Changed Tokiyo from second cousin to distant cousin, so even though
Nana Ishioka isn't Ken's actual great-grandmother, he grew up knowing
her so calls her that. It was a bit too close to Nami/Satoru situation
before. That is for those of you who have been following this series.
The rest are likely to be very confused. :)
Also not a lot of limeish content this time out. Not sure if I need
the tag, but thought to be better safe than sorry.
Thanks to Orlean, Ragun Paul Moody, Luther D Frisch, Henry J. Cobb,
Adrian Tymes, Thierry Chartrand, E.L.Toh, and Sean Taylor for
having a comment or two about the previous chapter.
***
Kumiko the Demon-girl
(A Lime-flavored Original Fic)
By Ammadeau
Roy.Fokker@UNSpacy.org
http://www.thekeep.org/~amm/
Chapter 12: Polite Dinner Conversation
***
Natsume sighed internally as she glanced around the front
room of her coffee shop. A few hours work and it would be ready
to pass a health inspection with flying colors. Flyers and other
promotional materials were already in her office upstairs, only
waiting for the date of her grand opening to be written in. Once
she could figure out what that date would be, that is.
However, these were things Natsume just couldn't do alone
and the staff that she had so recently hired didn't look inclined to
work at the moment. Ayame sat at one of the tables and directed a
uncharacteristically irritated expression at her former lover.
Kumiko glared right back at her, while keeping a firm grip on her
new boyfriend. Poor Ken just looked plain bewildered. Natsume
couldn't blame him. His day seemed full of surprises, and not
exactly pleasant ones.
She had to think of some way to break up all this tension,
especially before Ken's cousin Tokiyo came back downstairs, as
her obvious interest in Ken would only add more dynamite to the
potential explosion. Natsume pitied the girl to come all this way
over feelings for a man who was completely clueless about it. So
much like Ayame in a way. They both needed to let their feelings
go and move on. Natsume didn't think she would be able to
comfort both at once, but she supposed the humanitarian thing
would be to try...
The sound of footsteps on the stairwell broke the sandy-
haired girl out of that thought. With only a slight trace of
nervousness, she hurriedly spoke before another confrontation
could emerge.
"I bet everyone is hungry now. Why don't we all catch
some dinner someplace, and then take a nice peaceful walk around
town afterwards? This town has some nice spots for the visiting
girls. Right, Ken?"
"Huh?" Ken replied, who had been busy devising a scheme
to free his right arm before the demon-girl's iron grip rendered it
useless. Her possessiveness was now more of a pain than a
comfort, making him wonder why he'd covet her domination in the
first place. Did he really want the rest of his life, short though it
may be, to be like this?
"Oh, yeah. Dinner sounds good," he quickly agreed when
his brain finished processing Natsume's statement. Kumiko was
more likely to behave in public, though not by much, and he was
sure that the angel wouldn't pull out her flaming sword before
witnesses. His cousin was still an unknown; no longer acting, or
even looking, much like her old self. Ken was still puzzled to why
she would come all that way just to see him.
"Well, I'll go anywhere Ken-chan goes!" Tokiyo declared as
she raced over to her cousin and secured a firm grip on his free
arm, resting her head on his shoulder as she snuggled up close to
him; trying to use her new, more mature body to its full advantage.
"Ken-chan is _my_ name for _my_ slave!" Kumiko loudly
insisted as she snuggled up closer to Ken so she could shout right
in the face of the usurper, her hands clutching his body
possessively. "Only I can call him that!"
"He was my Ken-chan first!" Tokiyo insisted, hugging her
cousin even closer to her while she glared at the selfish and
arrogant woman who was trying to dominate her poor Ken. Tokiyo
had to do everything in her power to save him from such a horrible
fate. He was much too kind and sweet to be condemned to a
lifetime of slavery. "I've been calling him that years before you
even met him!"
In the meantime, Ken was lost in a world of pure hedonistic
bliss while two healthy females attempted to crush him with their
soft and voluptuous bodies. Ironically, the expression on his face
was much like someone overcome with religious ecstasy, aside
from the drool.
Natsume had to break up the current argument before it got
out of hand. Besides, Ken was obviously enjoying it too much.
"Let's get going, people. We need to find a place to eat
before all the cafes get crowded. After coming all this way, it
would be a shame if Tokiyo had to catch her train without seeing
some of the sites. Right, Ken?"
"Yeah, right," Ken reluctantly replied to his friend, who
was poking him repeatedly on the chest to get his attention. He
frowned as she grinned back at him, ruining his moment of
indulgence. "Toki-chan did travel all this way and I'm sure Kumiko
wants to sample more... local cuisine."
Ken suddenly felt guilty over using his cousin for his hentai
fantasies. She was still young and obviously na�ve about the effect
her newly matured body could have on a man. He would have to
look out for her during her short stay in town. There were a lot of
creeps out there.
Natsume nodded in satisfaction to Ken's response, both
spoken and unspoken, and said as she glanced around at the others,
"Is everyone else ready to go? Tokiyo?"
Still maintaining a firm grip on her cousin's left arm,
Tokiyo picked up the urn she had set on the table and reluctantly
nodded. She would have much preferred spending the little time
she had left alone with her cousin, but neither she nor her great-
grandmother could think of a way to ditch the leech woman that
seemed to have Ken under her wicked spell.
"Kumiko?"
"Food," the demon-girl said with half-hearted enthusiasm.
She wanted to do something about the pushy human girl trying to
take her slave away, but the chance to sample more human
foodstuffs was something she couldn't pass up. She couldn't use
her demonic powers to scare the girl off either, not with Ayame
there. The angel was probably waiting for just such an opportunity
to take Ken for herself.
"Ayame?"
The angel-girl blinked in surprise to hear her name being
called. She had been glaring back at the monster who had gotten
her stuck on the mortal world for a year. Not that it was such a bad
place, thanks to her generous host, but it was yet more evidence of
the demon-girl's selfishness, and more reason she should be driven
back to hell where she belonged. Though after forcing her foul
lusts onto a human like that, perhaps even hell wouldn't accept her.
Even the infernal realm had some standards.
*When did I become so unprofessional?!* Ayame raged at
herself for letting her personal feelings cloud her judgment once
more. Her duty was clear. She was to observe the human named
Kensuke for her report, and also as an angel she had to protect
Tokiyo from supernatural harm. It was obviously too late for Ken;
the man had to be completely corrupt to submit to the demon's
disgusting urges.
Thankfully, her host didn't seem to be in any immediate
danger, but Ayame would keep a watchful eye on her nonetheless.
Such an innocent and pure soul like Natsume would be a tempting
target for any demon or other supernatural being that preyed on
unsuspecting humans.
"I will accompany you, Natsume," Ayame finally replied
with a short bow. Even if it meant enduring the company of
Kumiko, her responsibility as an angel could not be ignored.
Natsume blushed faintly, resisting the sudden urge to tell
Ken and his two girlfriends to get lost. Instead, she gently but
firmly herded them all out the door and onto the already darkening
street before another argument could begin. With a small sigh, the
sandy-haired girl glanced around her half-completed coffee shop
one last time before locking the door behind her.
Marching order had quickly fallen into place after leaving
Natsume's coffee shop behind. Natsume herself was out front to
lead the way, though found herself frequently turning around to
grab the interest of the others in an attempt to avert serious
disagreements. Guiding a company of three beautiful women after
the day she had had, the sandy-haired girl couldn't help but be in
high spirits, though was still aware that this brittle peace could only
be maintained through constant vigilance. In her mind, it was a
small price to pay for such welcome company.
Ayame walked beside her. She had wanted to linger at the
back of their line; so she could keep a close eye on the demon and
make sure she wasn't up to any mischief. Her host had been
concerned about her trailing behind, however, and she had
reluctantly taken the place beside her. The angel-girl found it made
a much more pleasant journey if she could simply pretend that she
and Natsume were traveling alone, but she just couldn't resist
glancing back occasionally at the demon and frowning at whatever
she was currently up to.
