Amiti stirred slightly as he slowly came to. His legs ached horribly, but he was still too out of it to really notice the pain. Ir was loud, there were various smells everywhere, some of them really sweet and delicious, others that were less than pleasant. Looking around, he could tell that he was in a store that was overcrowded with people. All of them dressed weirdly, and he could have swore he saw a woman with a robotic arm and a blood stained coat. Was this another dream? Amiti pondered on that thought. Looking next to him, he could see a plate of cookies and an amazing looking shake. "Are these for me?"He could barely talk above a whisper, his voice hurt, and so did his head. Trying to put the various aches (especially his legs) out of his mind, he took a bite of one cookie. Amiti's face almost brightened as he ate the delicious crisp but soft cookie. Its taste flooded him with warmth, adding the heavy blanket on him, he actually felt somewhat warm. Moving on to the milkshake, he took a long deep draw from it and immediately he felt more relaxed. A little more awake now, he could clearly see the room and all the people in it. There so many strange people all dressed weirdly, ""Am I in that cafe? What was it called again? Degnaki? Dangeeki....? Another cookie was destroyed as he continued to eat the delicious treats. He continued looking around the room. As he scanned the area, a particular person caught his eye, he was wearing a scarf. Which isn't strange, but what caught Amiti's eye were the hamsters crwling around on it."Are those... Hamsters?" Amiti loved hamsters! He finished another cookie and drank some more from his shake. He got off the seat, but as soon as his legs touched the ground, he felt an immense pain shoot up from his legs. He immediately collapsed on the floor crying. What was wrong? He didn't know, but what he did know, was that it hurt. A LOT! He also wanted to see the hamsters too. As he cried, he occasionally mumbled the word "Hamster."

Ketsui gavethe woman a light nod as she finished her first statement before going to answer the next. However his attention was drawn to the door of the cafe upon feeling the presences of the other who'd had left at the sound of the scream. "They're back." He said to himself self under his breath moments before the door opened. With his attention focused so heavily on those at the door he was unaware if the woman had continued talking to have answered his prior question.

An expression of surprise overcame him when he saw the injuries the group had sustained in the rescue. What did they run in to that could have done this much damage? The thoughts spun around his mind endlessly as he watched them enter. Though, they group had come back in poor conditions, one of them did catch his eye. The man with the scarf seem to be virtual unharmed. I wonder... Ketsui, shook his head trying stop the though from developing for there were more important things to worry about at the moment.

Although there were some who needed the help Ketsui moved off towards the counter. How was he to approach them offering help after making such a poor first impression. He seated himself on a stool in front of the counter, his hands clasped together with his fingers interlocked; his elbows upon the counter keeping his hands in front of his mouth, quietly looking forward. Had someone needed his help and were to ask he surely would, but until then he would sit there.

Eiko noticed Shiina's eye acting up while she allowed the vampire Yokai to take her bloody coat, Eiko half expected to be bitten on the neck as the woman slowly took her coat from her, when Shiina said that there were only nothing but maid's costumes Eiko felt like she should have seen this coming since it was a maid's cafe really." Are you sure you have any costumes that could fit me ?" She almost didn't want to ask, but she felt it was either she wears her skin tight bodysuit till her coat gets washed and dried or a maid's outfit till Shiina gets through with it, Eiko sighed and nodded agreeing to follow behind of Shiina." It's okay, I'll follow you. Hopefully you have a suit in my size." she thought aloud without noticing. She waited for Shiina to start walking before she would go wandering around the cafe let alone the back of the place.

Kazuo stood at the doorway, arms casually to his side, but his angular face stern and eyes hard. His lips were pursed in a slight grimace as he surveyed the now-barren landscape, watching as the red slowly seeped away, cleansed by the purity of humanity's own full moon. He gave a sigh, before dismissing Crimson Fragment, which was angrily crackling with sparks and static while hovering at his side. The young man was fully ready to launch himself into the other realm when he saw his injured comrades sprinted full speed from the portal, but they had luckily shaken off whatever beast that had dared accost them during the rescue mission.

He was quite angry at himself for not taking action earlier, having underestimated the sudden opening of the Crimson Sky because of the plethora of Chasers that had gathered here, familiar and strangers alike. It has been awhile since he had seen his comrades this wounded. What's more, a little boy was involved. Kazuo quickly shut the door to the Dangeki, locking it tight. He knew that Shiina's defensive magic would be enough to protect them from whatever that's out there. For now, at least.

