Tamachan

The nickname made her happy, a feeling that she was still working on getting used to. Human emotions were complicated, though maybe neccessary. It might do to think on that later. A second later came a flash of something else, something that she didn't like at all. Anger. Her eyes faded from their natural pink to a slightly menacing red.

This... Bragi fellow, another agent. This short interaction told her so much more about him than the short meeting earlier. Prideful, self important. Tamako disliked him immediately She quickly decided against any actions at that point. Words, at that point would not sway his opinion. distrustful, arrogant. She catalogued more observations, watching carefully with a cool look. Body temperatures betrayed the feelings of everyone in the room. She resolved to keep this in mind, perhaps find a way to work with him. He was a shooter, as was she. The android doubted that he was as accurate as she was.

After he left Tamako turned back to Jennifer and Fuuka, eyes returned to their normal color.

"Yes. That would be perfect."

She took the pizza in hand and headed straight for the stairwell.

... Alright, that was it. All that crap he'd just thrown out? After he'd been the one who was annoying people and screwing with the room? Fuuka wasn't okay with that. Taking a step forward, she drew one fist back... and found a shinai placed right in her path to prevent her from following through. Before she could do anything about it, the man had already left down the hall. As much as he'd pissed her off, she didn't feel like running down the hall to pursue him so she could knock him clear through a wall. The schoolgirl jammed her hands in her pockets and huffed.

"Tch, jackass," she commented, simply, before turning to face Tamako. The entire cafeteria was pretty annoyed at the moment, though thankfully lightbulbs were already being brought in to replace the ones that had been damaged.

"Ohh, Tamachan's already on the move," she added, watching the robot girl, "Oii, let's go, White-san."

With that, she followed the girl. Pizza would help calm her down."

Diego walked out of the mandatory meet-and-greet with some of his less-socially-inclined coworkers feeling much the same as he did when he walked in: disappointed. He'd been disappointed before the meeting, not knowing just how many sticks-in-the-mud he actually worked with, just waiting for him to ply his trade on. And he was even more disappointed now, since the meeting had barely just begun before people started trickling out of the room like particularly-hostile (and bored) maple syrup. What a let-down this day was turning out to be- perhaps he should pull a fire alarm or something, liven things up. Though, a fire alarm was a bit too juvenile for someone of his talents and experience. Uncle Coyote would be such disappoint in him for stooping so low. Hm. This might take a while.

Hmph. A shameful display in there, boy. You spoke scarcely a word, and slouched in your seat like a peasant. You are host to a god, need I remind you- I expect a more suitable demonstration of our might the next time we encounter your subjects.

Speaking of things taking such a long time... Diego rolled his eyes at the booming voice in his inner world. They're not my subjects, Raijin, they're my coworkers/prank targets. And need I remind you, you're not a god. Also, don't call me "boy-" I might actually be older than you.

I will call you "boy" if I so desire it! Truly, never have I had such a witless and shiftless host before! You should be raising armies! Claiming territories! Making this land bow before your feet! Anything other than your insipid pranks and childishness! As the god of storms, I would expect a half-blood storm spirit to offer more respect for one his better!

Look, I get you're used to the whole, "sucking your own dick" thing, but hear me out- I've met gods before. Maybe- it was hard to tell to what extent Uncle Coyote really qualified for divinity, sometimes. And I've also met jumped-up elementals, spirits, and dead guys with an over-inflated sense of self-importance. And based on how long I've been doing this whole spirit-walker thing, I think I'm experienced enough to tell the difference.

Raijin sputtered at this, which translated to rumbling thunder echoing across his inner world's sky. Worthless! Worthless child! I should simply tear myself free from you and have done with it!

An empty threat, just like all the other times Raijin had made it. The two of them knew very well that any attempt to separate their essences would mean the death of both of them. And Raijin loved itself too much to just let his will and being dissolve back into the Light Rainbow. He smirked, knowing Raijin would feel the audacious gesture, and knowing how badly it would nettle the narcissistic spirit.

