play, but you are too conscious of his presence. His breath hits your ear as he calls you softly to see if you are-" Yume wanted to continue but feeling a hand on her shoulder made her stop.

"I think you can stop now." Charlotte wryly said.

Pointing a finger toward Ayanami, the girl had crouched with both hands on her face as she tried to hide her expression, but the red ears were the proof that she was embarrassed.

"...I was not even at the best part." Yume dropped her shoulders.

"...have you been reading 'those' novels again?" Charlotte inquired.

"...if you promise me to not tell anyone, I will lend them to you." Yume said.

"...deal." Charlotte nodded.

"It seems we must act with haste." Yume looked at her embarrassed Ayanami and had an idea. "...Nora's new look must be some sort of signal. A limited time 'event', an unique 'raid' boss."

Like those words were a spell, Ayanami recovered with renewed vigor and sparkling eyes.

"An unique boss. Nora, the delinquent, yes." Ayanami spoke in an excited tone. "If we defeat the limited time boss, an unique reward will drop."

"...do we even have what it takes to beat him down?" Charlotte recalled his appearance. "I am in favor of making him understand that we are not children anymore, but... if we charge recklessly, we will be wiped out."

"Funfunfun. You seem to forget who I am." Shirone suddenly spoke up.

The trio from before looked at the sleeping Kanna and understood why Shirone had decided to join the conversation. Just from the smug aura that the cat was surrounded with, they could tell that she was probably going to cause some trouble. Nonetheless, they did not exactly dislike being part of it.

"I have one way to shake him." Shirone nodded. "After my cue, you will have to do everything you can."

Using an oddly serious tone, Shirone looked at everyone. Compared to her earlier aura that was her usual nonchalant attitude, Shirone patted her chest.

"Nora-nii is a little awkward sometimes. He will surely say things like he is not worthy and probably try to turn down." Shirone smiled. "He is that kind of guy."

Listening to the sincere tone of the cat, the group were somewhat surprised, but they could agree with her. The youth's actions were sometimes inconsistent with his words and while he might try to avoid people's affection, he was not cold enough to cut short a relationship for that end.

"He is someone very precious to him so if you really like him, I hope you do not give up on him." Shirone muttered. "I am not as strong as Onee-chan or everyone else, but I will not forgive you if you go at him with hal-assed feelings. He means a lot to me."

The declaration of someone who was always nonchalant and caused trouble would usually be hard to take in consideration, however, everyone in place knew of how much the youth took care of Shirone, and how much the white cat adored Nora. Their bond was deep and they might not be fully aware of the full story, however, they could tell from the way the youth tried to protect Shirone from harm all the time that it must be a very good reason.

"Well, well, it seems you are all having fun over here." Miko stepped in.

Finding their conversation amusing, Miko decided to participate.

"Miko-nee?" Shirone furrowed her eyebrows. "Were you spying on us?"

"My, my, the small cat seems to be a bit grumpy today." Miko chuckled. "I was just passing by and happened to overhear something interesting."

The expressions of the group were rather distinct, but they all seemed to agree that they not fully believe the kitsune.

"Scary, everyone is looking a poor lil' ol' me with such a look and that makes me sad." Miko made a fake crying expression. "Here I was, ready to share an idea I had to conquer 'his' heart."

As she turned around dramatically, the kitsune caught in her eyes how everyone reacted to it. She inwardly smiled, but Miko was unable to hide the crafty smile forming on her face once she turned around.

"Everyone. please do not judge Miko-nee-chan, she surely was thinking deeply in how to help us overcome the difficult boss character that Nora-nii is." Shirone chided the group.

Rolling their eyes at that, the group could not deny they were interested in what the kitsune had to say. She had a mature aura and was one of the most composed people when Nora's charm hits her.

Grinning in satisfaction after hearing the cat show interest, Miko turned around with a smile.

"How about I offer some piece of advice for the young ones to use against the so called 'boss' character? Miko added. "The one with the key to make it happen is you."

Pointing at Shirone, the kitsune smiled meaningfully. On the other hand, watching the kitsune pointing in her direction, Shirone looked back and tried to look for the person Miko was looking for.

"Is it one of those shinobis that Nora-nii is employing? Do they hold his weakness...?" Shirone mumbled.

Watching the actions of the small cat, Miko smiled wryly.

The fact that Shirone looked obviously confused despite her earlier words of having a hidden ace to deal with the youth was amusing to the kitsune.

"No, it is about the little 'secret' of yours." Miko chuckled.

