Chapter VII: Unit 7

Akuma and Kyouka walked side by side through the landscape of Mato while on their way towards the 7th unit headquarters.

The silver haired young woman looked at Akuma, who was dressed in the male version of the uniform she, herself, wore.

"I must say," she started as she looked him over from top to bottom, "I didn't expect to see a man wearing the MDF uniform. It suits you."

"That makes the two of us then," admitted Akuma as he admired his new drip. He wore a similar vest to Kyouka, but one changed to fit his size along with pants instead of the skirt she wore. Also, a hat similar to hers was perched on top of his head. "I never dreamed of even joining the MDF. Strange how life goes, isn't it?"

The pink-eyed girl stayed silent, which prompted the male to look in her direction. From what he could see, she looked conflicted about something.

"Is something the matter?"

She opened her mouth before closing it and opening it again, "No... it's just... All I want to say is... thanks."

"For what exactly?" He wasn't exactly sure for what he was being thanked.

"..." Kyouka made conscious effort of not looking at him by staring straight ahead at the approaching structure of the 7th unit headquarters before answering. "It was clear that Commander Yamashiro wanted you to join her unit, but you refused and chose to join mine instead. So... thank you for that."

Hearing her heartfelt words, Akuma nervously scratched the back of his head, "Sure, I knew that too; however, I stand by what I said then. Moreover, I believe I can do the most change by helping you achieve your goal. So let's do our best, Chief!"

His words seemed to help Kyouka return to her former self. From what he saw of her from their few interactions, she wasn't the type to let her emotions show easily, so moments like these were few and far in between for her.

The form of the headquarters was getting larger by the second as they approached it.

"By the way," Kyouka suddenly spoke, "how good are you with household chores?"

"Hmm? Well, I would say I am above average in them," he answered off handedly, "I used to earn money cleaning the houses of rich people. Why do you ask?"

"Well..." she seemed a bit uncomfortable answering, "your seniors in the unit are not the most experienced in keeping the headquarters tidy. Me included."

She muttered the last part so he couldn't hear it properly, but he got the gist of what she meant.

"I understand. Being busy training your powers leave precious little time for cleaning after yourselves," he teased her with a chuckle.

He could see the red tips of Kyouka's ears as she nodded weakly.

"Don't worry, I already took that into consideration since that's how things are nowadays," he said remembering all the days he had to come in early to clean the school before the girls would arrive a few minutes before school started, "plus, I can't tolerate living in a dirty place anyway. However, I expect a raise in my salary for taking the role of the caretaker."

"I will personally make sure the request is accepted by headquarters," Kyouka stated in full seriousness.

Finally, they both stood in front of the 7th unit's HQ, "Let's enter your new workplace."

With that, Kyouka opened the door, and they both entered the building. Once they entered, they were greeted by three girls in MDF uniforms at the entrance.

"Urgh, it really IS a man, and a brute no less," the one who said that was a beautiful young woman with dark, sea-green hair that stretched to her back and was tied by a bow at the back of her head. Her bangs were brushed to the right side of her head, revealing her amber-colored eyes.

(Image)

"Ooooh," the one in the center of the group said in a mix of curiosity and surprise, "I don't know much about men since I am from an all-girls high school. Tell me, are they all as big as you, or are you just special"

The one who said that was taller than the previous girl. She sported short blond hair that had a greenish tint at its ends that matched with her vivid green eyes. A ribbon was tied on top of her head in a manner that resembled bunny ears.

(Image)

'P-Please treat us well!" The last one stuttered either in nervousness or excitement or both.

She was a kind-looking girl who had long, bright pink hair and clear blue eyes and an innocent, radiant smile on her face.

The thing that surprised Akuma the most beside her exceedingly short height of barely 5 feet was that she looked young. No, scratch that! She looked too young to be in this sort of job.

(Image)

The red-headed male gave a dubious glance at Kyouka, who ignored it and moved towards the girls before turning towards him, "These are the members of the 7th unit who live here. There are others, but they are out on a mission right now."