Keep telling yourself that, windbag. In the meantime, I'm gonna go find Kichi-chan.

Another, quieter rumble of thunder. Your dalliance with that poor excuse for a medium troubles me, boy. Surely you can find a more fitting consort than a mercenary. Much less a male.

For the last time, Raijin, I'm not flirting with Kichi-chan. Or was he? Did it even matter? Probably not. Besides, what would it matter if I was? What exactly is it with this country and your hangups about two-spirits?

Name it in whatever way you will, but such behavior is unbecoming of the king I expect you to become. Feh. I tire of this nonsense- I take my leave for now, but mark my words, I will be pondering ways to punish this insubordination of yours. And on that note, Raijin retreated deeper into Diego's soul, prompting the man himself to sigh in relief. Raijin was getting more impatient with their situation, which could cause problems. He didn't know what would happen to him in his current situation- he'd never been so deeply entwined with a spirit before- but a disconnect between a shaman's motives and those of the spirit he was channeling was bad for their connection. It might interfere with his ability to use Raijin's powers, leaving him with his own admittedly-less-impressive suite of abilities.

At worst, it could dissolve the connection between them entirely, killing them both. And that was no bueno.

Regardless, there wasn't much he could do about that now. Right now, at least, his and Raijin's mutual desire to not die should, in theory, be enough to keep the two of them connected. But that was all he really had right now, was theory. As far as he knew, spirit-fusion like theirs happened about as often as Uncle Coyote gave out his teeth, or as often as Susitna woke up from her sleep.

In short, not often at all.

Diego glanced up from his reverie to realize he'd made it outside, somehow. Odd. He seemed pretty far away from the building, too, considering how short of a time he thought he'd been reminiscing. What street was this, anyway?

Confound my poor sense of direction, he growled in his head, curious how even a half-spirit like him could get so easily lost. Just how far did I get off track this time? Now I'll never find--

His thoughts stopped abruptly as he spotted the current object of his attentions attempting to scrub out an impromptu summoning circle he'd seemingly sketched onto the sidewalk. Diego smiled, unfurling his wings from the ether and levitating off the ground by a few inches.

Ha HA! Take that, poor directional sense! Your attempts to foil me have only brought my evil plan to fruition! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!! He floated lazily over to Kichiro, who was currently smoking one of those sins against good tobacco. He resisted the urge to grimace, leaning an arm on the ectopath's head casually, as one would at a bar or similar establishment.

He, of course, was still floating.

"Kichi-chaaaan~" he purred, ruffling the other man's hair slightly. He nodded in the direction of the symbols Kichiro had been unsuccessfully trying to scrape away. "Whatcha got here? Homework?"

@cuttlefisk

Kichiro felt a stir among the minor spirits. All around him the energies shifted and swirled away like leaves. They didn’t scatter, really. It would be more accurate to say they shifted aside in deference, making a path for one they viewed to be not only like themselves, but a superior.
Shortly after, Kichiro felt it too: A pair of distinct auras that washed past his third eye in a flash of begrudgingly harmonious elements. One that was light, caring, passionate… if perhaps more than a little mischievous. This first felt divided further still, one foot on either side of the bleary line that separated the physical world from the spiritual. The second major energy was a complex one. It was huge, grand, enormously powerful, and certainly knew it. There was arrogance and regality in equal measure. This was all tempered by a small but clear spark gruff compassion for its host.
It was about then that an arm thunked down on his head and ruffled his already unruly hair.
Diego.
A complicated being sure, but not so to Kichiro. He rested firmly on the short list of people Kichiro could consider friends, which translated better as ‘people he didn’t completely weird out’. He took a few steps forward, then turned to look up at the winged young man.
His mouth quirked in a small smile. It looked a little strange on him, as though he couldn’t quite perform the action unless it was cynical or rueful.
“Diego. Hey, man.” He said, then quirked an eyebrow. “Raijin. You still massive tool?”
He knew the self stylized god didn’t like him. If he focused, he could reach out and hear the greater spirit’s words, but he didn’t bother. He wasn’t really in the mood to listen to his grandiose rantings.
He looked down at his chalk scrawlings and chuckled.
“Eh, it was just a dumb trick. Some goofball startled me in the cafeteria at your dumbass HQ. I, uh… Also may have blown the lights out. Maybe some robot chick’s face too. I dunno, I saw her little eye-light things go out. I didn’t stick around for the finger pointing, so to speak.”
He paused and took a long drag from his cigarette. Blew out two trails of smoke from his nostrils before continuing.
“Anyway, I called up a sprite to go hex him. Not the most noble use of my time, but hey, I’m not a noble guy.”
Kichiro glanced at his watch. Damn, was it really past noon already? A little nugget of pain started to pulse away behind his eyes. It was getting to be about time for a drink.
“Which way are the puppet masters pulling your strings today, eh? Do they know you’re hanging around a shiftless ne’er-do-well instead of working?”
@EnterTheHero