For the first time, Shirone showed some caution and backed away. This surprised the group because Shirone was usually fearless and reckless in her actions with shying away.

Just as everyone heard the voice if Ei's surprised cry, Miko opened her mouth and offered her advise.

------------------------------------------------------------------

(Back to the present time)

3rd Person POV

"I expected this but..." Charlotte sighed.

"Nora-nii is peerless no matter the form." Shirone proudly snorted.

"No, I think it is not time to be proud. We brought him to use charm him!" Yume cried out.

"...we only took our eyes off him for a second to soak on the sea, yes." Ayanami mumbled.

"...I can't seen the end of the line." Kanna said.

The group after frolicking in the sea for a while came back to the place Nora had set up a tent and their belongings. He had found a place to stay but he prepared a place to hang out during the day. He brought enough supplies for several dozen of people, but it was something normal for him thus no one said a thing. During the time they were away, Nora's space seemed to be invaded by several attractive women of all ages. A large line had formed of women asking for pictures and a chance to chat with him as he tried to finish preparing everything.

In the midst of all that, there were extremely unsatisfied people. A large male audience was keeping their distance and mumbling that they could not believe what they were seeing. It was then, that a pair of delinquent looking men noticed the group and smiled as they approached them.

"Hey there, you looking lonely over there."

"You girls look like you are not from around here, otherwise I would remember seeing you before."

Hearing those words, the group got a chill and goosebumps on their arms. They could recall that Nora used those exact same words and it did not feel anything like it. 

Perhaps, convinced that their words had left the girls too embarrassed to reply, the duo walked toward Ayanami and Charlotte.

Resisting the urge to send the duo flying, Ayanami took a step back that was mistakenly taken as her being shy.

It was just then, before the men could take even another step forward, they an arm being placed around their shoulders and necks. They finally noticed a delinquent looking youth who had a friendly smile. The duo immediately tried to get away, but they found an incredible amount of strength filling the initially thin looking arms, but upon a closer look, the defined muscles were not something you would see in these kind of arms.

 Their first reaction was to escape the grip, but they failed. The duo then planned to curse at the youth but the arm tightened the grip to the point of their necks being pressed and their voices were unable to come out.

"Hey guys, you two look like you are locals. That sounds great, I am new to these parts so I am not sure about where to go." Nora spoke in a bright tone.

For the onlookers, it looked like a friendly exchange, but upon a closer look, there was a vein ready to pop out his his forehead. He dragged the duo away and made sure no one followed him.

"How about this? I can buy you some drinks and... let you live, you trash." Nora spoke in a low tone. "Consider yourselves lucky, I was this close of breaking your necks, but I want this to be a fun vacation for them. The cat would surely sniff if I dirty my hands with blood and do not wash off thoroughly."

Pushing the duo toward a blind spot behind a beach shack selling drinks, the you glared coldly at the duo.

"I don't give a damn if you want to pick up any other woman is this ridiculously wide beach, but I will beat the shit out of you if try anything funny on those girls." Nora said.

Finally able to breathe normally again, the duo tried to stand up and hit Nora, but the youth kicked the closest one toward the farthest one. They fell face first and the youth snapped his fingers once he noticed one of them ready to yell. A barrier was erected that would prevent sound from leaking.

"You fucker!"

"Where the fuck did you come from!?"

"Do I really need to tell you where babies come from you imbecils?" Nora spat out. "Don't think of it too deeply, just stay away from them... or else..."

Looking at a nearby palm tree, the youth lazily swung his arm and it was easily broken. The duo swallowed the curses already on the tips of their mouths and noticed a small detail. They could not heard anything despite the noisy chatter of tourists that was usually heard.

Exchanging a look, the duo trembled and before they could beg for their lives, they found Nora's figure nowhere to be seen. Immediately palling, they finally heard the screams of surprise from the tourists.

...

...

...

Once the youth came back, he smiled like nothing happened, however, before he could say a word, he was tackled by the group.

"Hey now, don't tell me you guys were scared from those hooligans? They are not as scary as Ei when Miko ate the pudding she was saving for after dinner." Nora jested.

Inwardly shuddering as he recalled how those two were pretty close of destroying the kitchen, the youth was late to notice everyone looking at him.

"No, we are just being thankful." Charlotte's words represented the others as they simply nodded along.

Smiling, the looked at them and-

"That is fine and all, but Yume, please do not take this change to caress my abs like that. We are in public and-" Nora planned to continue nagging but Yume shook her head and raised both hands as it to say that she was not the culprit. "Then who...?"