Sighing again, he slowly made his way back to the congregation, analyzing the solemn faces of each individual. He passed by Yuuma, who he gave a small pat on the shoulder. "Okay. I guess you can hold off studying your exams this time, huh? Seems like we got too much on our plate right now." Kazuo gave his friend a reassuring smile, though his usually warm eyes were alight with anguish and guilt. "Sorry I couldn't be out there with you, buddy."

But as Yamato spoke up with what exactly had occurred within the demon's realm, Kazuo instantly perked up, his head tilting curiously. "An opposing faction, you say? People strong enough to even put you at an unease, Yamato? Did they say what they wanted? How many were there?" Kazuo glanced over towards Chikage, raising his eyebrow slightly. "What's going on here, Chikage? Does this all have to do with these two people coming to us today?" Kazuo gestured at the two strangers as he spoke. Though his tone did not fluctuate from its usual, calm undertone, there was a slight edge to his words. "What's more, we've attracted more than just the regulars today..." The young man sighed, rubbing his eyes tiredly, frowning. Kazuo then glanced over at the boy and was relieved to see that the kid was doing OK by the looks of cookie crumbs scattered over his mouth. Eos's baking was considered a divine gift, after all. Still, what was a kid doing out in the middle of the night? And of all the nights that he could've snuck out from his home, he had to wander across the most potent time the Crimson Sky would open up to the mortal realm. "So much for catching up on my drama tonight..."

"Bah," Yuuma grunted, waving his hand as though to dispel Kazuo's guilt. "No one thought we'd be attacked like that -- I know you'd have been there had you known."

He turned his focus back to keeping himself upright, eyes absentmindedly looking around the room. Yuuma could barely feel his legs below his knees, and any feedback he did get was only sharp pain. That was the price of overloading a part of himself: Fried nerves, throbbing pain, and all the mana in his body used up.

It had certainly been worth it, though. The doll had gone at the girl who had been fighting alongside him and Yamato. Yuuma had no idea about what she could do -- it's entirely possible she could have gotten away from the doll's blade without his help. But like hell he'd gamble with a person's life like that, simply to avoid a little pain. Though, despite his efforts, both Kelin and the girl had still been injured. Some frustration and guilt swirled around inside him at that fact.

Thankfully, his badly bruised, purple legs were hidden away beneath his robes -- no one had to know. A hero never showed weakness in front of others. He could rest when he was at home later, alone. For now he'd bare with it and stand tall.

Kelin spoke boisterously, still himself despite his wounds, which Yuuma was glad to see. It took Yuuma another moment to actually register what the man had said.

'Priest,' coupled with the fact that Kelin had no visible wounds, but was definitely in pain. Yuuma's eyes snapped open as he stepped towards Kelin. "Who--"

Just as he began to speak, however, the young boy they had saved tumbled to the floor, trying to walk on his injured legs.

"Ah!" Yuuma exclaimed. Quickly stooping down, he picked the child up gingerly, afraid to hurt him further. "Hey kid, don't... don't try to walk." He had been about to tell him not to cry, but stopped himself, realizing that was a stupid thing to say considering what he had been through.

Yuuma glanced around momentarily, worried and lost as to what he should do or say to calm the boy down. As he fought to ignore the pain in his legs and keep a straight face, he heard the kid mumble something about hamsters.

Looking around again, Yuuma spotted Yamato's hamsters on a table, drinking from a plate. "Oh," he said to himself, walking over and setting the boy down carefully into a seat at the table.

Hoping that'd be enough to help ease the boy's pain, he paused to gather himself before turning back to Kelin. "Did the guy mention his name or anything?" Yuuma asked deliberately, his contained anger and apprehension creeping into his voice.

Ikkime watched everything go down and kept quiet, even when Chikage showed up. Her mind was going to a million thoughts at once and her eyes began to glow slightly in the sudden commotion was overwhelming for her almost. Sighing she went to Kazuo and put her hand on his shoulder "Before you ask more questions, let Lady Chikage say what she needs to say, nine times out of ten, she actually has answers to questions before you ask them Kazuo-San. I doubt Yamato or anything for that matter wants to speak now, the Boy is our bigger priority now. A he's in pain, B he's gunna make a mess, to which im going to have to clean" she made a small joke and carried on "Regardless, Lady Chikage being here means she'll most likely have an answer to most if not all your questions, that goes for all of you" she looked around at everyone.

