61 A Sudden Return

"K-Kat... stop!"

Mina giggled as she pinned Kat down. She kissed her softly, laying against her body.

"Kat..."

"Hehe... umm. Magic is wonderful."

"We've been in here for four fucking days! Literally and metaphorically..."

Mina turned pink as she buried her face against Kat's skin.

"You're just that wild. Your innocent appearance is a sham."

Mina practically purred as she felt Kat's fingers run across her back.

"I gotta go though. My friends are waiting for me. You know they're probably worried."

Kat sighed softly, but her smile never faded as she tapped Mina's nose.

"I'll be keeping an eye on you, though if you get frisky with anyone else... I'll turn away."

Mina turned scarlet.

"Wh-what?! I know you're really cool with this stuff, but uh... it's not fair."

Mina looked away as Kat sat up.

"What's not fair? The fact I want the love of my life to be happy? The fact I'm willing to share your heart? You're too good to keep to myself, so why should I? Those girls all love you. They may not realize it, but their hearts are pure. It's sweet to watch."

Mina covered Kat's mouth, lowering her head.

"Dummy. It's not fair to you. Haven't you realized yet?"

Kat nodded softly, kissing Mina's hands.

"Greed. You want everything... though more like, you don't want to share what's yours."

Mina straddled Kat, looking down at her.

"Is it a problem?"

"Ha. Not at all. I fine with sharing, but I have no intention of being shared. So stop pouting... and either cover up or get out. Your body is way too stimulating."

Mina sighed, leaning down. She kissed Kat slowly, pulling away as she began to fade away.

"I love you, Kat."

"Love you too, Mina. Now get out, you're too cute."

As Mina vanished, Kat covered her eyes with her arm. Her smile faltered slightly as she placed her free hand over her heart.

"Sorry, baby. Just keeping fighting for this world."

-

Mina opened her eyes to a familiar office. She was alone again, though her eyes were dragged to a strange black stone. A notification appeared as she went to grab it.

[Blessed Gem of Shadow has been found. Please Devour.]

"Ah. No. Could be someone else's."

A voice from behind nearly made her jump.

"Good ahead. The girls found it for you."

Xander stood in the doorway, his injuries fully healed. He approached, though remained a little distant.

"What's wrong?"

"Mina, you've been away for a few days. Do you know how scared everyone was? Even I was worried, though not so badly as your friends. Losing my sister again, even if not being her, it'd have been devaststing. I don't know why you stayed away, so I respect that wish. I remain seperate."

"Pfft. No! Stop worrying. Nothing serious happened, just a lot of... steam."

"Steam? O-oh."

Uncharacteristically, Xander turned a little red before scratching his neck.

"If you're so inexperienced yourself, try Lily. She seemed interst-"

"Lily is gone. She pissed off your friends, then chose to leave. Apparently, she questioned your desire to return to your friends. She... she broke Fubuki's heart saying that."

Mina instantly tossed her blade over Xander's shoulder, appearing behind him as she darted out of the room and down the stairs. Tripping, Mina fell forward and landed on a startled white haired girl with fluffy wolf ears.

"Mina?"

Fubuki reached for her, pulling her hand back awkwardly.

"Welcome back."

Her smile was sad, but Mina simply glared at her.

"Welcome back?"

Mina crawled up Fubuki's long legs, placing her ear between her breasts. Her heart thundered in Mina's ear, the speed shocking Mina.

"Huh. Is this because of me?"

Fubuki looked away slightly, her ears going flat.

"Mina, don't tease me. I'm just your follow-"

Mina quickly covered Fubuki's mouth.

"Whoa, whoa. Can you explain why you wanna sit their and lie to me? You, my follower? Ha. You're my cherished friend. Now shut up, get a hug and smile for real!"

Mina pounced, knocking Fubuki onto her back. Fubuki trembled under Mina as she wrapped her strong arms around her back.

"Mina... do you plan to abandon us?"

Mina couldn't see them, but the door to the adjacent room was slightly ajar. Her friends were all watching with weary gazes.

"Abandon? The hell? I'd rather fix the bullshit that Vex caused, then live happily with all of you! You're my important friends- oh shit!"

Mina was suddenly swarmed by a collective swarm of beast girls. Melody, Rin and Mai stood off to the side watching, but Melody was heavily stopping herself from jumping in. Mina raised her eyebrow at her, the gesture signalling Melody's breaking point. She briskly walked over, kneeling beside Mina and extending her hand.

"Master... it's been a while."

The group quickly settled, everyone excited to see Mina had returned. Mai, on the other hand, though happy was despondent. She never mentioned Lilly.

'Heh. You've got a follower, Hysteria.'

'Tch.'

Rin looked much better, fully functioning and glad to see Mina.

"So that gem?"

Melody perked up.

"The succubus dropped it. Inferna and Fubuki found it when they explored the last floor again. It hadn't vanished, so they chose to hand it over to you."

"Its a Blessed Gem. It's the same as the small red gem on my blade."

Mina placed the gem against her core, activating [Devour].

[You have successfully devoured the Blessed Gem of Shadows.

You already own the given skills.]

Mina looked at the blade as a small purple-black gem appeared next to the red one. To her surprise, a small white one also appeared.

[Congratulations. The Blessed Stone of Light has appeared within you.

Sword Body, Level up. 50/50 Evolution ready. Please return to your Sword Body to commenced evolution.]

"Oh. I can evolve my Sword Body again."

Mina looked up, everyone looking at her with curiosity and concern. She tilted her head, realizing they were staring behind her. On her back, a large pair of beautiful wings flapped softly.

"Huh?"

--

Thank you,

JScott, croix and Tech!