The answer was obvious after seeing Charlotte who blushed once his eyes landed on her.

Sighing, no one said a word and they all stepped away.

"Ahem, N-Nora, we would like you to spend some time with each of us individually if it is alright with you." Charlotte looked away. "That is if you don't have to go back to them."

Using a sulky tone, Charlotte pointed at the large line of women giving him puppy eyes.

"It should be ok. I told them I don't plan to go for a quicky with them." Nora muttered.

"That so? Then what should we tell them so they leave us alone?" Charlotte snorted.

Rubbing his chin thoughtfully, the youth gave one look to the women. He roughly made an assessment of the things they wanted. Looking at the male audience glaring at him from the distance, the youth nodded.

"I should be able to take care of this in one hour... if I do it alone." Nora pulled several ofudas. "I have been thinking, shikigamis can be quite overpowered."

Give a glare to the youth who only seemed to realize the obvious, the group began to discuss what to do once he was free.

...

...

...

Peace was once again brought to the beach. Several couples could be seen happily talking to each other on plain sight, and there were several who were 'hidden' that were... enjoying themselves. Thanks to that, the youth cursed his enhanced senses and moved away from their earlier spot.

Lazily sitting on the beach under a tent, the youth directed his eyes toward the sea that seemed to stretch endlessly. Close to the beach, there were many tourist and locals enjoying their time. There was a group of girls that were recklessly playing volleyball using strength that put adult men to shame, but given that this was the group already restraining themselves, the youth did not say anything.

"Is it really ok to stay like this? You finally got the chance to come to the beach." Nora mutters.

Lazily resting her head on the youth's lap, Kanna reacted to the words.

"It is my turn now." Kanna said. "Monopolizing Nora."

Smiling wryly at that, the youth soft stroke her hair.

"You can do that at home." Nora muttered.

"This feels more like a date... Charlotte said so." Kanna mumbled

"Do you want it to feel like a date?" Nora asked.

"Dunno." Kanna honestly replied.

Blinking, Nora paused for a moment before chuckling.

"Is that so?" Nora mumbled.

"...what is to like someone?" Kanna turned her head to face the youth.

"You have given me a very hard question out of nowhere." Nora smiled wryly.

"...is that so?" Kanna asked.

"Yes." Nora said.

"I see." Kanna did not press any further.

Just before she turned her head way to look at the volleyball match, Nora spoke.

"Things like liking, loving... are topics hard to explain. It is not simply because they are a complex topics. Every person has their own way to interpret such a thing." Nora mumbled. "No, I guess that is what makes them a difficult topic in the first place."

Smiling wryly, the youth stroke Kanna's hair.

"For some people, they are just happy with being beside the person they like, while others do not want to part with that person at all. I don't think you can say that a person likes their loved ones more basing everything on your own standards... so it will always come down to how you feel about it. Does your heart skip a beat? Does that person appears in your mind often? Those are some examples of what sometimes is described as love, although I guess it also falls into the category of a crush."

Turning again toward the youth, Kanna raised her hand and tried to reach for the youth's face but her arm was to short. Looking how she awkwardly tried to reach toward him, the youth lowered his face for her. The girl kept a stoic sleepy face until her hand reached Nora's cheek.

"Is it supposed to make your heart beat louder when you touch that person?" Kanna asked.

"Oh yeah, it does happen." Nora smiled.

Placing her other hand on top of her chest, Kanna closed her eyes. Nodding, she grabbed the hand that was not stroking her hair and placed Nora's hand on her chest.

"Like this?" Kanna asked with a slight blush on her face.

Surprised by the bold approach, the youth carefully listened and felt the throbbing of her heart. As he locked eyes with her, he could tell that she was getting somewhat anxious and her heartbeat was getting faster.

"You are bold, I will give you that." Nora removed the hand.

Sighing in relief, Kanna turned her head away to hide her embarrassed face.

"I don't have... a grown up body like the others, I am even smaller than Shirone. I am always sleepy." Kanna muttered. " I don't have the charm they all have..."

Sneaking a peek at the youth, Kanna went back to her earlier position.

"But I do like you." Kanna mustered her courage and faced the youth. "You took care of... an oddball like me."

"I have not taken care of you because I wanted something in exchange." Nora said. "You feel... gratitude. I am not sure if I can accept it as 'love'."