She looked at Yuuma "You need to sit, ask questions later, for now, just sit and drink this" her aura tail appeared again and snaked around to the counter, picking up a tucked away tea pot, putting it on the burner, she let it quickly heat up before pouring into a cup and putting it on the table for Yuuma "It'll taste really bad, and I mean really bad, but it'll help with the leg. Don't ask what's in it, just drink it" she winked and her tail lingered around, picking up more cookies and snaking its way back onto the plate next to the kid. The drink she had given to Yuuma was one of the more secret remedies the Cafe had. It was typically used when they got injured customers, it had a mix of things she didn't even know existed, but it was great for healing fast, not super human, but he would instantly feel much better.

Walking over to the table, she squatted down and looked at the kid, thinking for a moment, she had partially part of her Calamity form appear and her Aura like fox ears along with her six tails appeared "I might not be a hamster, but what do you think about foxes? Especially ones that bring you more cookies, eh?" she looked at little boy as one of her ears went down and the other stayed up, she was trying her hardest to be non threatening. She looked up at Yamato "I think it's safe to say that being alone now is a danger then ever before is an understatement, if they recruited someone like her that means something like that to you, then it's safe to say they might have recruited most, if not all of the people that's like that to us" she looked back at the boy "The enemy of my enemy is my friend, a saying i think that applies here."

"So what's your name little one?" she looked Amiti "And what are you doing all by yourself so late at night, didn't anyone ever tell you it's dangerous to be out late by yourself" her tails waved back and forth as she spoke to the boy and it almost seemed like they had a mind of their own.

Yamato didn't immediately answer Kazuo's questions, and nodded in agreement to what Ikkime said. "It is but an assumption on my part, based on how the Master of Meteors ended up. Only someone of true might can pierce through his insurmountable defenses. He was separated from the rest of us when we faced off against the Mistress of Marionettes, so I can't truly say as to what their true objectives are other than retribution, and even that may only be the motive of Der Puppenspieler."
Yuuma had the young boy seated at the table where Yamato's hamsters lingered. They had their fill by now and were cuddled together, all of them sleeping except for a tough-looking hamster with part of his ear bitten off and full of energy. The hamster squaked and bit Amiti's finger.
Expecting the child to cry even more, Yamato said: "Do not be alarmed. Maga-Z is testing you, for you intrude upon his territory. If your heart is true and willing to overcome the pain in peace, he will accept you."

Yamato then said in response to Ikkime's words: "There is no doubt that having made themselves apparent against us, there are sure to be many more of them than the few we encountered. And to stand up to them, we must join forces. Now, if you'll excuse me."
Yamato bowed to Ikkime, and walked to the counter where Ketsui sat. His Evil Eye had seen the fascination that the man bore towards him, and Yamato himself also wanted to know more about his rather peculiar skills. He seated himself perpendicular to the new guy and spoke to him:
"Your mastery over your own body is commendable, Flesh Devil. Do you use the forbidden art of Awakening to release the hidden potential of your very skeleton? If not, then what means do you have to achieve such a high level of bone-singing? Tell me your secrets for I, Beastmaster Overlord Yamato Ikusaba, seek enlightenment over all arts of moulding."

After the nice man set Amiti down at the table with the 4 hamsters, he stopped crying to a sniffle. His legs still hurt a lot, but seeing the furry little creatures made him forget a little of that pain. Then a lady came by with more cookies and if Amiti wasn't already half out of his mind from pain, he probably would have questioned the ears and tails coming from the woman. "I might not be a hamster, but what do you think about foxes? Especially ones that bring you more cookies, eh?" Amiti slightly giggled as he grabbed one of the ears and pulled a little to hard on accident. "Oh. Sorry." He fidgeted a little in his seat, and then managed to eek out a smile through the pain. Amiti felt torn between the two, while he loved hamsters, the lady with the interesting ears and tails was well... interesting as well. Amiti ate another cookie and left a little of it left. He stretched his hand towards one of the hamsters which began to growl at him. He paused, did the hamster just growl? He shook the thought out of his head and began to pat the hamster. Eventually he started petting it. Once he was finished, he took the remaining cookie piece and little more of another cookie and offered it to the hamsters as a token of friendship. He then looked at the interesting woman, and thanked her too for the cookies. He was about to get out of his chair but stopped when he remembered how much his legs hurt. He felt like he wanted to cry and almost started again but tried to stop. He put his head to the table and tried to grimace through the shooting pain. He didn't know what to do, he wanted to go home, but how would his grandpa believe his story?