The circle'd star was complete, inscribed upon the floor of the arcane workshop in blood of the lamb as with a wave of the hand, black candle flames sprung up at each point. The ancient magus scrawled words in scripts of long forgotten languages whose original speakers were dead two thousand years and more at each section of the now-divided circle. Finally in the center the ageless spell-weaver placed a grotesque wax simulcra of a human being, lifeless yet excruciatingly detailed, its every line and feature wracked with pain. Now, now was the key moment when all of the energies of the spell came together in the incantation:

"Beware the storm that gathers here,
for soon the cold of night will fall, summoned by your own hand!
Death comes as a bone-white haze, taking the lost and the unloved babe!
The Earth Will shake, in two will break and death all around will be your-

Without warning the door to the inner sanctum broke open, flooding the room with light that burnt away the shadows to reveal...

A frankly rather cutesy looking child's bedroom complete with posters of dinosaurs and dragons, a bed built to resemble a rocket ship and what looked to be a rather enormous teddy bear wearing a blue star-studded and very pointy wizard's hat. The teddy bear was in fact larger than the child it belonged to, a diminutive red-haired boy likely still in elementary school who lay on the floor singing quietly to himself and manipulating a little clay model.

The man who had interrupted him was built as if he'd eaten five dozen rugby players every morning so he could maintain his size and could barely fit into his western suit, but he smiled at the boy fondly.

"Hoy, Emori-kun! Don't you remember, you're supposed to be going with your father to meet your potential new bodyguard?" The man didn't want to disappoint the boy by saying 'babysitter' or 'nanny' and in any case the job did include bodyguarding duties. "Besides-Oh, what are you doing there?"

The boy hopped up from his place and beamed at his father's chief of security "Itsa art project for school. I made it myself! But c'mon, go get the car so we can get goin', I wanna see what this lady's like awready!"

As the man-mountain exited the room, it slowly faded back into the blood-soaked magical laboratory and once it had the boy walked out and closed the door after himself with a satisfied smirk.

---

Avalon Incorporated was now one of the biggest multi-national incorporated conglomorates in the entire world with branches in numerous types of businesses from broadcasting to energy to defense contracts and more. It's founder Takamura Kintaro had appeared one day likea bolt of lightning, apparently a reclusive but wealthy private citizen whose near-prophetic skills at investing wisely and always choosing the right deals had earned him the nickname of 'Japan's greatest financial wizard' over the past few decades. A widower and an intensely private man, Kintaro's pride and joy even beyond his company was his young son whose mother had died in childbirth, said to be a true prodigy and already learning the family business. Thus it was no surprise to employees of Avalon for the youth to show up and consult in the hiring of his own caretaker, though once they were alone none of them saw the way the light went out of his father's eyes as he wound down like an unplugged appliance. The child took a seat at his parent's desk as if it were his, waiting.

The new hire was only the latest part of his plan. It was a plan no child could have conceived, over a thousand years in the making and indeed no child had conceived it.

Because he was Emrys Merlin, ancient, ageless and First Among Wizards...and soon this world would know his vengeance.