Resigning herself, Kanna accepted that he had turned her down but-

"However, that is just the way I see it now." Nora mumbled. "I am not saying it has to be that way now, but you should not give up halfway. If you truly like someone, you need to make them understand that... I received that advise long ago."

Widening her eyes at that answer, Kanna looked at the youth who had a nostalgic expression as he watched the horizon of the beach. She felt somewhat happy at his words, but there was something she felt that needed to be said. It felt more important than anything.

"Do you like... the sea?" Kanna asked.

A little absent minded, the youth nodded.

"I used to... visit the beach a lot." Nora muttered.

Noticing that even the hand that was stroking her head stopped moving, Kanna looked at Nora with worry. Despite looking tanned and having a different hair color, he did not look different in her eyes. he was still the person who took care of everyone's problems like they were his own.

"This isn't like me." Nora smiled bitterly once he received a worried look.

"Nora, I have decided." Kanna sat up.

A little surprised, that she did that, the youth stared at her but said nothing.

"Here." Kanna patted her lap.

"What?" Nora smiled wryly.

"My lap." Kanna replied.

"No, well, I know that. Why though?" Nora asked.

"I cannot do the same as others do." Kanna spoke. "I can only do the thing I am at better than everyone, even you, Nora."

"Sorry, I am not sure that lap pillows are exactly unique..." Nora awkwardly said.

Furrowing her eyebrows displeased, Kanna punched the youth somewhat strongly, although he did not receive any damage. Feeling her hand hurting, Kanna gave up on the path of carnage she briefly considered.

"I am good at resting." Kanna patted her chest. "I am a meister at that."

Feeling like he should refute that but being unable to say anything against, the youth obediently put his head on Kanna's lap. Looking at the sea, he felt somewhat drowsy. A small hand began to stroke his hair.

"One day, the one that will have his heartbeat going faster will be you, Nora." Kanna spoke.

Smiling at her words, the youth felt like taking a quick nap. It would be alright for now. Since finding Saya, he is able to drive away the nightmares that tormented him for years. Above all, he felt that if he slept here at the beach, he might dream about his parents who dearly loved going to the beach.

...

...

...

Opening his eyes, the first thing the youth saw was Yume's face getting closer. Judging from her action of puckering her lips, she planned to give him a kiss. The youth felt that he could easily evade her, but since she was aiming at his cheek, he allowed it. He considered that the girls needed fan service as well since they grace him with they maid clad figures at times.

Feeling the soft lips on his cheek, the youth could tell that Yume had gone bright red from just that without even opening his eyes.

Just when he considered that thinks would end there, he heard her speaking.

"I have g-gone and d-done it... w-with this, I am one step ahead!" Yume sounded excited.

The youth could almost imagine her raising one fist in the air with a victorious grin.

"W-wait, this was to wake him up like in the fairy tail... you can wake up the slumbering prince with a kiss." Yume mumbled. "I-Is it after all because the k-kiss has to be on the l-lips? Kyaaaa! No, I need to calm down, this is purely for the sake of waking him up, there is not even a speck of a hidden agenda."

Listening to the girl who seemed to be looking for excuses, Nora inwardly rolled his eyes. The youth decided to teach a lesson to the naughty girl.

It was not hard to tell when she had leaned forward to 'wake him up' so Nora opened his eyes wide.

"What are you doing?" Nora asked.

The youth almost laughed when Yume did a backflip to land a few meters away, but failed to recall that she was inside a tent so took the tent with her.

"And there it goes the tent." Nora sighed like it was none of his business.

The guy who caused the girl to almost have a heart attack from fright just waved at the crowd that gathered from the ruckus and waited for Yume to come back, but judging from the fact that he could make out her form as she rolled on the ground using the tent's cloth and became a Yume-egg, it seemed like she did not plan to come out anytime soon.

Shrugging his shoulders, the youth took the most sensitive approach to fix the mess. Dragging her out without mercy.

...

"Are you going to spend our 'date' time with your hands covering your face?" Nora asked.

The crowd was annoying so the youth delicately dragged Yume away to a rather isolated area full of rocks near a cliff. The duo were sitting on top of rock that happened to be cut vertically in half by coincidence when Nora coincidentally swept his arm in that direction. It formed a smooth surface and it had just enough space for the two to sit by being stuck together. it was tall enough that when the waves crashed on the rocks, it did not reach the duo's legs.

"I am really sorry! I have no excuse!" Yume apologized.

Hearing that phrase over the Nth time was rather tiring, however, the youth patiently waited for the girl to calm down. He began patting her head until she lowered her hands and glanced at him.