She then proceeded to introduce them, "Starting from your right, this is Azuma Himari, Suruga Shushu, Ookawamura Nei."

After the introduction, she turned towards the girls, "As you may have heard, our unit will be receiving a new member. This is Akuma."

"Nice to meet you guys," he didn't know how this process went, so he tried the normal if a bit informal method of greeting.

Kyouka continued, "He is not only the first official male recruit of the MDF but also has agreed to take on the role of caretaker of the unit."

"That's very kind of you, Akuma-san, thank you very much," Nei thanked him sincerely with a kind smile.

Akuma had to shield his eyes from the bright aura that radiated from the young girl.

"Heh, not that he's going to be any good in combat without a blessing," scoffed the girl called Himari Azuma.

"Don't be too harsh on him Himari, it's not his fault males don't get blessings like us," Shushu said with a carefree smile.

Before Kyouka or Akuma could correct them about his capabilities, Nei suddenly went stiff.

"Ah," her eyes lost focus for a bit before she began floundering about.

If he didn't see the serious expressions on the others' faces, he would've been worried that something had happened to her.

Noticing his lost expression, the blond girl pointed at the pink haired girl, "Don't fret, that's just her ability. You see, she is clairvoyant. A very useful and rare ability."

A moment later, Nei spoke, "A gate has appeared! 5 km north!"

Hearing that Kyouka immediately ordered, "Time to go! Get to the vehicles."

Akuma watched as Himari and Nei went off in a military jeep while Shushu opted to take a dirt bike. All who were left were him and Kyouka, who had suddenly vanished inside the building.

A few minutes later, she returned to the entrance with a new katana at her hip.

"The other's already left," he told her.

"We'll catch up," she said with certainty before stretching her hand to him, "Are you ready? It's time for us to go."

Akuma looked at the flawless hand presented to him, his first time transforming fresh in his mind. He bent down to the level of her hand and licked her finger.

A pillar of light erupted from with him, and he felt himself transforming. In but a brief moment, he was again transformed into his 8 foot demonic form that was even more powerful than before.

Kyouka also seemed to notice the change from the bond they shared through her ability. She let out a satisfied hum, "You're just full of surprises."

"What can I say?" he shrugged, his voice much deeper and rougher in this form. "I aim to please."

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

Himari was driving the jeep while Nei stayed at the back and pointed her at their destination. Shushu was riding her dirt bike beside them.

Suddenly, they all heard the sounds of heavy footsteps coming from behind them. Then came the voice of their chief. "We'll be going on ahead."

Looking at the direction of the voice, they saw Kyouka riding on the back of pale 8 foot demonic looking, horned creature that was running on all four limbs while holding onto a chain attached to a choker around its - no, his neck. The red-headed being seemed to easily match the speed of their vehicles.

Just as she said that, Kyouka lightly pulled on the chain, and Akuma rushed ahead in a burst of speed, leaving the other girls far behind.

"That's Akuma-san!?" Nei uttered in awe at Akuma's transformation. "It looks amazing."

"Cheh," Himari scoffed with a frown, "it looks more monstrous than a Shuuki."

Meanwhile, Shushu just smiled silently, no one knowing what thoughts rolled in her mind.

"You see any enemies?" Akuma inquired as he moved towards the direction Kyouka pointed him at.

"No yet. Our mission is not extermination. We just have to look over our objective until it goes away."

Soon enough, they reached their objective, a black hole looking phenomena that had rocks circling around it.

(Image)

"A black hole?" Akuma thought aloud as Kyouka got off his back so that he could stand up to his full height.

"It is a kind of gate that appears suddenly," she explained while observing the phenomena, "one that connects our mortal world to Mato. It is a two-way gate which always for both civilians and Shuuki to pass through freely, and it only lasts a few hours. Our job is to guard it until then."

Akuma picked up on a certain phrase she used, "Our mortal world? An interesting choice of words; it's as if you consider this place some sort of otherworld."

