"Wow. Even I wouldn't do that." Isaka rolled her eyes as she sipped on her lemonade.
Maybe she should have kept talking to Seth... but she instead turned to Abby. "I mean, I
just wouldn't let Sakura go out with some chick, who I definitely knew wanted to have a
taste of her."
The demon let out a long sigh. "Look, Krystal was unhappy and a friend called. Her
friend is gay, but that doesn't mean they're going to start screwing each other." Abby
shrugged. "Probably not. Just make sure you keep an eye on what she does with her friend."
Isaka looked over at the blonde and spotted a hickey on her neck. "How's family life?"
The demon asked. Abby tried not to turn red. "Wonderful. Except Tycara has an uncanny
ability to want to cuddle with her mommies right when they're getting down to it. I had to
bribe Eveon, and Mina when she comes over, to take Tycara into her room instead." The
brunette laughed. "Really? What did you bribe her with?"
"Hands on instruction and toys."
Isaka never considered herself a bashful person, nor one to be shy about her sexual
exploits, but lemonade did shoot up her nose from that comment. "B-b-but, aren't you the one
who needs help talking to her?"
Abby smiled. "Well, I told her I would give her those things unless she let her little
sister sleep with her when she wanted cuddle time. Eveon didn't call my bluff." Isaka
carefully drunk her lemonade. She briefly wondered if she was being out-lesbianed by Abby.
It was quite possible...
Abby then let out a sigh. "But it's so horribly awkward - I have to be on my guard
every second of the day. Eveon desperately wants to get me back for all my lesbian jokes...
the only way I can combat it is by being very open and just scaring her off."
Isaka was going to ask what 'scaring her off' meant, but she was about to get a front
row seat to it. Eveon came walking into the kitchen with Sakura behind her. The demon
couldn't help but smile at the interaction. Sakura wasn't her real mother, but Eveon didn't
seem to have a problem with it at all.
The blonde girl said, "Oh hey, Isaka. What are you doing here?" Isaka shrugged. "Oh,
Krystal's busy with stuff so I decided to come and hang out." It was then that the teenager
gave her mother a long glance. "Mommy," she said, a smile spreading across her face. "Is
that a hickey on your neck from Sakura?"
Abby visibly flinched and Isaka tried not to laugh. However, she was surprised at the
young mother's response to Eveon. "Oh, did she? Sakura's really quite good at those kinds of
things." The angel blushed and watched Abby get up from her seat. "In fact, it's a pretty
nice mark, isn't it?"
She hugged Sakura and looked down at her daughter. "In fact, I'm sure Sakura won't
mind to give you a demonstration so you can use it later on Mina!" Eveon's smile disappeared
and she backed away. "That's cool Mommy, but no... No, I'm good. I really don't want to see
you guys since it's like you know..." Eveon scooted away from her 'parents', looking very
out of place.
"You know what - Mommy, Sakura - I actually have lots of homework to do!" Thus, Eveon
Kasaguri made her grand exit from the room. Isaka burst out laughing, more so at the
relieved looks of Sakura and Abby. "I wonder how many more times I'll have to embarrass her
before she stops trying to catch me," the blonde murmured.
Sakura cupped her face and turned it to look at the hickey on Abby's neck. "Hmm, guess
I did leave a mark..." The angel gave her lover a peck on the lips and Isaka rolled her
eyes. Of course she had to be the lonely little lesbian today - that's what she got for not
assuring Krystal of her love.
*****
"This is crazy - I've never been to something like this before," Krystal said, smiling
at Tsuru. "Well, I'm glad you like it." They were sitting at a bench a little ways away from
all the stands and the crowd. The blonde girl looked a little exhausted from all the
excitement.
Tsuru let a relieved sigh, happy that nothing horrible had happened on their "mock
date". It was really a date - nope, not at all. Just a friendly outing. That's all. It kind
of sunk her ship, but she didn't mind. The fact that they'd had good conversation and fun
together was good enough for Tsuru.
Just as she was about to ask if Krystal wanted to go home, Tsuru felt a weight drop in
her stomach and something clutch at her chest. She tried to breathe deeply as she looked
around for the source of her problem. There was a powerful demon hiding nearby and she
hadn't noticed it until now. Krystal gave her a concerned look.
Tsuru knew that if Krystal - quite an adept exorcist - couldn't feel it, then
something was horribly wrong. "There's something here!" Tsuru said frantically as she got up
from the bench and ran down to the field on the outskirts of the mall property. Krystal
followed her, worried. She couldn't feel anything around them.
She knew that the construction of the mall was pretty new and that the field would be
unnoticed by many. Of course a demon would strike there - but she still couldn't see it.
Tsuru cursed to herself as she started to tear at the bandages over her right eye. She
didn't exactly intend on ending her first outing with Krystal this way.