"Shh..." Chikage exhaled after it thought that the Chasers had already enough time to calm themselves. It was important to allow oneself some rest, but if it didn't pressed the important matters forward, they would ever get anywhere.

"Well, I guess it's time for some explanations now, isn't it?" Chikage said and then waited a few seconds before the Chasers turned their eyes and ears to it.

"Where should I begin then?" It said as it sat in one of the tables, "I guess the beginning is as good a point as any, isn't it? But first, let me undo a little misunderstanding." At Chikage's words tendrils of darkness extended from its feet, when they touched the two mysterious persons that had been laying on the sidelines until now, they were turned into amorphous blobs of shadow and them became a part of it again.

"My messengers can be a bit troublesome sometimes, please excuse them." It said before before cocking its head trying to sound cuter, "Anyway, let me say what I came here to say." Chikage said as it began telling its story.

---

A few minutes ago, at the City's old industrial district...

BMG: Tokyo Drift

Vrmm! Vrmm! Vrmm!

The maddening sound of revving engines, tires screeching and loud music amidst the rundown warehouses and crumbling buildings filled the gasoline smelling atmosphere of the Yellow Jackets not so secret hideout.

It didn't took long for it to arrive there from its music store, in fact it was just a matter of thinking about it and finding the most appropriate place to manifest its body. Usually it wouldn't involve itself on Chasers duty, but a strange sensation was assaulting its mind ever since it first knew about the Suzumebachi's gang new activities.

"Look what we have here, guys!" One of the gang members said and he saw it walking carelessly around their hideout.

"Are you lost, babe? Wanna me hide you back home?" Came another insult, however it wasn't here for this sort of thing tonight, it had a target in mind and any who tried to touch it against its will would never be able to sleep with the lights turned off again in their lives.

Soon enough it was in front of Suzumebachi, its target for tonight, in its wake lay a trail of shivering and mind broken gang members after it had shown them why do men fear the dark.

"What are you doing here? I thought you didn't involved yourself in these things, you stinky monster." The wasp-man said.

"Usually I wouldn't but two things made me come here tonight, first I want to know all that you know about the current underworld events."

"As if I would ever tell you anything! Just die!" Suzumebachi said before shifting into his hideous alternative form and trying to stab Chikage through the chest with his stinger, only to hit a wall of sticky shadows, that resembled a giant flypaper.

"Ah, but who said that I need your mouth to tell me? Because the second reason I came here is..."

---

Chikage finished the short interlude licking its fingers, no one of the Chasers was sure if she being serious or not, or well, no one other than Shiina and Ikkime, who knew that the being known as Akane Chikage once was one of the most feared predators of the deepest reaches of the Crimson Sky, no Youkai who came close to its lair ever came back again, thankfully its all in the past, as now it only fed on Strays, like the poor Suzumebachi.

"Either way, the thing is that a few weeks ago a man named Edward Harker, one of YTC's main Chasers approached them offering a huge amount of cash and other goods in exchange for their 'services'."



At the mention of Harker's name Ayato couldn't help but remember his days at YTC, as the only Chaser that was more dangerous than he there was Edward Harker, also, he's the only man that YTC still haven't sent to try and make he come back or kill him.

"Harker was part of a group formed by many individuals of great power, Chasers and Youkai alike that have a personal reason to target each and every individual here at this moment. The other individuals are still a mystery for me but they come from groups as distinct as the (presumed) destroyed Marionetteer Clan and the Church Inquisition. However it seems that they have found you before I did. Once again I apologize for not delivering this message earlier."

"Finally, my hunch is that all of this has to do with the upcoming lunar eclipse, because the stars will be aligned in a way that only happens every thousand years or so and on these occasions the veil between the worlds is completely torn apart for a few minutes. Maybe I'm wrong, but I think they might try some crazy stunt during that time."

"Now then, if you'll excuse me, I have already involved myself too much. If you have any more questions or Soul Stones to sell, come see me at my store. Ah, before I forget! Shiina, you can send tonight's expenses bill to me. Consider this a treat, everyone."

And with this Chikage strode out of the door and door and disappeared within the nearest shadow. Leaving the Chasers free to do whatever they decided, after all, it wasn't its problem any more as its was just a beholder and shouldn't get involved in the matters of either the Human World or the Crimson Sky.