Ken walked just behind Natsume and Ayame. He was
currently wondering if he'd ever get his arms free again. Kumiko
still clung onto his right, while Tokiyo had taken up residence on
his left. He didn't really understand why he had suddenly become
the world's most perfect arm rest. The demon-girl knew that with
the bond that connected him, he had no chance of escape, and
while his cousin had always been close to him, this was ridiculous.
It didn't help that he jumped instinctively whenever the lid
of that urn she was carrying rattled. The sudden appearance of
demons and angels had him thinking that there just might be more
to that than a girl who deeply missed her great-grandmother.
She was one person he secretly hadn't missed at all. Nana
had sometimes watched over Ken and Tokyio when they had been
younger, and her piercing gaze had always intimidated him. With
all that had happened to him lately, the last thing he needed was
her ghost haunting his footsteps.
"So Toki-chan..." Ken fished for a safe topic of
conversation to break up the ominous silence that hung over their
little group, not to mention a new skirmish stirring in the war of
stares. It was obvious that Kumiko and Tokiyo didn't like each
other, and he feared for his cousin's safety. "How are your
parents?"
"Oh, they've been so overprotective since you left, Ken-
chan," Tokiyo replied after a moment of thought, making sure to
emphasize her cousin's nickname to the woman who only wished
she could claim it as her own. Not that Tokiyo would be so petty
to fight over a name like that. It did, however, reveal another fault
to the temptress that was trying to ensnare her innocent cousin.
"You know me. I still forget to look before I leap, and my
recent... changes haven't made anything easier. I'm sure they'd feel
much better if you were always there to look out for me. You
know how my parents trust and adore you."
"Well, I had to go back to college," Ken replied nervously.
>From the look in his cousin's eyes, he had the suspicion that was a
hidden meaning to her words that he was better off not
understanding. "I'm sure you still fall out of trees when I'm not
there to catch you anyway."
Tokiyo giggled in amusement, faint blush freckling her
cheeks. "Yes, but now the only place I can feel safe... is in your
arms."
"What are you two talking about?!" Kumiko snapped at the
grinning girl in irritation. She was coming to truly hate this smug
human girl, who seemed unable to get the message that Ken
belonged to the demon-girl and her alone. This was only made
worse by the fact that with her former friend Ayame watching, she
couldn't use any of her demonic powers which would easily drive
the wimpy mortal off. She knew from her observances in Hell that
humans were cowards at heart.
So Kumiko was left with no alternative other than to face
this challenger like a mortal woman and beat her at her own game.
Not having parents of her own placed her at a disadvantage in the
first match, and the intimate in-talk between the girl and Ken
grated on her nerves until she couldn't help shouting out at them.
"Nothing important, Kumiko," Ken quickly assured the
demon-girl, who had that 'you are five seconds away from a
whipping' look in her eye. Being punished in private was bad
enough; he had already experienced enough public humiliation to
last a lifetime.
"It's just my cousin Toki-chan is a bit obsessed with
exploring. Back where she's from, she can't pass by a tree without
trying to climb it or let an animal walk by without trying to catch it.
She never stops to consider the consequences, leaving me to bail
her out of trouble again and again," Ken explained, then chuckled
as a thought occurred to him. "She's a lot like you in that way."
Ken realized he had said exactly the wrong thing when both
women stopped moving simultaneously, forcing him to halt as well
since they still maintained a death grip on his arms.
"Ken-chan...," Tokiyo began to say in the very opposite of
the cheerful tone she normally used his nickname with. "Please
don't compare me to that... woman. We're not alike _at all_."
Kumiko nodded firmly in agreement, thought her eyes were
hard as she stared back at the girl who was quickly becoming the
worst thing about the mortal world. "Don't forget, Ken-chan. You
belong to me and not that little girl."
"Little girl!?" Tokiyo echoed in anger, the insult enough to
crack her fragile newborn mature facade. She wasn't a little girl
anymore, and her bra size proved it. "Well... at least I'm not some
over the hill hag who dies her hair blue to hide the fact she's going
grey!"
"This is my hair's natural color." Kumiko blinked back at
the girl in confusion as she held up one of her azure locks for
inspection. "Why would anyone dye their hair?"
Seeing both Tokiyo and Natsume staring back at Kumiko in
surprise, and Ayame just shaking her head, Ken was suddenly
afraid that this simple question could quickly snowball into a
revelation that would send them all straight to Hell.
So he quickly explained, "She was just joking! Weren't
you, Kumiko? After all, we all know that no _human being_ has
naturally blue hair. She just uses a special shampoo that's so easy
to use that it just seems natural. Right?"
"Huh?" Kumiko replied, more confused then before. Was
her slave coming down with some sort of bizarre human illness?
His voice sounded funny and his right eye seemed to have
developed a nervous twitch, making him wink rapidly. She would
have to ask Takashi for information on human diseases and give
Ken a thorough examination when they got back home.
Despite Kumiko's bewilderment, Ken's sudden display had
the desired effect of the mortal women redirecting their bafflement
onto him and forgetting what had stunned them in the first place.
"If you're done performing, Ken, can we get moving?"
Natsume asked in a flat tone while glancing around to make sure
no one else was watching. Sometimes it was embarrassing just to
be seen in public with him. "I'm sure all the girls are hungry."
"I'm done," Ken replied with his head hung low in shame.
It seemed that no matter what he did, he couldn't avoid public
humiliation. When Kumiko pressed up against him to drag him
along, however, he decided that his life wasn't all bad.
"... and this store is a great place to get deals on nice
looking blouses," Natsume narrated as she walked along, pointing
all the places of interest like a tour guide. She realized that the
more she talked, the less chance of the others breaking into an
argument. They were still trading distrustful glances, but courtesy
prevented them from interrupting to begin yet another battle.
Natsume really wished there was some way they could all
get along. Kumiko and Ayame were her employees now, and
hopefully her good friends as well in the future. And Tokiyo was
so young and innocent... reminding the sandy-haired girl of herself
before she had met Mio. "... I don't like hats much, but this place
seems to have great bargains on--"
"Let's eat here!" Kumiko shouted suddenly, interrupting
Natsume's monologue, which she hadn't been paying attention to at
all. The demon-girl had been busy snuggling up to her slave,
enjoying his delicious body heat while ignoring the glares of the
little mortal girl clinging to his other side like some sort of a
parasite. Then out of the corner of her eye, she had recognized the
caf� that Ken had taken her to a day or so ago. She remembered all
the interesting names on the menu that she still longed to try.
Kumiko hurried for the entrance without waiting for a reply,
dragging Ken along behind her.
"You're so mean for interrupting Natsume-san, Kumiko!"
Tokiyo raged at her rival after being forced to let go of her cousin,
the woman tugging him right out of her grasp. She had been
paying very close attention to the sandy-haired woman's speech, as
it contained many tips on how to stretch her meager allowance to
cover all of her needs as a mature woman, like fashionable clothes
and makeup. Things that would give her an advantage over a
woman who obviously had no sense of style.
"Yes, it was rude and selfish. Just the sort of thing I'd
expect from that de... woman," Ayame agreed, her flat tone
wavering only slightly as she nearly made a verbal slip.
She too had been paying close attention to her host's
explanations of another aspect of the human world which the angel
had not completely understood before. Humans were much more
complex than she had first expected, but Natsume had a way of
explaining their actions that made them clearly comprehensible.
Aside from one very large drawback, her stay in the mortal world
should prove to be a fascinating one.
The angel-girl was idly considering using the knowledge
she was gaining now to compose a guide to help new angels serve
humans better. Then she realized how arrogant this thought was
when she still had so much left to learn herself. There was no way
that a bungler could add to the great knowledge contained within
the Halls of Information.