"Yet, it feels like a hellish place, does it not?" she asked solemnly while looking at the strange, barren landscape. "What is this place that appeared decades ago? Why do the peaches only give blessings to women? Not a single mystery has been cleared even after all this time."

Both master and slave suddenly felt the faint rumbling of the earth beneath their feet. Looking at the direction opposite the gate, they saw a horde of tens of Shuuki charging in their direction." 

The 7th unit chief seemed unconcerned while looking at the Shuuki, "Even their way of life is a mystery. However, we do know that they're harmful to humans."

"I'm in the mood to bash some skulls in," Akuma stepped forward towards the monsters while cracking his knuckles only to be stopped by the hand of the silver haired girl.

"Wait," she commanded, and his bond compelled him to obey, "Himari and Shushu have arrived. We'll leave those to those and focus on protecting the gate."

Just as she said that, the ground behind them cracked, and three Shuuki erupted from below in an attempt at an ambush. Unfortunately for them, Akuma's reflexes were much faster. As soon as the Shuuki rose up, their faces were already clutched in his claws. Then, with a huff, he smacked their heads together, causing them to crush each others' skulls.

The third one didn't last long as Kyouka had made short work of him with her swordmanship.

"Good job," she praised after seeing his handiwork.

"They're just weak," he dusted off his hands before turning towards the direction of the Shuuki horde.

'I wonder how the girls are doing,' he thought to himself.

He saw several Shuuki getting turned into swiss cheese by bullets fired from a gattling gun that had replaced Himari's arm. It made him slightly tilt his head in thought.

'A shapeshifting ability? Or just a doppleganger one?' he had seen many girls with different types of abilities throughout his life, so he tried to infer his new teammates' abilities from what he knew.

Looking at the other side of the horde, he saw that a bunch of Shuuki had encircled the Shushu.

Just as he was about to rush in to help, he caught a glimpse of the smirk on her face before she suddenly grew in size and turned into a giant slightly larger than the giant Shuuki he had faced.

She raised her leg and then brought it down with a Bang!

The shockwave of her attack shook the earth, and the air pressure from it eviscerated the Shuuki around her in a show of perverse strength.

When compared to blessings like this, his strength in his human form seemed laughable, but that's just how the dice rolls.

When the dust settled, the girls of the 7th unit were already back and their vehicles and on their way back to their base.

Suddenly, the sound of a chain breaking could be heard, and he was back into his human form.

"Akuma," he heard Kyouka's voice from behind him.

'Time to face the music, I guess,' he thought, remembering the 'reward' that had to be given as a consequence of his superior's ability.

"Yes, chief?"

Due to his height, Akuma had to look down at Kyouka, who had a small smile on her face. She motioned for him to lower his body.

Confused as to what shenanigans the perverted part of his subconscious had cooked up, he did as she asked and knelt down on one knee. Then, he felt a hand ruffling through his messy, crimson hair.

"You did well," Kyouka said with a measure of pride in her tone. After a few seconds of rubbing his head, she turned and left towards the direction of the 7th unit base.

'Hm?' his confusion lasted for a few moments, still feeling the remnant warmth of her hand before he remembered what she had told him about the 'reward' system.

'Once a mission is over, I, as the master have a duty to give my slave a reward fitting for their work.'

Scratching the back of his neck, he felt a bit embarrassed when he expected Kyouka to do something scandalous every time she used her ability. Even though it was the price she had to pay for her ability, it was very embarrassing to be forced to do things against your will.

He put his hands in his uniform's pockets and proceeded to head back to the 7th unit base while whistling and admiring Mato's landscape along the way.

It took ten minutes to get back to the base since five minutes through his leisure stroll, he got bored of the repeating sets of sharp rocks that covered the vicinity and simply began jogging.

When he reached the building, a yawn escaped his lips, 'That transformation must burn more energy than I thought. Or maybe it's the fact that I only had a grand total of less than four hours of sleep.'