"Are you angry?" Yume asked.

"Somewhat." Nora admitted.

Slumping down, Yume looked depressed.

"You should treasure your firsts more." Nora said. "It is not good to hurry in that kind of things..."

"But... there are already a lot of girls that you have kissed..." Yume mumbled. "While we..."

There was no need to act all surprised by her words since he was aware of their feelings. The youth could tell how much they looked up to him and they appreciated what he had done for them. Whether they were big or small, the things he helped them with was something that changed their lives and influenced them greatly. Which was why-

"I never meant to coerce you or ask you for that kind. I just do things as I please, I don't... no, I never acted with those kind of expectations in mind." Nora sighed. "You are trying to see me in a good light, but I am just a reckless guy who let his emotions control his actions."

"You think we like you because of that?" Yume asked. "No, I guess that is what one would usually think. H-haha."

Awkwardly scratching her cheek, Yume looked away.

"Ayanami-chan always says with stars in her eyes how you went down to the Kishin's village in hell to beat up her father." Yume muttered.

"That is something a hooligan would do, I am not sure she should be proud I beat up her father." Nora mumbled. 

"Charlotte also told us how you did not cower in the face of one of the most influential devil families, storming in their property, and beating up anyone who did bow down to you." Yume said.

"The wording makes it seem I was a real piece of work uh." Nora's eyebrow twitched. "I cannot deny it though. I was wild at that time... just like a thug."

"Kanna told me that you captured every rabbit you could get your hands on and left them panting after taking them to a dark room." Yume looked at the youth suspiciously.

"I was interrogating them! I used a feather to make them laugh until their very limits so it is obvious they were out of breath thanks to that." Nora spoke. "They are too free spirited so I caught them and had them spill the location of their friends. No, if I think about it... I just forcefully subjugated a group of women who were having fun, brought them under my command and I have them working for me. Wow, I am more scummy than what I gave myself credit for."

Awkwardly slumping down, the youth had a defeated expression.

"Haha..." Yume had a wry smile on her face.

Shaking his head like he could not help it, the youth looked at the sea with a nostalgic look.

"I... am thankful you took me in." Yume muttered. "Not only our kin is in minority, we are not very popular among many races."

"...Is it because of the war 400 years ago?" Nora asked.

"Haha... yes. Many of my kin allied themselves with the cult." Yume said. "They became monsters that stole good dreams and planted nightmares onto people regardless of their race or affiliation." Yume spoke.

"I see." Nora did not say anything else.

Looking at the usually cheerful girl with a depressed face, he could not imagine what was going through her head. There was initially some opposition from Yasaka's caretaker and some of her people, but Nora did not care and took her home anyways.

"I am really grateful for taking in an orphan like me." Yume muttered. "My parents... were good people, but no one really treated them well. We lived relatively well until they found out our race..."

"It is a painful memory so you don't need to..." Nora left the rest of his words unsaid.

The bitter expression on Yume's face despite trying to smile did not allow him to.

"A group of stray exorcists found us while we were on the run after being found out..." Yume bit her lips. "We did our best, but they were more than us. I was... the only survivor after my parents asked me to run away."

The youth recalled when he met her. It was quite some time ago.

"I wandered alone for a couple of years." Yume wipe a tear that rolled down her cheek.

By the time the next tear came out, a handkerchief was held towards her. She tried to take it to wipe her tears, but the youth did not hand it over. He wiped her tears.

Widening her eyes, Yume was not surprised by his kind actions, rather, she recalled than when she first met him, he did the same. She was a mess, her body was thin for spending some time on the run and not having the opportunity to find any food, and she probably managed to last that long because she was not human.

Despite the efforts of the youth to wipe out her tears, she found herself unable to do as memories of that time came flooding in her mind.

"You do not need to hold back at all. I told you before, and I will tell you now once again. Cry, bawl your eyes out... I won't mind it. I will stay right beside you until you have let out all that." Nora pulled her toward his chest.

Listening to her sobbing, the youth had a complex expression his face.

Nora had made sure to kill every single exorcist after her and even managed to track down the ones responsible for her parents' death. It was only when he did that when Yume could open up to the others.

He did not count the time but she must've been crying for a while, yet without any urging from him, the girl pulled her body back.

"You could've stayed there for longer." Nora said.

"It is ok, I am already feeling better." Yume shook her head. "This is embarrassing, I wanted to use this chance to show you my charm, but I acted like this instead..."

Smiling wryly, Yume scratched her cheek.