The blonde girl came up beside her as she open her often neglected right eye. A scar
ran down it and its color was a murky, rusty red, like that of dried blood. Krystal couldn't
help, but stare for there was an ominous aura coming from Tsuru's eye.
It was then that the blue haired girl could find the demon, using her eye to pinpoint.
Perfect day to not have weapons. "Krystal, do you know any banishment rituals?" The exorcist
snapped out of her stupor. "Banishment? I think I only know one... but I've never had to use
that before."
Tsuru stepped in front of her. "Well, I don't think you know any Seventh Seals, so
that's the best we'll have to do... You prepare it and I will distract the demon." It was
hiding, but she could feel its presence and see its aura. As long as she kept Krystal safe,
that was all that mattered.
Krystal suddenly asked, "Tsuru... can't you perform any of these?" Her new found
friend gave her a small smile. "Not anymore. I was good at them once, but I can't do
anything that requires holy power. I can do simple stuff, but this thing is far from
simple... the only thing I have to compensate is my demon eye."
She would have asked more, but Krystal suddenly felt the full force of the demon as it
started to reveal itself. Tsuru watched the young woman double over and suddenly realized
that this may not work out too well. She had dealt with this kind of monster long ago, but
to have Krystal deal with this kind of thing wasn't too smart.
"Krystal, I need you to be strong. I will protect you." Tsuru watched as Krystal
kneeled down and began the ritual. The shadow beast appeared in front of Tsuru, much
stronger than the one she'd met before. But... She wheeled around to look at her
surroundings. There was only one person she knew of that could summon this thing...
And Tsuru knew that one person would confront her, not hide behind this beast. She may
not have her swords, but she charged at the roaring dragon. Krystal, on the other hand, was
having trouble concentrating on an art she barely knew with the crazy dragon in the
background. She took a deep breath and continued on. She'd never faced anything this
strong...
Speaking of strong, Tsuru was feeling pretty good about herself - she still had a nice
right hook and even if she wasn't using a big sword, the shadow beast was still being hurt.
Krystal still wasn't done and the beast turned its attention to the blonde. Oh crap. Tsuru
rushed over to where she was as the claw came crashing down on Krystal.
The blonde closed her eyes and cowered into the ground, thinking that this was all
over and why oh why did her last moment with Isaka have to be so crappy? "You... you need to
finish the ritual, Krystal." She looked up to see Tsuru holding up the monstrous claw and
giving her a reassuring smile. "I told you I would protect you, right?"
Krystal nodded. "Gotcha." With a renewed sense of confidence, she completed the
ritual.
"Banishing Art: Pyre Gate!" Tsuru, still keeping them from being crushed, blanches.
Pyre Gate. Krystal's only banishment move was Pyre Gate. They were so screwed - that was the
lowest level banishment in the world! The universe! She must have had VERY limited
instruction.
Tsuru was quite sure that Krystal's tiny Pyre Gate would barely wound the monster and
they'd have to retreat. However, she was shocked to see the beast flooded with light, much
more so than a normal art should have allowed. It disappeared in a wail and a scream. Tsuru
looked at Krystal in amazement.
The young woman had been able to take out a normal shadow beast with one strike and
then she took out that abnormal, powerful beast with one of the lowest level arts she knew
of. Damn. Krystal got on her feet and wiped at her skirt. "Whew... that wasn't too bad,
haha..."
"Krystal... you're amazing! Where did you get all that power?" Tsuru asked and the
other girl replied, "Well, the man who taught me some stuff said it was because I had great
natural potential and a well of power. He was a traveler, so I only learned the basics."
Tsuru grasped her hands.
"What a wonderful opportunity! I've never seen someone with that much power before -
you do realize how much you could do, right? Man, why did I leave the manuscripts behind...
we need to get you training!" Krystal gave her an awkward nod and Tsuru continued on.
"If only I were prepared, then I would take you on as my pupil or something, but...
ah! So much work to do - I didn't realize how little you knew about exorcism until now...
you know what - since I can't be that great of a teacher, in your free time, I would like
you to go find a shrine or temple or something of that nature to get someone to hone your
skills, alright?"
It was a bit too much for Krystal to handle (she never thought she'd have to
'practice' exorcism), so Tsuru explained it as she walked her to the train station.
*****
"I guess she can't see me with her demon eye," a voice from the shadows said, watching
Tsuru leave the field with Krystal. The figure stepped back into the foliage, looking at the
other shadow behind them. They gave it a light kick and was rewarded with a soft, pained
moan.
"Your power isn't as great as I thought it would be. Why don't you submit? Our master
is very kind... or maybe you don't take well to being usurped from your position?" The
shadow said nothing. The figured patted its head, almost lovingly. "It's okay - you're still
very important to us... the first step to getting our master back."
The figure started grabbed its charge and began to walk deeper into the forest.
Everything was coming into place... and they knew that their two superiors would be quite
happy with the development of the new player -
Krystal.
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