@Atomicnut

Lotte anxiously rapped her finely manicured nails against the corners of her folder, as she kept her stance up and straight like the most tense of levies. She spared a last glance at herself. She had used a mortal guise this time, her actual silver hair turned into platinum blonde, her red eyes obscured into a shade of blue, and her demonic features all hidden. She also had done her best to keep herself presentable.

It was baffled how finding clothes, and a barber shop for females was much more expensive than it was for men, in that regard. And whenever she tried to choose a dress that was an honest, god, and humble fit, she would feel completely uncomfortable in it. Something inside her stirred each time. Compelling her to buy a size smaller. And there she was, her ample bosom, a reminder of her current condition, struggling to break free from the shirt, who had only been spared the brunt of the siege because the first undone button. Likewise, her business skirt and shirt were equally snug and form fitting. She couldn't have it other way, no. If she ever tried to wear anything less flattering, some kind of switch would turn in her demonic brain causing her to feel uneasy.

She cursed her current body, wishing for that of the times of old, but there wasn't anything that could be done. Plus, she was ageless now, and could fly and use the crafts that once thought were beyond him, only befitting Merlin and his ilk. Her heels clacked somewhat in surprise as she shifted in her chair, seeing the new arrival, eagerly. But with a demure disposition, putting all what she had learned from her fellow demons of lust into practice. It was not exactly how would she had wanted to climb into social status, but one could only use the cards she had dealt with.

Besides, no one else wanted to hire her, with her obscure background. Other than less-than reputable clubs, that is.

The situation was perfectly mirroring that of a TV show or a romantic story. Single widowed millionary tycoon would fall in love with his child's caretaker, thus closing the wounds that a tragic death had done. She wanted to puke upon the idea, but it was what needed to be done. All that she needed was to be nice to the brat and the father, and work her way up slowly... the first part wasn't too hard. She had been once a paragon of virtue... well, sort of.

And then the man fell limp, life escaping from his eyes. And falling limp like a doll. Lotte's expression stood there, frozen, a discredulous nervous smile creeping up as the father who was dead or had never been alive in first place. Lotte's vapid smile reached critical levels as she talked, nay, squeaked.

"Where's the candid...camera?" She yelped, quickly recalling some humans were fans of these kind of pranks. No, this was no prank, as her mind clicked. The company was called Avalon. The "business tycoon" was a magical golem or homunculus. And there was the kid staring at her directly, although she could swear the damned toddler was sneaking a peek at her barely contained bountiful gifts. But there was little doubt he was the real mastermind. Lotte's smile disappeared, as she craddled her face between one of her hands.

"No, don't tell me. The old man daddy puppet trick is getting old, or whatever, and you need a new, brand sexy nanny who can keep a secret and buy you the adult magazines, because for some reason you botched something and you're stuck in a kid's body." She chuckled so slightly. "So that's the gist of the job, isn't it?" She conceded, as she looked at the kid's expression.

Where had she seen that stupidly smug face...? It seemed familiar...

@Dblade26

---

"That was a close one." the mountain spirit muttered, turning heads as she exited the hobby shop. It was hard for one of her ilk to be inconspicuous, considering her height and, well, everything. Even dressed fairly modestly in a ribbed sweater and jeans, Saikohime was an impressive specimen. However, none of that mattered now that she had the object of her current quest in her hands at last. Stopping for a moment, Saikohime lifted her sunglasses in order to allow her azure eyes to inspect the spoils. A recently released figure of "Justice Succubus", a genderswapped version of the popular anime hero, Justice Devil. A low "Fufufu~." escaped the towering woman as she inspected every curve on the figure, admiring the attention to detail in the notably more lewdified version of the hero's costume. Made all the sweeter by the fact that it was the last one in stock. On the way to the city, she'd been afraid that there would be none left, but thankfully she'd managed to get this one after searching high and low. Placing the figure's box back into the bag, Saikohime whistled cheerfully as she made her way through the streets. After all of that searching, it was time to treat herself to something tasty before going back home.