Shiina sensed the other girl’s doubt and stifled the urge to roll her eyes. Honestly, just because she was a vampire didn’t mean she was low enough to take blood from anyone anywhere. She wasn’t the oldest of her kind per se, but she was experienced enough to control herself in situations such as this one.

“Of course young Mistress,” Shiina replied, putting those thoughts away with a smile. “Please follow me. We actually have quite a few maid costumes in storage so I’m sure one of them will fit to your liking.”

A quick trip to the back of the café was in order, Shiina placing the blood-stained garments into the washing machine. Once Eiko had been taken cared of, the vampire returned to the front of the café just in time to hear Chikage’s explanation. The Youkai leaned on a nearby wall and crossed her arms in thought.

The story about the Yellow Jackets didn’t surprise her and she knew full well that Chikage wasn’t joking. Truth be told, the other Youkai could be a little messy when giving in to her cannibalistic urges. Even so, that was nothing compared to some of the things Shiina had heard her own kind committed in the past.

The following information about YTC and this group of rivals did spark the vampire’s interest though. To her knowledge, she had cut off all ties in the Crimson Sky and no one really had a grudge against her, let alone were they brave enough to actually attempt to take her life. That still didn’t make her feel any better that a group was formed specifically for the purpose of killing them all.

And just like that, Chikage’s speech was over. The Youkai was already on her way back, giving Shiina a promise to pay for whatever fiasco the group had planned for tonight.

“Thank you very much Chikage-sama,” Shiina said with a bow before heading back to her duties. The others could party all they wanted but the idea of this anti-group still kept her attention.

Eiko followed behind of the vampire listening to the woman say that there are many costumes in the back of the cafe, after a quick walk past the counter and down a hallway, the vampire yokai, Shiina, put Eiko's coat into the washing machine and Eiko witnessed the numerous amount of costumes that the cafe had." Why would a cafe need this many costumes ? Are you planning on starting a maid army ?" Eiko asked before she grabbed one of the outfits that wasn't so flamboyant. The almost emotionless woman grabbed a black pin stripped kimono with a black dress and a white apron, it was right in between a bright pink maid uniform, and a cyan colored uniform. " This one looks different from the others and seems more of my type." Eiko commented on the outfit, she felt a little surprised that she found the outfit where it was.



Eiko laid the costume out with her left hand and with her right robotic hand she reached behind her neck and grasped a zipper on the back of her bodysuit, she zipped it down to the middle of her back and slipped her left arm out of the suit, then her right, when her top was out of the suit was off she crouched down to untied her boots and took them off, when her boots were off she took her body suit completely off. Eiko quickly put on the costume and immediately felt a warm feeling, she didn't feel as cold as she usual did, she felt only her calm and emotionless feeling. After folding up her body suit and putting on her boots, she followed Shiina back out to the front to hear the woman from earlier talk about the yellow jackets and other factions that she wasn't familiar with.

" So those guys are called yellow jackets ? I killed a group of them not far from here on my own, I'm not sure what the other groups do or what you do in this world, but I'm not from here." Eiko told everyone, she walked back over to the booth she was at before, but she didn't sit down this time, she collected her weapons and placed the sub machine gun behind the counter and her smaller weapons inside of the costume's apron, this wasn't what Eiko thought would happen after she tried saving someone on the streets she stared out one of the cafe's windows wondering where the woman from before went and why she was brought to this world.

Ketsui looked over to his side just as Yamato sat down next to him, he had noticed his presence moments before he took his seat. He would nod to Yamato with a smile for the compliment on his abilitie. Flesh Devil... He let out a chuckle. Ketsui knew if he was going to help Yamato and the rest of the Chasers he was going to have to let them know the extent of his abilities."Now to answer you're question, it would indeed be the art of Awakening. Go figured all it took to make it surface was an accidental trip to the Crimson Sky and nearly having my arm torn off by a stray Youkai. Now I can do basically anything I want with them. Density changes, shape changes, size changes, the works. The harder I concentrate the more I can do with them, however it gets rather exhausting." Ketsui would hold his hand out in front of him between him and Yamato, demonstrating what his he talking about. He forced a few bones put of his hand, changing the shape and size of it before pulling the bones back into his body. There was a brief silence between the two, before Ketsui pulled his hand to his cheek. "What about you? What's the deal wi--" he cut himself off, turning his attention to Chikage as she began to speak to all the chasers.