"Hey," he heard a familiar voice, "was THAT enough to get you tired?"

Looking at the direction the voice came from, he saw the sea-green haired girl, Himari Azuma, standing at the entrance while drinking from a bottle of water.

"Sorry," he let out a second yawn as he came closer, "didn't get much sleep the night before. Should be able to function until bedtime, though."

"Hmm, is that so?" she said as she looked at the half-filled bottle in her hand before placing it directly in his hand with a dead pan expression, "then get to cleaning and throwing out the trash, caretaker."

Before he could even refute, she had already moved inside the building.

Akuma silently looked at the water bottle in his hands before shrugging and drinking whatever was left it in. He was thirsty from his jog.

As for Himari's attitude towards him? Well, he had far thicker skin than to be disturbed by her attempts at hazing. He lived his entire life in a society where women sat the top of the food chain.

He knew better than engage in a fight he knew he had a slim chance at winning. Sure, he could overpower her physically, but a single complaint from her to the HR or whatever parallel the MDF had would probably sink his new career.

His grandmother could help, considering she is a founder and all that jazz, but he didn't want to use her name just because he couldn't handle his colleagues.

If worst came to worst, he could always take up the matter to Kyouka or simply solve it himself. Only time would tell.

With a sigh at his situation, he crumpled the empty plastic bottle in his hand and proceeded to do what was his specialty for the last six years of his life.

A few hours later:

Akuma wiped off the sweat off his forehead, as he admired his handiwork. The floor of the garage shone like the surface of a mirror, making it sparkle under the LED lights. Moreover, he had arranged all the paraphernalia and various containers in there in an orderly manner and had washed and ran maintenance on the jeep and the dirt bike stored there.

Thankfully, while they were away, his grandmother had managed to send him his belongings via the MDF supply transport. It had allowed him to change his uniform into more work friendly clothes so as not to dirty it while cleaning. Currently, he was wearing a simply white t-shirt and baggy, knee-lengthed shorts that showed his chiseled quadriceps.

Sometimes, he questioned himself where all the intuitive knowledge about household chores came from. Hell, he hadn't even seen the insides of a jeep or bike before but as soon as he thought of it as an extension of his household management, he intuitively knew how to maintain and clean it until it was brand knew.

Well, he didn't have enough energy to think of a reason. Short of the matter was that he got information that others would take years to learn for free, and it didn't seem to harm him, so he shelved the matter into the deepest recesses of his mind.

With the garage cleaned, he exited it while deep in thought, 'Okay, what is left to do? The living room had been cleaned, the entrance got dusted, and I organized the kitchen and washed the week old dirty dishes. The only thing left is to take the dirty laundry to the washer. Hm?'

His thoughts were interrupted when he entered the base's courtyard and caught a glimpse of Kyouka and Himari talking.

"Your weapon switching was slow during that last battle, Himari," he heard the pink-eyed girl comment, "you should be at least able to do it 0.2 seconds faster. Give it a try."

"Yes!"

He saw weird symbols appear on the amber-eyed girl's arm as it began to morph into her desired weapon.

'Well, it's not like they are lazy on chores because they play around all day. They have to train and conserve their strength in case of attacks since they are living in their enemy's territory,' thought Akuma, gaining a new understanding of the situation in his unit.

Out of nowhere, the entire ground, along with the base, shook as the barrier that surrounded it erupted to life. Kyouka had told him about it. The barrier around the base was a much stronger version of the one she had used when he had gotten himself involved in the Mato Disaster. Its only function is to ward off Shuuki, which targets the base.

'Then-' as if to confirm his suspicion, he saw a bunch of Shuuki fall down and smash their fists onto the barrier. "Shit!"

"Akuma!" Kyouka called.

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Himari POV:

Himari stood on the shoulder of the titan-sized Shushu as they observed the horde currently surrounding their base.

"There's a lot," she said, concern evident in her voice.

"Ahaha! We have a party brewing!" laughed the giant blond, not the least bit concerned that they were being besieged.