"No, it's good that Kumiko spoke up. I was so into my little
lecture that I completely forgot why we're out here in the first
place," Natsume quickly countered, with the hopes of avoiding yet
another argument. Not that she had high hopes, since the other two
women seemed ready to raze Kumiko at the slightest opportunity.
"I'm hungry too, and I can explain the rest over dinner anyway. So
let's go eat!"
Tokiyo and Ayame exchanged a thoughtful glance, before
they both nodded reluctantly and followed Natsume into the caf�.
Ken was already being dragged towards it by Kumiko, the
former having a vague premonition of disaster whose source was
unclear. He was learning that while his instincts were usually right
on target in these situations, he was rarely given the choice to
follow them.
It was early in the evening, so the Kitayama Caf� was
mostly empty at the moment. Natsume's party was quickly seated
at one of the large tables out under the setting sun, though Ken had
to be hauled to the table, overcome with a unwelcome feeling of
dejavu. He found it impossible to resist the combined strength of
Kumiko and Tokiyo, however; the latter having quickly re-secured
his arm at her first opportunity.
Ken was the first to take a seat, though not out of choice,
with Kumiko and Tokiyo taking the chairs to either side of him,
flanking him like bodyguards. Both glanced around the caf�
suspiciously, as if they expected another woman to pop up and
make a claim on Ken. Ken himself was wondering how he was
going to eat without the use of his arms.
Ayame made sure to secure the seat across from the demon-
girl and next to her assignment's cousin. This way she could keep
an eye on her former friend to make sure she didn't attempt
something... demonic, and also would hopefully give her the
chance to study that urn the girl still carried more closely to
determine if it was dangerous.
By countering potentially foul acts, Ayame could prove
herself worthy of being an angel and regain Heaven's favor. She
honestly wanted to help Tokiyo as well, though this could be
because the young girl seemed to despise Kumiko almost as much
as she.
Watching everyone else hurriedly take their chosen seats,
Natsume just shrugged and took the spot next to Ayame and
directly across from Ken, though her focus was on the women to
either side of him. She didn't want their minor disagreement to
spoil dinner and would have to be ready to put out any fires
between them before they could rage out of control. The sandy-
haired girl couldn't help but think that fighting over Ken was a bit
ridiculous, though she was perhaps a touch envious of her friend.
"Hello, my name is Yuki and I'll be... oh, god. Not you
again," the waitress said as she arrived at their table, trailing off as
she got a good look at Ken. Just when she had almost blocked all
memory of him too. While she had earned herself a number of
male admirers over the years, for some reason he was the worst.
The reason Ken had wanted to avoid this caf� at all costs
hit him like a spiked volleyball to the face. How could he have so
easily forgotten the disaster his last visit to the caf� had been, or
the waitress he had seriously ticked off? Though his life had been
way beyond hectic lately. The seemingly doomed college
sophomore started to wonder if it would just be safer to lock his
door and never leave his apartment again.
"Umm... hello, Minamishita-san. I'm still very sorry about
what happened last time," Ken greeted her hesitantly, then realizing
that she was staring with wide eyes at his arms still secured by the
possessive females, added, "This isn't what it looks like!"
With a shocked expression mostly directed at Tokiyo, Yuki
slowly said, "I was just kidding about hitting on the local high
school girls... I never thought you actually would..."
"Ken-chan, who is this woman you're speaking so
familiarly with?" Tokiyo asked with deceptive calm as she eyed the
waitress suspiciously. Her cousin had always talked about having
absolutely no luck with women, but maybe he had just been
humble. She couldn't understand why no women would be
interested in sweet guy like him. The tramp Kumiko was proof of
that.
"He was talking to her like this last time too," Kumiko
confessed as Tokyio's words fueled the demon-girl's own paranoia.
This Yuki person hadn't seemed interested in her slave before, but
Kumiko was discovering that human women were very sneaky.
She could be acting mean to him just to lull the demon-girl into a
false sense of security before she struck.
Yuki started to edge away, as the woman from before and
the guy's new, younger girlfriend began to glare at her with much
pain, if not death, in their gazes. They definitely didn't pay her
enough to deal with this.
"Just tea all around please," Natsume quickly spoke up to
avert yet another disaster, this time involving a cute stranger. The
sandy-haired girl idly remembered her as the woman who had
taken offense to Ken's awkward attempt to hit on her, storming off
in a huff. She guessed her friend's luck wasn't improving after all;
it was only bad in different way now. "And can we please have a
look at the menu?"
"Yes, of course," Yuki replied, thankful for the distraction
as she rapidly handed out the menus, making sure not to come
close to the women still directing suspicious glances at her, as if
they were both cobras waiting for the chance to strike. If they
wanted Ken that badly, she wasn't about to get in their way.
As Yuki handed Natsume her menu, she bent close to
whisper to the other woman, "I'm not sure if you're aware that the
man you're sitting with is none other than the infamous pervert Ken
Iwakami. I don't know if even half the things they say about him
are true, but he tried to pick me up right after french kissing that
other girl in front of everyone!"
In her eagerness to rescue at least one woman from the pit
of lechery before she too was entranced by Ken's hidden charms,
Yuki spoke the last phrase a bit louder than she had intended. As a
result, his crime was known to the entire table.
Ken blushed, remembering that particular moment with
Kumiko, especially the embarrassment that had followed. Tokiyo,
whose hearing was sharper than most, was stunned by the fact that
her kind, warm, thoughtful cousin could be considered a infamous
pervert. Ayame warped the edge of the steel table, thinking of
Kumiko practically flaunting her vile nature as she corrupted her
victim in public. Kumiko was too busy studying the menu to
notice.
The intended target of this advice, however, was too
entranced by the tight-fitting waitress uniform, which granted her a
very close view of the waitress's ample cleavage. Natsume had to
fight the sudden, perverse impulse to pretend to be afraid of Ken so
this woman could come to her aid and comfort her afterwards. She
wasn't the kind of girl to take advantage of people like that though,
and she didn't want to risk provoking Kumiko, who was starting to
remind the sandy-haired girl of a female tiger she had seen in the
zoo. She looked all cute and fluffy when she was getting her way,
but when provoked, she turned deadly. Sometimes Kumiko had
the same look in her eyes that the tiger had.
"Oh, I'm sure that all the stories about Ken are true,"
Natsume finally replied with a small chuckle as she tore her gaze
away from the waitress. "Don't worry about us, though. Those two
are the only ones interested in him, and I think they already have
him safely in hand."
"I'll just get your tea then," Yuki replied, bowing quickly
before hurrying away from a table that seemed entirely composed
of people who frightened her, and she wasn't usually so easy to
scare. She felt like the woman she had been trying to warn had
been sizing her up as if she were the main course.
"Wait a minute!" Kumiko suddenly shouted at the
retreating waitress as she looked up from her menu, dropping it to
the table with a loud snap.
"Yes?" Yuki replied a bit nervously. She had previously
assumed that Ken was dominating this woman through some
perverse power of his, but now she was wondering if it might be
the other way around. Ken certainly didn't look like the one in
control at the moment. "Are you ready to order?"
Kumiko had opened her mouth to speak, but the waitress's
words made her shut it again as she quickly snatched up the menu
and studied it for several moments more, before putting it back
down again with obvious reluctance.
"No," the demon-girl stated firmly, as if trying to convince
herself, then added, "I have to know... Are you after my Ken-
chan?"
"After him?" Yuki repeated, completely baffled. The way
he kept running into her, it was more like he was the one after her.
"I think she wants to know if you have any plans on trying
to date my cousin Ken-chan," Tokiyo clarified as she set down her
own menu, studying the potential rival carefully. The woman was
athletic and definitely pretty, making her worse competition than
the one she had to deal with already. The first year high school girl
didn't want to fight a war on two fronts.