Is she being serious this? A group specifically formed to kill each and every one of us here? The thought seemed a little far fetched to him, but on second thought he looked around to those who'd been injured in the rescue of the boy. Things seemed as though she was being dead serious about what she said, but Ketsui still hard a hard time believing it. Nevertheless, he didn't dwell on the matter as he should when hearing about the situation, there was a party about to take place and he didn't want to spoil the mood thinking about the dire situation they were put in. Shaking the thoughts from his mind, he looked back to Yamato. "Like I was going to say, what about you? What's the extent of these... Devas I think you called them earlier?" he asked curiously looking over to the hamster on the table then back to Yamato who sat next to him.

While Chikage was talking, Yamato looked over his shoulder to check on Amiti, who stopped crying and even pet the hamster despite having bitten him. The hamster accepted Amiti's presence at the table, and joined his brethren in taking a nap. As he listened to her speech, it was clear that his assumptions were correct, and that there were forces far grander than anyone could have guessed involved. Yamato flinched at the mention of the Marionetteer clan, since it brought up horrible memories from a more vulnerable time in his life, when he wasn't yet prepared for the malice of the human heart. There was fortunately a clue to his nemesis' movements: Edward Harker. If he could find this man, he will also find Orihime.

However, it was the mention of the lunar eclipse that caused him to blink. He remembered having read scriptures about the phases of the moon, and the terrible power they had over the world. If a group like that were to rend the boundaries of the worlds apart, it would be nothing short of the apocalypse. They had to prepare, and to go out there with clear objectives in mind, keeping close communication so they could find this Harker. But they were an unorganized rabble of mercenaries and hunters. They would need someone to keep them focused; a clear voice in the sea of confusion, a beacon of light to guide them through the void. Having decided on what to do, Yamato answered Ketsui's questions:
"Yes, that is correct. The Four Dark Devas of Destruction derive their power from the art of Awakening, which is channeled through me, a master of the technique. They may look like mere mammals, but their souls are grand as a towering mountain, and their spirits fierce as a thunderstorm. Many Beastmasters have attempted to tame their fury, but failed to understand the nature of the wild ones. They do not realize that you must form a bond of the heart with them, and to nurture them so their greatness blossoms forth and matures into the force that would destroy this world. If you wish to learn more, you must ask me another time, for I must now make a fated announcement."

That said, Yamato stood up, and addressed the Chasers in the cafe with his booming yet collected voice.
"My fellow Chasers, hunters of the dark, and slayers of the wild. As you have heard from the Herald of Horror, members of our league have been targeted by a foul conglomerate of capricious killers, with a few of their member's identities already unveiled, such as a certain Edward Harker to name an example. The Herald's assumption that they will use the lunar eclipse to their nefarious purposes is one we cannot ignore under any circumstances. They must be stopped at all costs, lest this world fall into oblivion. To do so, we must be organized into groups fit for each task we must achieve, of which there are three in all."

Yamato paused before continuing.
"First we must apprehend the Yellow Jackets that prowl the city, and exile them, by force if necessary. There is also a possibility they may give us more information, so their deaths should be considered first. The second objective we have is to continue the work of exterminating any Stray we find. While not as dire as what we are facing, they must still be kept an eye on so they won't overrun the city. Lastly, we must organize a scouting party to search for any signs of Edward Harker or his colleagues. This mission would require skills of subterfuge and stealth, so I will take part of this operation. Now, without further ado, let us celebrate our coming victories, and feast upon the earthly delights the Herald has gifted unto us, for which I am grateful. Cheers!" Yamato shouted triumphantly as he raised his cup of coffee.

Through it all, Kelin kept eating. He listened silently, shoveling giant forkfuls of cake into his mouth, washing it down with a big gulp of milkshake and then repeating. He was moving onto his second cake when Yuuma approached. Kelin stared at the man, listening. Then, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion. There was something...something he was forgetting.. Suddenly his eyebrows shot up, he dropped his fork onto the cake, as he remembered. "Yuuma Saito! I remember! The priest who I fought-" he paused "The priest who kicked my butt," he corrected. "He mentioned you. Said he was looking for you or something. I reckon he's the organization's man who's meant to be killing you." Kelin turned back to his cake, picking up his fork and shoving another mouthful in. "You know him?" he asked, chewing.