While there were times where she truly wished she didn't have to go to the city herself, there was some merit in the thrill of finally cornering your quarry after a successful "hunt". Still, having some proper worshipers to grab particularly popular items would be nice. After all, it'd be a shame if she ended up not finding the coveted Justice Succubus even after all that searching. The market for new figures was cutthroat, and she couldn't exactly go on the net and specify "Mount Fuji" as a delivery address.

Eventually, Saikohime managed to score herself some mochi ice cream, taking it with her to continue her walk. So far, everything was actually pretty quiet. And by "quiet", that mostly meant that nothing too over-the-top had happened nearby. There had been a few times when the actions of some particularly rowdy criminals have managed to inadvertently smash whole blu-ray sets or, like in one case, damage a figure with falling rubble. As such, Saikohime had become even more protective of her hauls than before. Popping a ball of mochi into her mouth, Saikohime was greeted by the taste of chocolate ice cream as she sat down at a park bench observing a fountain.

While it wasn't exactly a difficult trip for someone like her, she certainly wasn't looking forward to making the trek back to her mountain home, especially since there was probably going to be some oni bothering her about some dispute that she'd have to mediate or some such other nonsense. At least in the city, beyond her occasional duties as a freelance consultant with Outbreaker Company, no one really made a point of bothering her unless they were attempting to hit on her or take pictures with her for whatever reason.
Heaving a sigh, Saikohime enjoyed a green tea mochi ice cream as she got up, realizing that she was running low on food.
"Fufufu~. I got so excited by Just-chan, I almost forgot." she thought, pondering whether or not she had any shelf space remaining for her newest acquisition as she went to find a convenience store.

As quickly as the shinai had been produced, it was stashed away again once it was clear that there was no need to prevent Fuuka from doing anything rash, and the English girl trailed along behind. What was it that she had wanted to ask about before the distraction? Oh, right, that homework. Caught up in her thoughts as she was, it was a miracle that Jennifer didn't manage to trip on an undone lace as she trailed the other two up the stairs, given her normal ability to find the one patch of slippery floor after cleaning.

Zann tilted his head to the side as Panda ignored him and got herself up, rising back up to his full height with her. He didn't say anything about her comment as she got up but he smirked at the next one and was actually about to indulge that request when yet another person came into the office to complain about the other agents, only to storm back out again after receiving a short response from Miyu.

After that little outburst he just shrugged and continued with earlier intention, turning around and walking beside Miyu's desk. He hopped up on it as he shifted back into a fox, laying down on a clear spot on Miyu's right, his front paws hung off the front of desk and his tails swayed off the back, a few occasionally brushing against the very embarrassed bunny-girl's side in what as meant to be a comforting way. Though he still looked at Panda with the canine equivalent of a smirk on his snout.

@VitaVitaAR@RoflsMazoy

That's not fair...! She thought.

Her efforts backfired as what she had truly wanted drifted away tantalizingly far away from her reach. She wanted to grab him up and hug him tightly but she couldn't do it now that he was in such an awkward position. Zann's human form made her blood boil, but his fox form was something else. Those wonderful ears, that wonderful looking fur... She wanted it badly ^{( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)}, but she could never forget that behind the furry visage was still the same old Zann. The same old annoying Zann, who was always teasing her like he knew exactly how she felt.

When she had first entered the Outbreak Agency, she had looked at just about everyone with no short amount of wonder. The limit of her interaction with other people in the past had been running away from bounty hunters with her father, and most of the time she never even saw them before they started firing. Arriving at the Outbreak Agency had been a huge change which had taken a little time to get used to.

The most jarring of which was most likely the kindness and timidness of Miyu, traits she had never seen before, although 'timid' had certainly been one of the words to describe her in her earlier days, however; if Miyu had been the most unique person she had seen so far, then Zann had been a close second unfortunately. Easily the most mystical of their members, there had been something otherworldly and fascinating about Zann.