"I am aware that she never had bad intentions, but you should not listen to what Miko tells you. Foxes are rather cunning and she is sly as well, Miko probably wanted to give you girls a push, but she was probably bored and expected this to be amusing." Nora sighed.

Trembling slightly in response, Yume looked at the youth.

"You knew?" Yume asked.

"That tofu maniac probably killed two birds with one stone. She would give a helping hand while also having a laugh about me having to use this form outside the house." Nora mumbled.

"H-Haha, so were busted from the beginning..." Yume laughed awkwardly.

"I am not angry or anything like that." Nora sighed. "I will still mess up with her next order of tofu as a punishment though."

Listening to the youth mumbling about ingredients to mix into the tofu, Yume sweated coldly and prayed for Miko's safety. There was one piece of advise that Shirone shared with her gang and no one was able to refute it or call it nonsense. That was... to never mess up with the person who made your food.

"You know, you didn't have to do all this." Nora softly bumped shoulders with Yume.

"Is it... because it is a lost cause?" Yume bitterly asked.

"No, I already see you all as something more than children." Nora muttered. "I know you are growing, and I find you all charming. However, I think... you do not need to worry about things like that for now."

"But!" Yume raised her voice.

"Even as you are now, I find you cute enough I could eat you." Nora gently held Yume's chin with his hand. "You should be aware that I am not lying. I am a pervert and you girls are growing more beautiful each day so it is hard for me to ignore it."

The girl blushed, but since Nora was holding her chin, she was unable to. She was facing against the youth's face that was close enough to feel each other's breath.

"You should be careful." Nora said. "You are giving yourself away to me... you know what it means?"

Blinking, Yume eyes directly looked into the youth's.

"You are saying..." Nora closed the distance. "Here, eat me up, I am here just for you."

When Yume felt like their lips would touch, she timidly closed her eyes. However, she waited but she could not feel Nora's lips on her own, instead, Yume felt a kiss on her forehead.

Opening her eyes in surprise, Yume saw Nora smiling brightly.

"How about that? If cannot even handle that without blushing, I think you are still a long way before you can say anything about kissing me on the lips." Nora chuckled.

Noticing that she was completely red on the face, Yume-

"Nora, you idiot!" Yume jumped down in the sea to hide her embarrassment.

Looking at her move faster than a regular boat with an engine, the youth smiled.

"Now then..." Nora looked back to the beach and saw a figure waiting for him.

...

...

...

 "Coming to beach, to the sea means... one has to fish their food, yes!" Ayanami declared. "I played a lot of games to practice for this, yes."

With stars in her eyes, the girl spoke in an excited tone.

Holding a fishing road, Ayanami pointed at the sea with her other hand.

"But... is it really ok to use this yacht?" Ayanami lightly stomped her foot. 

A luxurious sunseeker yacht like the youth had called it once Ayanami asked about it. Once Ayanami proposed to go fishing, the duo reached a pier where a 'young master' as Nora called him was having a party in his personal yacht. Ayanami thought he would settle for the small fishing boat close to the yacht, but Nora mistook her stare and thought she was after the yacht. The 'young master' mocked Nora once he offered to buy the yacht and even some of his followers chipped in, although Ayanami believed it was because many of the ladies in the yacht were more interest in Nora than in them.

It was rather interesting when Nora pulled a phone a made a call, within a couple of minutes, an helicopter with a couple of maids riding it appeared and the maids descended from it using ropes with several briefcases that were neatly opened and showed to be full of gold bars. The 'young master' sold the yacht in seconds.

After politely declining the women's desire to remain in the boat, Nora took control of the yacht and sailed with her in tow. It was a little annoying to see those women sticking close to him, but Ayanami was not sure why it bothered so she felt somewhat relieved that the two were going on alone.

While Ayanami was busy recalling the past, Nora was busy picking what he called 'bio hazard' materials that were all over the deck of the yacht.

She was not sure what those colorful square foil packages were but he put it all in a bag and burned it with high temperature flames.

"I brought it so it is ok." Nora replied.

They were the only ones in the boat since the maids left as fast as they appeared.

Once he was finished, they could could focus on their task of fishing.

"Are you sure want to try your hand a fishing?" Nora asked.

"My blood longs for this, yes." Ayanami seemed pretty excited.

"...alright, I will ask just in case, but do you know how to use it?" Nora pointed at the fishing rod.

"You swing it forward and the fish bites, yes!" Ayanami swung the fishing rod and she managed to not hurt herself. "That's how it is in games, yes!"