Suddenly, Kelin turned sharply towards Yamato "Did I hear FEAST!?" He rose, picking up his chocolate milkshake in his right hand in a sort of toast to the very notion of a feast "Here, here! I do declare seconding the wise motion of the HamsterMaster Overlord! I could eat a horse! HA!" Anyone who didn't know Kelin might be surprised at this declaration considering the man had just ate a cake meant for 12 people and was halfway through his second. Suddenly, his stomach growled. "Make that TWO HORSES!"

---

“Shh! Keep quiet or it’ll hear us!”

“Are you sure it’s even there? I don’t see it and I can’t sense anything else around…”

“The rumors say it only appears at midnight, right? We’ll wait a few more minutes before getting the jump on it.”

“But it’s half past midnight already!”

“I said keep quiet!”

The gathered trio of Youkai kept their distance from the looming mansion that seemed to glow crimson, the home of a great and terrible monster. One was a raven, the other a frog, and their leader was a wolf. Humanoid in appearance, each of them had powers that could far surpass that of the average Youkai, or so they liked to believe. Of course, none of them seriously considered winning in a fight alone with their target for tonight, the aforementioned monster that was said to roam this very palace.

Ordinarily, all of them would be spending the time scaring each other silly with pranks and stories of Youkai much greater than themselves. But tonight was different for the fourth member of their happy group had been kidnapped and stolen away by the Monster of the Grave. A Youkai so dangerous that no one dared to challenge it, be it Chaser or fellow denizen of the Crimson Sky. But the bond of their friendship held strong and true and they would do anything to save their friend. So now they lay in wait for the time to strike, each of them having a set of binoculars in hand.

“Since I’m obviously the strongest out of all of us, why don’t I cause a distraction? That way you guys can have enough time to search for Yoshida,” the wolf suggested.

“Are you insane?” the frog put in. “The Monster will tear you apart before we even get the chance!”

“So you’re saying that we give up? That we just quit? We can’t do that idiot! We have to be strong for Yoshida!”

“Hey, guys? I think one of the lights is turning on. Maybe the Monster is already inside? Er, doesn’t that mean that we’re practically screwed if we try an invasion now?”

“Oh I don’t know about that. The Monster might just be using it as a decoy. Don't you think?”

“Right! Of course! We’ll charge in full force-h-hey wait. Who’s voice was that?”

All three Youkai turned to see a girl crouching right next to them. She had a matching pair of binoculars with her, scanning the mansion just like them. When she noticed that she was being stared at, she placed the lens down and gave them all a happy wave. The sound of terrified screaming soon pierced the air as they dispersed almost immediately away from the girl.

“R-Run! Abort the mission, abort the mission!”

“Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit, oh shit!”

"Fuck, we're all gonna die!"

The girl only laughed at their panicked fleeing, comparing the helpless trio to that of headless chickens. She had pranked this particular group of Youkai in a similar manner twice now and would continue to do it for another five times.

“You kids are no fun,” the girl called out, bright smile never leaving her face. “Ah, but the spark of youth never does fizzle out. Maybe I’ll pick off the raven next.”

Humming to herself, the Monster of the Grave glanced up at the scarlet moon high above. The Crimson Sky was such a beautiful place with such a beautiful color. Summoning a black parasol in her hand, the girl gingerly opened it up and began to trek back to her secluded home.

“I wonder how long it’ll take for them to realize they were standing on their friend's remains,” she mused softly to herself. “Perhaps I’ll let dear Yoshida greet them herself next time. Yes, that does sound wonderful.”

Eiko stood next to the counter and listened to the guy with the purple scarf and and grey skin make a speech about how they couldn't let the yellow jackets defeat them and how they should be organised, and how they can not let the jackets win at any cost. Eiko sighed as he continued speaking about them, she only could get half the gist of what he was talking about." You should really come with some type of subtitles for the normal people who just can't follow what you are trying to say." Eiko told Yamato .

Then the other guy Kelin jumped up when he heard the word feast among Yamato's words, he was really excited to hear the word after he demolished a family sized cake, he then yelled about saying that he could almost eat two horses, she knew of the saying and when she heard of celebrate she felt a little confused." Celebrate ? Celebrate what ? Saving a child ? Knowing who's one of our enemies ? We should be getting ready for them instead of celebrating. And to celebrate we would need something stronger than chocolate milkshakes and cake." Eiko told the two sounding pessimistic unlike the happy two." But I can already see the mess you two will make with your new found camaraderie. Shiina since I'm already dressed in one of your uniforms, I'll be willing to help out if needed anywhere." Eiko told her.