Himari ignored her colleague's attitude and tried thinking of a way to resolve their problem, 'Shushu's giant form won't last long, and there's a limit to the ways I can attack. Even with the barrier being engaged, the base might be in danger..."

Suddenly, something immediately appeared before them as if manifesting from thin air. It was their unit chief Kyouka riding on the back of Akuma in his slave form.

"We'll divide and conquer," she ordered, glancing at their direction while in midair, "Split our surroundings into four, and you two take care of the enemies in one area each. The remaining two..."

The two proceeded to fall towards the horde of Shuuki below, "...Will be handled by Akuma and I! Go wild! Akuma!"

Himari and Shushu watched in awe as the duo cut through the Shuuki horde like a hot knife through butter. Akuma's limbs turned into a blur as he clawed, punched, and eviscerated any Shuuki that dared to stand in his way. Any Shuuki he missed was promptly handled by Kyouka's katana as she masterfully balanced herself on his back.

"Wahah~ Amazin'! Right, Himari?" came Shushu upbeat voice.

Meanwhile, the vice-chief of the 7th unit just stared in surprise and awe at the carnage scene before her.

'So... So he was that strong. Fuzen Akuma,' she observed the 8 foot demonic looking slave smashing apart Shuuki as if they were made of clay before proceeding to deal with the next one, 'he ought to be the chief's slave.'

Himari shook her head before turning to the giant green eyed girl, "Let deal with the rest Shushu."

"Hai, hai, vice-chief!" she mock saluted before each went to their designated areas to fight off the Shuuki.

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Akuma's POV:

It didn't take long to deal with all the Shuuki that had surrounded the base.

He had already turned back to his human form and was a little out of breath as a result of the stress his body went under every time he transformed. It didn't help the matter that he felt really sleepy.

Kyouka observed as Himari helped a tired Shushu walk back into the base. It was not until they were completely out of sight that she turned towards him.

"Good job, Akuma."

Raising his head, he saw her motioning for him to come closer. Expecting another head pat, he simply did as requested.

"Ye -" he was promptly silenced by Kyouka mashing her lips into his. He could taste the familiar taste of strawberries again as their tongues danced briefly, each vying for dominance over the other.

However, unlike last time, this kiss was short-lived. A trail of spit formed between their tongues as Kyouka separated herself from him.

He could see that her face had gone completely red from the kiss they shared. He truly felt sorry for her even if a baser, more primitive part of him, enjoyed it to no end.

"I'm sorry you have to go through this." A worthless vocal platitude was the best he could give.

Kyouka stared at him for a moment before her expression turned into a mixture of anger and embarrassment.

"This damned price of my power," she uttered with apparent hate before throwing down her hat, "moves my body agaist my will."

She continued to speak while slowly stripping off her uniform before his very eyes. Akuma would've been lying if he said that he didn't enjoy the view. Well, his little friend downstairs was twitching with joy.

"When the Shuuki become slaves, they'd be satisfied with pork," she took off her vest.

"In other words, if you think it through, isn't the rewards fitting for their work. The slave's latent desire?" she lost her skirt revealing the pure white panties underneath.

"You god damn pervert..." she finally lost her undershirt, which hid the white bra with black frills that held back Kyouka's unblemished breasts.

(Image)

Akuma gulped down saliva he didn't know he had in his mouth as he took in the semi-naked form of Kyouka Uzen before him. Of course, he had seen naked girls on those risque magazines the boys at school would share around or on the internet, but none came close to the heavenly view before his eyes.

His hands unconsciously twitched in an instinctive desire to explore the work of art within his grasp, but the wiser part of his brain won by a hair's breadth. He didn't want to do something that would ruin whatever he had Kyouka had.

They both stood in silence. Kyouka with only her underwear and a face that could rival a tomato in redness and win and Akuma with a raging boner that was mostly hidden by his baggy shorts, thankfully.

Then, the half-naked silver haired girl moved towards Akuma's body until she was close enough that he could smell the sweet aroma coming off of her.