Kumiko nodded fervently, deciding that she would worry
about Tokiyo again only after this new threat had been driven off.
"Cousin?" Yuki echoed, finding the situation was getting
stranger by the minute. Out of all the charges she had heard levied
against Ken, incest was one of the few things he hadn't been
accused of. *Guess he's even worse than his reputation.*
"Distant cousin," Tokiyo corrected absently. She didn't like
it when people got the wrong idea about them. They just had a
very close extended family. It would be perfectly acceptable, even
preferred, if they were to marry. Which was why Tokiyo continued
to call him her cousin despite the confusion it raised. It was
another thread that intertwined their fates. "Well?"
"Believe me when I say I have no interest in your... cousin
whatsoever," Yuki said slowly, while resisting the urge to run as
fast and as far away from these whackos as she possibly could.
She idly wondered if she could still get that college scholarship in
America that she had turned down last year. "I mean, I'd rather
date... another woman than go anywhere with him."
As Yuki fled for the dubious safety of the caf�'s interior, the
people at her table watched her go with various states of joy. Ken
sighed in relief that his moment of public humiliation was finally
over, at least for now. Kumiko and Tokiyo wore identical smirks
of devilish satisfaction after having driven off the potential
competition. Natsume wore a curious grin, unable to stop herself
from wondering if the waitress had been speaking hypothetically or
not.
Ayame had been too busy trying to examine the urn that
Tokiyo had finally let go of. There was definitely spiritual energy
there; concentrated energy formed from a decade of effort. It was a
mix of positive and negative karma, shielding something too well
for a casual inspection. Further probing became impossible,
however, when Tokiyo absently reclaimed the urn and hugged it to
herself. The angel-girl felt reassured to know that whatever it was,
it wasn't very powerful. There was no immediate danger.
However, the iron hold it possessed over this innocent girl had the
potential for disaster.
Menus quickly became a shield to hide from others, as if
fearing their inner most thoughts could be read by the expressions
on their faces. Polite chattered floated around the table, to keep
their lips from spilling the secrets that they held close to their
hearts.
"I know how you're not used to Japanese food, Ayame,"
Natsume said to her guest, remember the woman's near-faint over
breakfast. The little... incident between them had made the sand-
haired girl forget all about lunch, so she had to be starving. "Why
don't you pick two things that look good and I'll order the other for
myself? We'll swap half of our dinners and that way you can have
twice the variety. I can't decide what I want anyway."
Natsume spoke while covertly admiring Ayame's natural
beauty from the edge of her menu. The fading sunlight caused the
woman's strawberry blonde hair to shimmer, much like it had when
they had first met. It had only been yesterday, yet already seemed a
lifetime to the sandy-haired girl. She had gotten used to seeing the
woman's elegant and graceful form as she moved about, her every
gesture a dance. Used to, but still awed by. What would the
sandy-haired girl do if her guest suddenly decided to leave?
Seeing Ayame's half-hidden eyes flicker in her direction,
Natsume quickly looked away in embarrassment. She peered over
the rim of the menu at Tokiyo, whose naivet� was irresistibly cute,
while the rest of her looked far less innocent... and then there was
Kumiko, who always managed to look sexy no matter what she
did, or what she wore...
Natsume cursed herself for her wandering eyes, tempted to
smack herself in the head with a menu to clear it of perverted
thoughts, but resisted making a scene which would leave her
completely embarrassed. She couldn't help it though. For as long
as she could remember, she had always been captivated by the
members of her own sex; from the adorableness of little girls that
had been her delight as a big sister, to the irresistible allure of a
mature woman like Ayame.
"That's very kind of you, Natsume, but to be honest, I'm not
particularly hungry," Ayame replied after studying her menu for a
few more moments. She didn't want to get something, mainly
because a part of her that she loathed longed for more human
cuisine, but knew she had to keep up appearances. The angel-girl
had no way of choosing one dish over another, however, and she
simply couldn't do anything at random. "I'm also having quite a
difficulty in selecting a dish. Perhaps Tokiyo-san can suggest
something for the both of us."
Ayame spoke while at the same time wondering if her host
was well. For a brief moment, she could have sworn that Natsume
had been staring at her oddly, in a way the angel-girl simply could
not define. For a moment, she feared that her secret had been
found out, her angelic nature laid bare before the probing glance
and sharp intellect of her host. No, it was much more likely that
Natsume was still upset over their accidental contact earlier that
day. Ayame nearly shivered in disgust to remember it, both from
the contact itself and the harm she done to her sweet-natured host.
Normally, the angel-girl couldn't bare even the thought of
physical contact with a human, with the negative karmic energy,
demonic energy, that lingered on them like cigarette smoke seeped
into clothes. She made an exception for Natsume, enduring her
touch in respect for the kindness the woman had shown her.
Besides, she was that such a pure person that must radiate positive
karma like a beacon. Ayame certainly hadn't felt unclean after
touching her, though the bath afterwards had helped to ease her
mind.
The kiss, however... such intimate contact, tasting the other
woman's breath in her throat... Ayame quickly drove the memory
away, cursing herself for her selfishness. Natsume had been the
true victim, who had been so horrified to be molested by what she
thought to be a human of her own sex, that she had fled in fear.
Ayame had since been forgiven for her crime, but she still felt that
she must make it up to her host somehow. Natsume's life seemed
complete in every way, her near-constant cheerfulness proved that,
but there had to be something that she could do without revealing
her true nature.
That was a thought for later, however. At the moment, she
had a pox upon the human world to be dealt with. Who knew what
unthinking damage the vile demon could cause if left to linger here
at her will? She had to be sent back to hell, forcefully if necessary,
before any more humans could succumb to her foul corruption.
However, the angel-girl had already been berated for her rash
actions earlier and was sure that violent solution would not only be
frowned upon by Heaven, but would also be lowering herself to
Kumiko's level.
The sudden appearance of Tokiyo, however, had presented
a unique window of opportunity which Ayame could take
advantage of, but only if she acted indirectly so the self-centered
Kumiko wouldn^�t know what was happening until it was too late.
The only problem was the angel-girl had no idea what to do. She
just wasn't used to being sneaky, and while the Hall of Information
had volumes filled with acts of deception and trickery humans had
used since their early tribal history, they were things that Ayame
had avoided in order to keep her mind as pure as her soul. She
knew, however, that the key to banishing the demon was Tokiyo.
"Me?" Tokiyo replied, blinking in surprise as the
conversation was redirected at her. "I'm not sure what I could
suggest that you would like... I was just going to have whatever
Ken-chan picked. Do you know what you want yet, Ken-chan?"
Tokiyo spoke while desperately trying to hide her
nervousness. The awkward tomboy from the country who had just
recently had a crash course in puberty was feeling very much out of
her element now. Her new mature look had initially given her the
confidence she needed to make her dreams come true, but as each
small obstacle caused her to stumble on the road to bliss, she
became more and more unsure of her way.
Her great-grandmother's advice was what Tokiyo so
desperately needed at the moment. For as long as she could
remember, Nana had always been there to offer comfort and
wisdom refined though decades of experience. When she had died,
the girl had felt lost and afraid; not even her parents could console
her. But not even death was enough to keep Nana from fulfilling
her promise to stay with Tokiyo until she found true happiness.
The urn was oddly silent now, even though the ghost could whisper
so low that only her great-granddaughter could hear.
*I'm so far away from home with new clothes and a mature
body that feels so awkward, trying to act all grown up and
sophisticated, but I don't even know what I'm doing!* Tokiyo
thought in a state of near panic, her menu shaking slightly as she
clutched it until her knuckles turned white. However, it only took
one thought to stop her shaking and ease her troubled spirit. *I'm
doing this all for Ken.*
Ken. Even just his name meant so much to her. She
remember how her heart had filled with joy to hear her parents
speak his name, saying that he was going to spend the summer with
us.