After evading the hook that almost hit him, the youth sighed.

"Let's start from the basic." Nora pulled several fishing equipments.

Looking at everything he pulled, Ayanami could tell that it all seemed to be professional equipment.

"This region should have those fishes so... around this area is possible... should we go further into the sea... no, there should be... ah, there are indeed some." Nora began to mutter some gibberish.

"Did you know I would ask you to go fishing?" Ayanami curiously observed the youth set up a fishing rod and several other equipments such a row of fishing hooks.

"No cat lacks the skills to get fish." Nora replied. "We are born with the Fishing Skill Rank EX at MAX level when we are born."

Nodding at that, Ayanami decided to believe what the youth said.

"However, not every cat has the grace to use tools like this. Some might say it is because they don't know how to get fish that we rely on tools like this, but knowing how to hunt for fish in a myriad of ways is the true way of cats." nora spoke in unusual excited tone. "The way of the cats... it is a difficult path one has no way to avoid, however, all cats are fated to live this way."

As he spoke all that nonsense, Nora finished setting the fishing rod with a hook and bait, it seemed to be ready to be used.

Applauding, Ayanami looked excited but she then realized that the rod he was carrying was his and she already had hers. Feeling somewhat disappointed that she will not be use the rod that looked capable of catching fishes right away, Ayanami gave it one last look before turning around.

"Hey now, where are you going?" Nora called out.

Taking her fishing rod, the youth passed his to her.

"Oh!!!" Ayanami held the fishing equipment like some sort of holy sword.

"You look excited." Nora looked at Ayanami with a nostalgic expression.

"I can become the greatest fisher in the world if I have Nora's support." Ayanami exclaimed.

Chuckling at that, the youth patted her head in a good mood. Ayanami accepted it like it was normal and Nora continued for a few seconds before stopping despite the puppy eyes Ayanami was giving her.

"Let your Onii-san teach you the right way to get some tasty fish." Nora chuckled.

Standing at the bow of the ship, Ayanami was closer to the edge of the ship. Normally, it would be dangerous to be playing around there because you could fall, but Ayanami hardly felt any danger because Nora's arms were embracing her and his hands were placed above her hands as she held the fishing rod.

"Hold the rod comfortably with your dominant hand, here." Nora spoke.

Pointing below the reel seat, he guided Ayanami's hand gently. Despite the easy to follow instruction, Ayanami was momentarily dazed once Nora's warm breath hit her ears and she somewhat flustered. It made her remember what her friends were saying the day before.

Perhaps oblivious to Ayanami's state because he was focused on guiding the girl or simply because he was somewhat excited about teaching about something he liked and missed it.

"Aim the tip slightly down towards the water, with the reel facing upwards." Nora spoke. "With your other hand, pinch the line slightly above the hook."

Trying to clear her mind from the distracting thought that began to bother her, Ayanami put her full attention to whatever Nora was going to do or say next.

"Swing the rod backwards..." Nora muttered and instinctively sprung into action.

 He took control of the fishing rod and acted like he was the one using it, this cause him to embrace tighter the petite girl in his arms that in response cause Ayanami who had put all her focus and attention on him to blush.

"Ah, sorry..." Nora noticed his mistake before he swung the road forward and awkwardly corrected his position but before he released the girl, he was stopped. "Ayanami?"

Curiously asking, the youth took less than a second to notice that Ayanami was not holding the fishing rod anymore, but instead her hands were holding his arms so he would continue to hug her. not only that, the youth could sense Ayanami's skin directly and he was able to feel her heartbeat going faster.

"...wait." Ayanami muttered in a low tone. "...I want to confirm something."

Seconds turned into minutes but Ayanami did not let go of Nora's arms,

However, before the youth said anything, Ayanami let go of his arms. Released, she took a step forward and turned around to face Nora. Their different height made obvious that she would look up to him.

"Charl and Yume were saying some things yesterday..." Ayanami mumbled. "I did not understand anything, yes."

Patiently waiting for Ayanami to find the right words, Nora looked at the girl who despite possesing one of the highest physical strength in the gang looked vulnerable.

"I am not sure... what liking or loving someone is." Ayanami said. "Nora... they told me that... you get butterflies in your stomach if you are with someone you like."

Placing her hands on her belly, Ayanami shyly looked down before gaining courage to continue speaking.