It was really straining his willpower to not give up all inhibition and run wild. He felt slender arms wrap around his head before he felt a tug, and his head gently descended into a wondrous, soft valley.

"Are... Are you really okay with this... for a reward...!?" asked Kyouka through gritted teeth as she hugged Akuma's face into her bosom.

'Honestly? Yes, yes I am,' thought the red-headed teen as Kyouka's smell invaded his nostrils and drilled itself into his brain while the softness imprinted itself into his mind.

It had turned into a core memory now. There was no way he would forget this.

'All my fatigue... is going away,' his thoughts ran as he felt himself entering a very weird state of mind. His body that was dead tired from continuous transformation and lack of sleep felt incredibly light and refreshed right now.

However, a part of his brain, the part that held the teachings of his grandparents, thought differently, "But... isn't this..."

The 'reward' session continued for a few more minutes before Kyouka quickly separated from Akuma and moved towards where she had discarded her clothes.

The yellow-eyed teenager turned his back to her to give the girl a semblance of privacy while she wore her clothes.

After a few minutes, the rustling of clothes vanished, indicating that she was done.

"Kyouka," he said, "are you really alright with this?"

"With what?" she decided to feign ignorance.

"Well..." Akuma had to choose his words carefully, "even if you have to give these 'rewards' due to your ability but having to go this far for them... isn't it hard?"

Kyouka's silence made him break into a cold sweat, "W-What I mean is that... do you really need me to be here? As far as I can tell, Shushu-san can easily take my place with her ability. If you're uncomfortable with the things that your ability springs on you due to my 'latent desires' as you call it, then you can just have me moved to a different unit. I won't hold it against you."

It was after a brief period of silence that she spoke again, "I told you, it's so I can eliminate the Shuuki."

Akuma saw a solemn expression appear on Kyouka's face, "I was also a victim of a Mato Disaster."

"What?" That little bit of trivia surprised him.

She looked up and stared at the black disc that hovered over Mato like some sort of Sun/Moon, "Have you heard of the Gassan Oisawa incident? I am its only survivor."

Akuma's eyes widened; distinctly remembered hear something like that on the news when he was a kid, he only remembered it because of the uproar it caused, 'The Gassan Oisawa incident, a catastrophe where Shuuki destroyed an entire village. No wonder she bears such a heavy grudge.'

He watched in silence as Kyouka continued, her voice becoming harsher in tone, "There are some who say peaches and the Shuuki are subjects of study, but I am different. I have no intention of letting people suffer for that."

The scabbard of her katana creaked as she increased her grip on it, "I'll wipe them out swiftly! And to make that a reality, I need power."

'Power... huh,' Akuma wondered as he stared at his hands. It was large, rough, and filled with various micro cuts and calluses he had accumulated throughout his life before tightening it into a fist, 'no, it's too dangerous. I'll manage without it.'

"...And," Kyouka's voice brought his attention back to her, "my dislike is surprisingly low with you."

The male teen scratched the back of his head, unsure of what to make of what she said.

"We can draw immense power through our bond, so that should mean that our compatibility is great."

"Kyouka, I -"

"Sure, I said all that," she suddenly said, nonchalantly ruining the whole mood, "but who would get embarrassed by getting into the bath with their cat or dog? It's the same as that."

'A... A dog!?' Akuma was stunned in his place by the analogy.

"Doing something like that with a slave..." The more she spoke, the more he was assured she was trying to rationalize something in her mind, "yeah, it's nothing to fuss about."

With a flick of her long silver hair, she turned and confidently walked towards the base.

'Well, whatever,' Akuma thought with a satisfied expression, 'as long as she doesn't lose her confidence, I'm sure things will work out.'

"Oh, also," she said while standing in front of the entrance, "it seemed Himari has been ordering you quite a bit without me knowing. I'll take care of that." She fixed her hat, "If all you do is work, you'll be tired when it really counts. In addition, you are an official member of unit 7, so you have to put time into training too."