The ancestral home of her family was some distance from
any others, and almost from the crib she had been a helpless
clumsy tomboy that the other children avoided because of her
strange ways. Yet from the moment they had first met, Ken had
always treated her like a princess, even when she caked in mud
with her hair sticking out at odd angles. He would still treat her
like the most special person in the world.
Tokiyo had developed strong feelings for her distant cousin
right from the start, always wanting to be near him, and breaking
down in tears whenever they had to be separated. She could listen
to him speak for hours on end about whatever popped into his
head. The subject didn't matter to her, as long as he was the one
talking. The young cousin hadn't really understood these feelings,
or even given them very much thought. That was until Ken's
interest turned to girls.
A sudden flare of anger always burned inside Tokiyo
whenever her cousin mentioned a girl at school that he thought was
pretty, or a woman he had passed with long golden hair that he
wanted to follow to the ends of the Earth. The young girl had been
shocked by these feelings, wondering if she was starting to hate her
cousin. But how could that be true when she wanted to see him so
much? It had taken her wise, and now deceased, great-
grandmother to explain these feelings. She was jealous of these
other girls Ken was noticing because she was in love with him.
It had taken Tokiyo a while to accept these feelings for
what they were, to feel this love seep into her bones, as if just
acknowledging it for what it was brought contentment to the
newborn emotion. Then the young girl had eagerly tried
everything she could think of to try and get Ken to notice her the
way he had with those other girls. Her plans always blew up in her
face, however, and she realized that the only way she could gain
his heart was confessing her feelings after she had finally become a
woman.
Now she only wished for five minutes alone with her
cousin so she could whisper to him, *I love you, Ken-chan.*
"Huh? Oh, I was going with one of the budget dinners.
You should get one of the local specials to make this a more
memorable trip, Toki-chan," Ken advised, trying to sound sensible
and in control while tears of joy streamed down his cheeks. His
arms were finally free! With the two women busy with their
menus, he could move them all by himself again. A small victory,
but he'd take what he could get. "If you don't like it, I'm sure
Kumiko would be willing to eat your meal too."
Ken spoke while thinking back on how his life had always
been spotted with little difficulties like this. His parents had
always acted more like children than him, so he went through most
of his childhood in a state of confusion, having no idea what they
would try next. If it wasn't group swimming lessons, when he
could barely walk, it was training to be traveling stage magicians or
forming a family band. The biggest difficulty with this was his
parents could never stand doing one thing for very long, and as a
result they never actually finished anything. It was no wonder that
their son had absolutely no direction in his life.
Just when the Iwakami family had finally settled down with
his parents both working at jobs they were actually willing to stick
to, and not leaving their hours for sometimes months at a time,
Ken's other major problem reared its ugly head: puberty.
Ken had started to find the differences between himself and
his female classmates intensely intriguing, to the point that he
focused on them instead of his school work, which he had never
been that good at anyway. This in of itself wasn't the problem,
though it would become a small source of embarrassment. The
problem was that none of the girls found him interesting, and when
he ever attempted to pique their interest, they often found him
repellent instead. His 'no date' curse was firmly established before
the end of his first year of high school.
That curse seemed to be losing some of its strength lately,
however. The first sign had been Natsume, who he had met last
year. Even though she wasn't interested in him in the way he
would have liked, she was at least friendly, which was more than
any other woman had been. Well, there was his cousin Tokiyo, but
he'd known her for a long time and he supposed that she was just
used to him by now.
Of course, then there was Kumiko. She may be a demon
from Hell, but she was also one hundred percent female, something
that he was very intimately aware of. Selfish, dominating, but also
intensely affectionate and sometimes surprisingly fragile. The way
that the angel Ayame reacted to him, however, proved to him that
the curse hadn't lost all of its power yet. Though that could be the
result of a lingering grudge from the time had had attempted to
cave her head in.
What really shocked him was how that curse, which had
become the focal point of everything wrong in his life for years,
had now taken a back seat to bigger and more complex problems.
Like the strange way his cousin was acting. An angel that seemed
out to kill him. Bizarre, unexplained encounters with random girls
that either left him confused or in pain, but usually both. And
Natsume... well, she was pretty much the same as always.
All of this had started when a demon-girl had suddenly
appeared in his apartment, gleefully explaining that she was there
to kill him and eat his soul.
"Ken-chan?" Kumiko asked in a puzzled tone, looking up
from the menu she had been studying intently for some time now.
There were simply so many tempting things she yearned to try that
she couldn't pick just one. But she was sure she had heard her
slave call her name.
As a demon of observance, Kumiko had always reveled in
the discovery of new things. Experiencing something new always
filled her with joy, wonder, and delight, though she found that
those feelings tended to fade rather sharply as she revisited that
experience over and over, devouring it hungrily until she made
herself sick with it. So far, there were only two things where those
feelings hadn't begun to fade.
There was the hot lava onsen, a popular resort in Hell
where tickets were only given to the most dutiful of demons.
When Kumiko couldn't manage to worm a ticket out of her
supervisors, usually by asking over and over until they finally said
yes, Takashi used his connections to secretly pass her a few tickets.
Even then, it was a precious indulgence that she was only able to
experience every few months. Perhaps the fact that she couldn't
gorge herself on hot lava, metaphorically speaking, was the reason
she hadn't grown tired of it yet.
Then there was her slave. Part of the reason she hadn't
simply killed him and eaten his soul whole was to stretch out this
new experience, to savor his life energy rather than consume it all
at once, especially after experiencing a very pleasant and relatively
new experience called sex.
Kumiko had known about sex for some time, having
watched the souls of dead humans being slowly torn from their
carnal desires. So curious by nature, she had convinced the only
other demon she talked to besides Takashi and her supervisors,
though he usually did most of the talking, to experiment in sex
with her. He had been reluctant and the results had been
unsatisfying, something she had nearly forgotten about. The
demon-girl wondered what she and Ken were getting right now
that she had gotten so wrong before.
Would she tire of her slave as she tired of all those things?
Kumiko wasn't sure, but much like the gleeful anticipation that
filled her when she thought of what all these dinners might taste
like, she felt giddy over what amusing thing Ken would do next.
And she would do everything she could to defend her ownership
against the constant threats of greedy women like Tokiyo and that
waitress.
Yuki approached the table slowly, inching forward with a
reluctance born by weighing the idea of abandoning her first
paycheck. In the end, she chose to brave the table of weirdoes
once again, but making sure to keep her distance from all of them,
using the tea tray as a makeshift shield. The tall woman with the
pinkish hair had yet to give the waitress a reason to fear her, but
she might just be waiting for the right opportunity.
"So, are you all ready to order now?" Yuki asked quickly as
she set down the tea and glanced around the table with notepad in
hand, her eyes not lingering on any one person for more than a few
moments.
Hiding a slight feeling of disappointment that the waitress
wouldn't come closer as she pointed out her meal, Natsume just
told the woman what she wanted and handed her the menu, which
she quickly snatched away. Since she was the one paying for this
meal, the sandy-haired girl was eating as cheaply as possible
herself. She didn't have a whole lot of money left after paying for
everything her caf� needed, but she didn't want the other women at
the table to think she was a cheapskate either.
"That's what I'll have too," Ken added quickly after noting
the look that Natsume was giving him. He knew that being a man
meant he couldn't push his friend's generosity too far. He handed
over his menu while resisting the urge to apologize once more, but
oddly Yuki seemed less reluctant to take his menu.
"I still haven't decided," Ayame explained to the waitress
with some embarrassment, leaning close to her host as she held out
her menu before the other woman. "Could you please help me
choose something, Natsume?"