"I trust Nora the most. I would... do anything you say. I would... believe anything you say, because it is you..." Ayanami took Nora's hand and placed it above her left breast and pressed it using her own hands placed above it. "My heart beating this fast... the fluttering feeling I have been having since a while ago... Nora, am I sick? if I am not sick, does this mean that just like they told me... I like you?"

The youth did not give an immediate answer and that made Ayanami anxious. Since she had heard everyone talking about it, Ayanami's mind have been a mess. From the moment she met him, Ayanami recalled everything. She tried to understand the topic by play love simulation games, but she was not able to understand anything. However, now that she spent time with Nora again, the confusing reactions she had read about before surfaced. This made her wonder if being like this will be a problem.

"You should not worry about what others tell you." Nora said.

The youth could feel Ayanami's beating heart, but he made no motion to remove his hand.

"...the same could be said about me." Nora muttered. "Ayanami, forget everything you have been hearing about meddlesome people."

Thinking the youth will use his unused hand to remove her hands, Ayanami lowered her head sadly, but just as the youth took her hands away, she felt him slightly tighten the grip on her breast. An strange feeling rushed through her body once it happened and it made her tremble. Ayanami was not sure what it was, but it was pleasant and made her feel good. It was only when the feeling subsided that she noticed that the youth had placed her hands on his chest, just where the heart was located. She could feel the rhythmical throb of Nora's heart and that made her conscious of how his heartbeat was going up. 

"I will not use words." Nora spoke. "Ayanami, love is about feeling, so use your time to carefully listen to the sound of my heart. That will be your answer, how you feel about me and my answer to that."

Pulling her for a hug, the youth was unable to hold her breast for any longer, yet once she was glued to him, she was not able to listen using her hands because it was uncomfortable.

Hearing her whimper from disappointment, Nora lift her and let her butt rest on the guardrail, this in exchange cause Ayanami to be able to rest her head on Nora's chest and she felt how her own heartbeat going up, however, she was more interest in how his heartbeat also went up.

It was a pleasant surprise because she liked to be near Nora, however, the youth had another surprise in store.

"Don't think about running..." Nora muttered.

Using his right arm to embrace her, her small body was easily covered with even room to spare, his hand move past her back and slowly touched her right breast. Perhaps because it was unexpected or she was expecting for the youth's touch again but Ayanami felt the previous feeling spreading through her body.

The touch of Nora's fingers, his beating heart and his warmth as she was embraced. Ayanami felt it all and came up with her own conclusion. Yet she did not open her mouth and say anything, afraid he would stop.

Nonetheless, Ayanami felt like her heart would jump out her body when Nora opened his mouth.

"I don't mind hugging like this for hours if you want, after all, the one who is having the best time is me." Nora muttered.

Just as he said that, Ayanami felt Nora's finger reaching further. He slightly shifted the way he held her so that his hand could cover her breast fully. Not only that, but he began to lightly fondle her chest and Ayanami let out a sound she never expected. She had heard it in love simulation game that she had to stop playing because the contents were not for kids. It was a moan. Ayanami moaned more than once with Nora's touch, yet she did not stop him because she found the feeling somewhat addictive.

"I will take this as you giving me the green light." Nora seemed to grow more bolder as he reached for the other breast.

Ayanami in response, shifted her body willingly, as long as her head remained glued to Nora's body.

This continued for minutes, but Nora decided to stop. He looked at Ayanami after he separated her from him.

"This shall be your answer." Nora placed a finger on Ayanami's mouth to prevent from talking. "It will be our little secret, ok? I went a little too far because of you girls combined attack, however, consider this a little warning as well. If you continue going too far with your teasing, I will respond in kind. This is the type of person I am."

Nodding sheepishly, Ayanami looked down and then to Nora.

"...Nora." Ayanami mumbled.

"What?" Nora asked.

"...what was the thing that poked my stomach-ahhhhh"! Ayanami fell to the water.

Following after her, Nora went down. The duo floated in silence for a moment.

"...seriously keep that in secret as well and I will tell you." Nora muttered.

"...deal, yes." Ayanami nodded, with her curiosity not being extinguished from the cold water.

Using her hands to scoop some water, Ayanami 'attacked' Nora. Blinking after the attack, the youth tilted his head.

"Revenge, yes." Ayanami scooped more water. "I shall be the winner and get something out of Nora, yes."

Honest like always, Ayanami made her intentions known. The youth decided to take the attacks head on since it was most likely a pay back from being thrown out of the boat.

"If I win, we will do that again, yes." Ayanami exclaimed.

Hearing that, Nora almost swallowed the water that Ayanami threw at him.