Amiti finished the last of the cookies on the plate before him. He was so full, he couldn't eat anything else. As he looked around all the people were talking and it was a little nosy for poor Amiti. He looked at a wall clock and his eyes went wide. "Have I really been gone that long?" He looked towards his home then to his bandaged legs. There was no possible way that he would be able to walk home. If only they would heal faster... He looked around again, who would he ask to help him home.... He needed to get back, at least before his grandpa wakes up. He decided that he wouldn't tell his grandpa about tonight, he would just explain that he was attacked by dogs, the people at this cafe saved him, and brought him home. Yes. That's what Amiti would tell his grandpa.

Now if only he could get home, he was a little shy to ask anyone.

Ikkime felt the kid pull on her ears and she smiled a little boy was thinking about things. She turned to listen to Chikage and knew that it all serious and all to real. "Thank you Lady Chikage, have a good night" she bowed and stood back up looking over to Eiko in one of the maid costumes. She teased with a small whistle "You ever consider going into cosplay? You certainly make that little get up pretty cute." Looking over to Shiina, she motioned over to Eiko "I think you should hire a new maid" looking back at the girl, she winked and her tails shifted back and forward and her fox ears wiggled a little. Taking off her apron and leaving on her base costume, she looked at the little boy who seemed a bit distraught at the situation "How about I take you home little guy? You'd get to ride on my back and it be fun? Come on what do you say?" she lowered herself and turned her back to let him get on her back, as to say he kinda didn't have a choice. "You'll just have to tell me where to go and I'll get you there gently and with as little pain as possible" she looked behind her and gave a wink.

She looked at Shiina while she waited on him "I'll let Eiko take my shift if thats alright boss, I get the little on home and hurry back" looking at Eiko "Make sure to smile, you're prettier with a smile in my opinion" she teased again and waited for the little boy to shuffle on so she could start the travel to his grandfathers.

Eiko began gazing out one of the many windows in the cafe, she was wondering what was going on back in her world and what was happening, then her thoughts were interrupted by one of the other employees of the cafe, Ikkime was her name, she wolf whistled in Eiko's direction before she asked if she ever thought about cosplaying." Thank you for the complement, but no, my mother didn't let me wear costumes, or let me do many things, she said dressing up in a silly costume was a waste of time and energy." Eiko told the other employee." Besides I wasn't trained for cosplaying and serving coffee or scones."

Suddenly Ikkime told Shiina that they should hire Eiko as a new maid, Eiko didn't object with the thought, if she was gonna be staying here, she doubt she could get money from doing the usual things she'd do for her previous boss, since they were in her world and not this one." Well if I'm paid properly and do what I know how to do then I'll accept the work if Shiina is willing to hire me." She told Shiina and Ikkime, then Ikkime began to take the boy home and leave, she told Shiina to have Eiko take over her shift and then told Eiko to smile saying that it would have her look prettier." Smiling would decrease my chances of noticing any threats towards myself and others by 30%." Eiko explained to Ikkime before she began her journey with the child.

Ketsui nodded to Yamato before he started his announcement to all those in the cafe, he kept silent as he listened to Yamato's words. It seemed to be a good course of action, however he wondered who would be put int to what groups for what tasks, where would he fit in to the whole equation. Pondering on this thought, Ketsui would seem to zone out, staring off in to the distance. Bringing his attention what his surroundings once more, Ketsui would drop his hands from his mouth allowing them to knock slightly on the counter. With this He looked around the cafe, wondering what to do, who to talk to. His eyes scanned over the cafe, looking to each of the occupants briefly before switching to the next. His eyes stopped as they landed upon a man with yellow shaded sunglasses covering his eyes.

Slowly walking over to the man, he would smile and send him a bit of a wave. Casually sitting beside the man with the yellow sunglasses, he would look to one of the few working in the cafe. "Could a get something to drink? I'm not too picky so anything will do really." He soon drew his attention back to the man."Thank you for speaking on my behalf earlier, I appreciate the gesture." He would say with a nod before looking up to him and continuing. "My name is Ketsui, Ketsui Nagumo to be exact, that is if you didn't hear it earlier. I'm not quite sure I caught your name though, so if you don't mind my asking what might it be." Ketsui would say in a pleasant voice, maintaining his smile towards him. As he waited on the man to reply, his eyes shifted around the room in search of a clock or anything to tell the time. It must have been getting late and by the looks of the woman getting ready to take the child home he felt like he was right with his thought.