"Umm, sure," Natsume replied hesitantly, trying vainly to
focus on the menu before her and not the closeness of the beautiful
woman whose scent, much like sakura petals, seemed to fill the air
around her.
Seeing Ayame lean closer to Natsume, even though she
didn't understand why the latter was suddenly looking so flustered,
Tokyio leaned her body right up against Ken as she held her own
menu out before him and asked in what she hoped was a sweet and
seductive voice, "Oh, Ken-chan, I can't decide what I want either.
Can you help me choose, please?"
Kumiko was about to pick something at random, before
realizing that the grabby girl was making another play for her
slave. The demon-girl was determined to win this contest.
Scooting her seat even closer to Ken, she wrapped one arm around
him while the other held out her menu, blocking Tokiyo's from
view. She leant her head on his shoulder and whispered to him,
"No, you have to help me choose."
"I asked him first!" Tokyio suddenly shouted at the snake-
like woman who liked to coil around her cousin, probably planning
to crush him to death.
"He's my slave!" Kumiko retorted angrily, and nearly
deafening the slave in question by shouting right in his ear.
"Is that your answer to everything?!" Tokiyo raged back,
furious that this woman could say something like that in public, not
even caring about her poor cousin's feelings, who was much too
nice to stop her from walking all over him. "He is _not_ your
slave! You can't just own people like that. It isn't right!"
"What did you say?!" Kumiko nearly screamed as she
dropped the menu in order to wrap both hands protectively over
Ken, easily lifting him onto her lap and hugging him close to her;
to keep him away from that arrogant and obnoxious human. "He is
so my slave! He even has the mark to prove it! Right, Ken-chan?"
Ken's response was muffled by the demon-girl's significant
cleavage which he was now face-deep in. Not that he seemed to
mind.
"Fine. Two specials of the day for them," Yuki declared,
snatching up the fallen menus as the two girls played tug of war
with the pervert. As long as their anger was directed at each other,
she had nothing to worry about. The waitress almost felt sorry for
Ken, but it did seem a oddly fitting punishment for the notorious
lecher. "Have you decided over here yet?"
Natsume was enjoying a whispered conversation with
Ayame over various edibles and methods of preparation, only to
look up to see the stern-faced waitress waiting impatiently for her
response. "What did we decide on, Ayame? The third dinner?"
"Yes, that one sounded very nice," Ayame agreed, though
she had been much more interested on Natsume's knowledge of
cooking and methods of creating the most pleasing combinations.
As an angel, it was her duty to serve humans to make their lives
better and more enjoyable. She was thinking that taking the burden
of cooking upon herself for her host would be another way of
fulfilling her purpose. "I believe I will have that."
Yuki only nodded once before walking away and muttering
to herself. She definitely needed to consider another avenue of
employment because it was obvious she just wasn't cut out for the
service industry.
Tokiyo frowned at the smug over the hill hag that sat
grinning back at her. They were settled down once again after
another intervention by Natsume, but it was clear to the newly
matured girl that without some sort of help, she was sure to lose
this war of love, leaving her miserable for the rest of her life.
She shook the urn a bit, but it stubbornly remained silent.
Tokiyo needed a place where she could talk freely, but she was so
far from home while barely knowing where she was. Then she
blinked as a thought occurred to her, smiling sweetly at her cousin
as she asked, "Ken-chan, do you know where the restroom is?"
Ken had begun tensing up as soon as his cousin smiled at
him, but relaxed when he heard her question. Kumiko's fangs had
begun to show during the last incident; he didn't want to see her
pushed any further. "Sure. Walk through the doors up to the
counter, take a right then a left. Can't miss it, Toki-chan."
"Thanks, Ken-chan," Tokiyo replied, then feeling
encouraged by his friendly reply, bent closer to give him a quick
kiss on the cheek before picking up the urn and skipping her way to
the caf� proper. No matter what that witch may do, her heart was
filled with the fact that her cousin still cared for her. Not even her
foul witchery could take that away.
Ken had to quickly restrain the demon-girl from following
after his cousin, guessing the way she was snarling and clawing at
the air that she didn't have the best of intentions. He was lucky that
she didn't seem to be thinking coherently at the moment because he
knew that with her full strength, she could easily toss him around
like a rag doll.
"That's just the way Toki-chan is sometimes," Ken
explained away the kiss, even though he had also been surprised by
it. She had always been friendly with him, but normally kept a
slight distance, as if afraid of violating his personal space. Yet
another thing about her that had changed. "She didn't really mean
anything by it."
Natsume resisted the urge to comment, deciding that it
wasn't her place to interfere with anything short of a potential
brawl. It really wasn't any of her business, but she couldn't help
playing peace keeper. Having so many younger brothers and
sisters had ingrained that reflex into her psyche.
Ayame was too disappointed that the girl hadn't left the urn
behind to pay the demon any mind at first. If it was really a ghost,
then it was her duty to help it pass on to the other world, whether
bound for Heaven or hell.
"Why do you always call her Toki-chan then? Hmm?"
Kumiko questioned her slave bitterly. It seemed that her training
hadn't been as successful as she had previously thought. Her slave
appeared to be in dire need of another lesson. She made a note that
as soon as they were alone, she would check him for human
illnesses. And if she didn't find any, that meant the problem must
lie with him, which she would hasten to correct.
"That's what I've always called her," Ken replied, halfway
between amusement and exasperation that the demon-girl could get
jealous over such a minor thing like that. He wondered if there
was anything he could do to stop her from overreacting all the
time. He would have preferred what was probably his last year of
life to be a peaceful one.
"Well, I don't like you being so familiar with her!" Kumiko
yelled back at him.
Ayame watched the pair argue and decided that she had to
separate them somehow soon, for the good of humanity and her
own peace of mind. Even though she was sure Tokiyo was the key
to this, she had no idea how to use the girl. Not to mention she felt
extremely guilty even over the idea of manipulating a human like
that. Those were the methods of demons, not angels.
"I believe I need to make use of the restroom as well,"
Ayame said with a touch of embarrassment as she stood and left
the table before anyone could object. Perhaps if she honestly
offered her help, the girl herself would have a feasible plan of her
own.
"Great-grandmother!" Tokiyo whispered urgently as she
banged the urn's lid with the plunger's wooden handle. She was
currently hiding in one of the stalls of a thankfully empty ladies
room. She wanted to get this conversation over with before
someone walked in and overheard her.
"Cut that out, child!" Nana nearly shouted back at her.
"Show your deceased great-grandmother some respect at least. I
just didn't want to speak while I was so close to those two
suspicious women out there. I can't exactly fall asleep anymore."
"Sorry," Tokiyo apologized with her head low as she put
down the plunger. "Suspicious women? You mean Kumiko and
Natsume?"
"No, the perverted girl is harmless... well, mostly harmless.
I was speaking of your rival and the tall, fair-haired one," Nana
clarified, dropping down to her usual faint whisper.
"Ayame?" Tokiyo asked, sounding completely confused,
not sure what her great-grandmother meant by 'perverted girl.' "I
think she's very nice and pleasant. I'm not sure why, but I just feel
good when I'm near her. I don't think she's at all suspicious."
"But don't you think that --" Nana started to say when they
both clearly heard the door to the bathroom open.
Tokiyo opened her mouth to ask why her great-
grandmother had stopped speaking when the new person couldn't
have possibly heard her, but then closed it again, thinking that
Nana wouldn't have stopped if there wasn't a reason. So it was best
to keep her silence as well. As such, it was only a small surprise to
find Ayame waiting for her as she exited the stall.
"I apologize for intruding, but there is something very
important which I must speak to you about," Ayame said to Tokiyo
with a small bow, hoping she had phrased her next words correctly
since she knew it would be sensitive subject for the girl and the
angel didn't want to cause any more humans inadvertent harm.