"Thanks, Kyouka."

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Twenty minutes later:

Akuma was holding a mop and was busy cleaning the courtyard from the aftermath of the Shuuki attack.

He simply couldn't leave it in the state it was in when he saw it. Moreover, the 'reward' session with Kyouka had mystically managed to alleviate some of the fatigue he had.

Just the memory was enough to have his downstairs neighbor wake up and pitch a tent.

"You must be kidding me," the crimson haired teen muttered with a sigh, "this is not a good look."

Suddenly, he heard some sort of noise coming from the other side of the courtyard. Both, out of curiosity and in an attempt to distract himself, so that the junior would go back to sleep, he decided to investigate.

He moved towards the direction of the noise. He was led to the edge of a wall that had been abruptly cut off. The source of the noise was behind said wall.

Giving in to his curiosity, he tilted his head past the edge of the wall to see his target.

His pupils turned into pin pricks at the scene before him. Apparently, the base of the 7th MDF unit had an open hotspring bath, and in said bath were Himari, whose head was being washed by Nei. Did he mention that they were both buck naked?

Akuma immediately retracted his head and pushed himself against the wall in the faint hope that it would absorb him into it. Alas, no such luck. To make matters worse, the goliath between his legs returned with a vengeance, having received more fuel.

'Why the fuck is the open bath in the open!?' he suddenly felt like he lost a few brain cells when he asked himself that. 'No, the most important question is... What am I still doing here? Let's skedadle! It was an accident! As long as nobody saw me, it will all be all ri-"

"I saw you~!" a feminine voice said in a singsong tone.

Akuma literally felt as if someone poured liquid nitrogen into his veins.

To his horror, out of one of the bush in front of him came a familiar blond haired, curvaceous girl.

'But... how is she so small?'

Said girl began growing in size as she came towards him until she was back to her original height. She was a wide-topped t-shirt with the words 'See See' written on top of one another and black colored short shorts that revealed the full extent on her toned legs. He now could see the phone she held in her hand.

'God... please, don't...,' he prayed with every fiber of his being that this was not what he thought it was.

"Surprised?" she asked in a cheerful tone like a child on christmas eve, "Shushu's ability also allows for shrinking!"

'Calm down, Akuma, let's first take the diplomatic approach. Maybe this is all a misunderstanding. Shushu looks like the carefree kind, maybe she won't even care,' he tried to calm himself internally before giving the green-eyed girl the best smile he could give currently, "Shushu-san, may I ask what you are doing here..?"

"Man, you really suck as smiling," she laughed at his expense before showing him something on her phone that made his mind short circuit. It was a picture taken at the exact moment when he had looked over the edge of the wall to see the scene from before.

'If this gets out, I'm doomed,' Akuma could hear his heart trying to escape his chest.

"I've been watching you," she confessed easily enough as she pointed at the picture, "I wanted to see what men really are. Just look! Perfect timing!"

"S-Shushu-san, it's all a misunderstanding see-," he tried to explain his situation but was prompty silenced by what she said next.

"I wonder what the chief will say if she saw this," she 'thought' loudly.

'Fuck! She's blackmailing me. Do I have to use violence? No, I won't win against her size changing ability even with my strength. Negotiation it is.'

Akuma let out a sigh of exasperation, "It is clear you have your own agenda in this. What do you want for this picture not to see the light of day?"

"I'm glad you asked," she said with a jubilant expression, "you see, the thrill is the key."

"If you don't want this photo to leak," she got closer to his face and whispered, a devilish grin appearing on her lips, "then, become my slave, Caretaker.~"

'Why me?' Akuma lamented over his situation. 'Is it too late to switch to the 10th division? Where can I hand in my letter of resignation? Commander Yamashiro, please save me!'

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In the base of the 10th MDF Division:

Ren Yamashiro let out a cute sneeze.

'Weird, did I catch a cold?' she thought before refocusing her attention on the paperwork before her.