"Being a guest of Natsume-san's, I happened to be present to
witness your reunion with you cousin. You... love him, do you
not?"
"Umm, yeah," Tokiyo admitted after a moment of silence,
blushing horribly to reveal a secret known only to her great-
grandmother. Then she frowned as she considered why this
woman, who Nana already thought was suspicious, would ask such
a question. "You're not interested in Ken-chan too, are you?"
Ayame was taken aback by the fierceness in the young
human's eyes, surprisingly intimidating for a girl who was more
than a head shorter than her. "No, I merely wish to offer my
assistance in ridding him of that... ogre woman. I can honestly say
that nothing would please me more than to see your cousin and
yourself together forever, and Kumiko long forgotten."
Tokiyo was still dubious of this sudden and expected
support, but she was painfully aware that she needed whatever help
she could get, and the woman did seem sincere. "All right, you can
try and help me if it means that much to you, but I don't know what
you can do. All I need is more time with Ken to make him
understand my feelings... but I don't suppose you can cause a
sudden train wreck so I can't go home."
"That is a bit outside my power," Ayame admitted honestly,
not that she would be so selfish to put all those lives at risk even if
she could.
"Didn't think so," Tokiyo replied with a sad shake of her
head, hefting the funeral urn once more as she left the restroom.
Ayame lingered a bit longer, finding that her hair was out
of place and strove to fix it. All the while she wondered if there
was some less drastic method of making Tokiyo miss her train.
If Tadashi Matsunaka had one dream, it was to take an
unknown girl and make her into world famous idol. Not only
would this be an impressive feat that pushed his skills to the limit,
and justify years of education, but it would also make millions of
people happy.
He had actually found the perfect candidate to mold into
that image of the perfect performer. Little had he known at the
time what a terror she would turn out to be, simultaneously eroding
his patience while pushing his body to the limit just to keep up
with her. A challenge was all well and good, but at this rate he
wouldn't live long enough to see her become a star.
This was the reason he had begged his employer for a
week's vacation, when he could hopefully think of a way to stop
being Nami's agent without getting fired. No luck so far. If he
only had another client, someone who was young and
inexperienced so she demanded all of his attention, but who had
the potential that his boss would agree that she was worth the
effort. Someone like... the girl who had just stepped out of the caf�
he was passing by.
Tadashi blinked and quickly walked over to her, barely able
to keep herself from breaking into a run.
Tokiyo grinned as she stepped through the door of the caf�
to find Ken staring at her from the table with a smile. He was so
sweet making it clear how much he had missed her during her brief
moment away from him. Not that she could blame him with the
company he was being forced to keep. With a lightness in her
heart and her step, Tokiyo skipped her way back to him, only to
find her path suddenly blocked by a slightly disheveled young man
who was quickly catching his breath.
"Excuse me, miss," Tadashi spoke to the young lady as he
mentally prepared himself, and wished that he had the time to look
more presentable. He couldn't let this opportunity pass him by,
however; it could mean the difference between life and death. "I'm
an agent for the Aomori Talent Agency and I was wondering if you
might be interested in a career as an idol."
Tokiyo balked at the nerve of the man. She might be a
na�ve country girl, but she wasn't stupid. "Excuse me, my friends
are waiting for me at that table right there. If you so much as touch
me, my boyfriend will use you for kendo practice."
Tadashi gulped nervously. To say he wasn't a brave man
would be a gross understatement. He had to leave his night light
on after watching a samurai movie. Nami's way of surprising him
during work hadn't helped his nerves either. He knew all about
method acting to get into the role, but she took her ninja playacting
a bit too far.
"I understand your skepticism, I would be too in your
position... Here, take my business card. I'm on vacation now, but
if you call the agency and ask about Tadashi, they can verify my
identity. All I'm asking is you consider it for now, but I really
think you have a bright future as an idol."
"I guess a phone call couldn't hurt," Tokiyo told him as she
reluctantly took the offered card. If it was all it took to make this
strange guy leave her alone... but she had to admit the idea of
becoming an idol was very tempting. It would show that tramp
Kumiko who was the better woman.
Ken breathed a sign of relief as Tokiyo finally stepped out
of the caf� doors. As the minutes had passed in her absence, he
began to worry that some strange man had accosted her inside, and
his cousin, not knowing any better, had fallen for the scum's lies.
Tokiyo had always been so innocent and trusting, unaware
of the world's harsher reality. It was probably the reason Ken
enjoyed being close to his distant cousin, and had always done
everything he could to preserve that innocence. Now that she was
finally flowering into a beautiful young woman, she was in more
danger than ever before. He wouldn't be able to rest easy until she
was safely on the train headed home.
Ken slammed the table with his fist as he watched his
worse fears become realized. Tokiyo was talking with a suspicious
stranger, and actually seemed to be listening to him instead of just
blowing him off like he had always told her to do. He noted a
moment later that it wasn't wise to hit a metal table as he clutched
his hand in pain.
Kumiko blinked as her slave suddenly smacked the table
with his hand, blinked again when cradled his now bruised hand a
moment later, blinked once more as he nearly leapt to his feet and
charged off determinedly towards the caf�, and blinked one last
time as the chain that had suddenly materialized tugged him right
off his feet to land hard on the concrete patio.
"Are you okay, Ken-chan?" the demon-girl asked with
some concern as she knelt down next to him where he still lay flat
on the ground. The people starting to fill up the caf� simply
stepped around him, pretending he wasn't there.
"No," Ken admitted, but sprang back on his feet. This was
no time to think of the minor physical pain he was experiencing, he
had to save his young cousin from the vile corruption of the world.
First measuring the distance from Kumiko to his cousin, Ken
marched confidently over to the latter, shielding his cousin with his
own body. "Get away from Toki-chan, you creep. I won't let her
fall for your sick perversions!"
"Ken-chan," Tokiyo spoke in a choked whisper, overcome
with emotion as she hugged his back close to her, feeling the
warmth of his body along with the warmth of his kindness. He
cared for her so much that he would defend the smallest slight on
her honor like a true gentleman. She didn't have the heart to tell
him that he was making a mistake.
Tadashi gulped again as he was confronted by the boyfriend
the girl had mentioned earlier. The young man was hardly the
muscular type, but it was still painfully clear which of them would
be at a serious disadvantage in a violent confrontation. The timid
agent couldn't even stand watching martial arts tournaments on TV.
"I think you're making a mistake. I had nothing perverted in mind
at all... in fact, I was just leaving!"
Ken nodded in satisfaction as the man ran off. Sickos like
that were always cowards. He turned back to see if his cousin was
okay, only to find that she was still firmly holding onto his back.
He gently yet firmly decoupled her from him, because he was
starting to have certain thoughts about his cousin that made him no
better than the man he had just driven off. "Are you all right, Toki-
chan?"
"I am because of you, Ken-chan," Tokiyo replied with tears
starting to form in her eyes as she looked up to him. This was it,
the moment she had been waiting for years now. She steeled her
courage, and in a wavering voice, said, "That's because I --"
"Dinner's here!" Kumiko declared with a toothy smile as
she grabbed the two by their shoulders and forcefully shoved them
apart. "Let's eat it before someone else does!"
The demon-girl had been telling herself the entire time the
selfish little girl had been gone that she would not get angry
anymore, no matter what the brat did. Because she had realized to
show her fury was to admit defeat and she wasn't willing to lose
the contest that easily. She would show the interloper just how
strong a demon's will could be, and then she'd realize how hopeless
it was to try and steal her slave.
"Yeah, I'm hungry!" Tokiyo agreed with a forced
cheerfulness in her voice and a smile plastered to face, all the while
cursing the existence of that... demon girl! But she couldn't let her
disappointment show. She had to remain bright and cheerful so
Kumiko wouldn't suspect a thing, until Tokiyo finally ground the
bitch under her heel.
Natsume reflected how well the actual dinner had gone,
considering all that had happened leading up to it. Perhaps their
mouths stuffed with food had little room for arguments, but
Kumiko and Tokiyo had actually been polite to one another. They
had passed the tea and sugar with manners suited for the table of
the emperor, though Kumiko's eating habits belonged more to a
barbarian horde. There did seem to be something a bit forced
about their smiles, but at least they were trying to get along.
Even Ayame didn't have so much as a hardened glance in
her former lover's direction. Her guest was actually smiling
slightly though most of the meal, which the sandy-haired girl took
as a sign that she was finally starting to get over her lost love.
Perhaps she would want to talk about it later tonight. Natsume was
willing to be a patient listener, and even a shoulder to cry on.
"It's getting late," Natsume declared as she looked up at the
stars twinkling merrily back at her. "Dinner took longer than I
thought it would. We should get Tokiyo to the train station now so
she can catch her train."
"I'm sure there's still plenty of time," Tokiyo argued, not
wanting to leave her cousin's side when she was so close to
winning his heart.
"Don't worry, Toki-chan. You can just yell for a conductor
if any pervert tries to harass you on the train," Ken advised his
cousin, completely misunderstanding the girl's reluctance. "And
we can all walk you to the station."
"Yep! I'll be happy to see you to your train," Kumiko
agreed enthusiastically, not voicing, *to make sure you give up on
my slave and go back home.*
"I think it's a shame that Tokiyo-san wasn't able to do a
little shopping here before she left, to find a momento of her trip if
nothing else," Ayame quickly chimed in, unwilling to let her big
opportunity slip through her fingers so easily. She also couldn't
help noticing the girl's downcast look. Ayame had promised to
help Tokiyo and as an angel, she could not even conceive of not
keeping her word. "Natsume seems to know the area very well.
I'm sure that someone of her ability could take Tokiyo-san on a
short shopping trip and get her to her train on time."
Natsume blushed with the kind praise of her guest. "Well, I
suppose I do know this place pretty well, the shops at least, and I
guess we'd have time for a little shopping on the way to the train
station."
Tokiyo was confused at first. She didn't want to spend her
final precious moments with Ken looking for a new hat. Then the
lid of the funeral urn rattled suddenly, startling out of her thoughts.
For whatever reason, her great-grandmother wanted her to go along
with it. She turned to face the sandy-haired girl and asked, "Would
you really? Thank you!"
"Err, it's no problem," Natsume replied nervously, trying
not to stare at the young woman practically bouncing with
enthusiasm. They would be definitely be skipping the lingerie
stores.
"All right, let's get shopping then. I don't want Toki-chan
to miss her train," Ken agreed after a moment's hesitation. He
didn't know what the train schedule was, so he'd just have to trust
Natsume to keep track of things, and make sure she didn't get too
distracted. "Kumiko could probably use a few things..."
The demon-girl had been ignoring her slave as she studied
the angel and the little thief carefully. The sudden suggestion of a
shopping trip seemed harmless, but she didn't trust those two. She
was sure they were up to something sneaky. If she could only
figure out what.
"I don't think you should accompany us, Ken-san," Ayame
spoke to him politely.
The angel-girl wanted his cousin to miss that train. Her
otherwise perfect host seemed to have a problem of being easily
distracted. Ayame was moderately confident that she could keep
Natsume off balance until the last train had left, but it would be
impossible with Ken, and especially Kumiko, along.
"With our time restraint, a smaller group would be
preferable. Also, we will be venturing into establishments that
don't normally cater to men."
"Girls only, Ken," Natsume summarized for him with a
grin. "Don't worry, though. I'll take good care of your cousin."
"That's exactly what I am worried about, Natsume," Ken
replied with a small shake of his head. He wanted to be there to
look out for her, but then again what better protection could there
be than the company of an angel?
"But I don't want to waste any more time standing here and
arguing. Good-bye, Toki-chan. Come visit me again anytime...
Just call first next time, okay?"
"I will!" Tokiyo agreed with a grin as she hurled herself at
her cousin, snuggling up close to his chest, feeling his warmth
encircle her, hearing the growls of the jealous hag. She wished the
moment would never end, but after a minute or so she reluctantly
pulled away. She would not cry. She had to have faith in the plan
of her new ally.
"Hey, they fixed the window already!" Ken shouted in joy
as he entered his apartment. What had once been his sanctuary
from the outside world, only to be invaded bubbly, yet strong-
willed demon-girl. On the whole though, her preferred her
sometimes annoying company over his past solitude.
"I'm glad she's finally gone," Kumiko said as she flopped
down his bed, reverting to her demonic aspect with an audible sigh
of relief a she stared up at the ceiling.
"Toki-chan?" Ken prompted, turning away from the close
inspection of the window. He wanted to make sure it was perfect
since the cost of it would probably linger on his credit card for
some time to come. "She's such a sweet girl. I don't see why you
couldn't get along with her."
"She was trying to steal you away from me, that's why,"
Kumiko explained with irritation, sitting up and spreading our her
large, bat-like wings overheard, casting her body in shadow.
"You're my slave, Ken-chan. Mine!"
"She wasn't trying to steal you away from me, Kumiko...,"
Ken paused as he struggled to find the words to explain an aspect
of human nature to the otherworldly demon-girl. "It's just that
whenever I was with her before, I was always able to give her my
full attention. Not that I can't do that anymore, she thinks it means
I don't like her anymore or something. She'll understand it's not
like that when she matures a bit more."
"Right! You not supposed to pay attention to her anymore
because all of your attention has to be focused on me!" Kumiko
agreed with an enthusiastic nod. She retracted her wings, still
sitting cross-legged on Ken's bed, though he could help noticing
that now she was naked.
"That isn't exactly what I meant...," Ken started to say, then
shrugged. His cousin wasn't the only one who could use a little
more emotional maturity, but hopefully it was something that could
come to her and the demon-girl in time. Besides, seeing Kumiko's
pale skin almost glow under the soft room lights, highlighting her
sensuous curves, Ken thought of something much better to do than
argue. "I know it's still early, but why don't we take a long, hot
shower and go right to bed?"
Kumiko smiled as he walked closer to the bed, her legs
suddenly flashing out to wrap around his body and pull him in for a
deep, lingering kiss. "Okay."
*Now that was a good shower,* Ken thought with a smile
as he exited the bathroom with only a small towel wrapped around
his waist. The grinning demon-girl followed close behind, having
no sense of modesty to conceal her nakedness. Then came a knock
at the door.
"Probably just the landlady hearing I was in and wanting to
talk about the window. I didn't think we had made that much noise
though," Ken thought out loud as he tied the towel off firmly and
turned back to face the demon-girl, who was humming a little
melody that made him think of volcanoes for some reason.
"Can you go back to looking like a human again, Kumiko?
I told my landlady before that I had a guest staying with me, but I
don't think my lease allows for demons."
"Sure thing!" Kumiko agreed easily, twirling around as she
changed back into her human form, which was getting less and less
uncomfortable the more she used it. Wings vanished, fangs turned
to regular teeth, and her red eyes paled to blue.
"Umm, I meant with clothes on too," Ken added with a
small blush of embarrassment.
"Right!" the demon-girl exclaimed, twirling once again.
She was much too high on another small piece of her slave's soul,
not to mention the joy of sex that accompanied it, to feel anything
but happiness at the moment.
Nodding his approval of Kumiko's current attire, though
despairing at his own lack of wardrobe, Ken turned back to the
door and opened it, starting to say, "Hello, Mrs... Toki-chan?"
Tokiyo simply stared at her cousins glistening bare chest
for a moment before nodding quickly and saying, "I umm...
misread the station schedule, so I missed my train after all. Can
you put me up for the night?"