In retrospect, it was definitely still there but the feeling she'd had when she first saw him had been wrung out into one of competitiveness. She couldn't forget the way he'd looked the first time he had transformed, they were a major reason she felt conflicted about him all the time. But in the end, there was only one person who could be number one in her heart, in terms of cuteness. In front of Miyu, she didn't want to lose.

She walked around to the left side of Miyu's desk, and tried to wrap her up in a tight hug.

^"Senpai..." She spoke softly, ^{"Who do you like better? Me or Zann?"}

---

@VitaVitaAR @Zetsuko

Diego chuckled as Kichi-chan insulted his symbiotic roommate once again, slightly grateful that the old spirit wasn't paying enough attention to hear it. He really wasn't in the mood to have the storm spirit ranting about "honor" and "respect" and having the sound reverberate off his skull. Very bad for his sunny disposition.

"Oh, Raijin's off sulking somewhere in my soul right now," said Diego cheerily, as he alighted on the pavement. He kept the wings out, though- those were cool. "He's mad 'cuz I'm still not trying to get you guys to bow to me or whatever. I mean, I've dealt with arrogant spirits before, but this guy takes the cake most of the time."

He then nodded along as his fellow medium went through how his day had gone, particularly about the jerk who spooked his Kichi-chan. Diego pondered for a moment how he'd missed Kichiro blowing out the lights- such a disruption should have registered to his senses as some kind of ripple or shockwave. Perhaps he was losing his touch. He was somewhat out of practice from before... Still, his Kichi-chan was learning well the lessons of spite and trickery, by the sounds of things. He smiled as Kichiro described his prank/hex.

Good for you- I'm so very proud of you~

He then chuckled at Kichiro's accusation of wasting his time on such a layabout as himself. "Why, Kichi-chan, I'm offended! You of all people should know that there never was a shiftless ne'er-do-well that could match me! The puppet masters, as you call them, are distracted at the moment. I have received no orders for today, or perhaps I have, and I'm simply electing to ignore them. Who can say?" He grinned mischievously at this, then walked a couple steps closer, furling his wings into the unseen.

"Regardless of why I'm out and about, I am as such. And so, perhaps you'd like to do me the honor of accompanying me to acquire some food of some sort? Maybe even just stop for some coffee or something, I don't know. How about it?"

@cuttlefisk

The android nearly skipped up the stairs, the disturbance from early entirely gone from her mind by the time she opened the door leading onto the rooftop. As she shouldered open the door at the top her eyes were dazzled, not by the bright afternoon sun because that part of them had been burned out, but by the wonderful warmth of the summer day. Tamako smiled, already having put the confrontation from earlier out of her mind. She stopped just outside and held the door with an elbow.

"Awww, I should have brought drinks..."

Tamako still had trouble remember things that humans needed. Maybe having friends would help. It seeme that she was still learning new things al lthe time, even after so long.

@Raineh Daze@VitaVitaAR

When the Outbreaker stormed off, Miyu's face returned to her hands and she let out a long sigh. What was she supposed to do? It wasn't her duty. It wasn't her job to handle these kinds of things. And so, especially with the circumstances that had occurred moments earlier, she was near her breaking point. It was likely any further embarrassment would lead to her collapsing into an awkward heap. She didn't say much of anything at all, even as she felt the fur of Zann's fox form brushing up against her. So he'd transformed...? That didn't help the situation as much as it should have. And, certainly, what happened next definitely didn't help her situation at all.

Panda hugged her. After a few moments of silence, Miyu felt her cheeks filled with embarrassing heat. Why... what? Why was she hugging her? Why... Why?!

And then came that question.

After a brief pause, a moment of comprehension, the rabbit youkai's quaking form suddenly went rigid, her mouth hanging open. Her cheeks, no, her entire face, was bright red, her ears twitching rapidly.

"Eeeeeehhhhh?!"

So stunned was she that the repeatedly blipping on her console wasn't really noticed yet...

---

Fuuka was quick to step out into the sunlight. From the outside, the Outbreaker Building was a tall, dark structure... with most of the important things beneath it. Fuuka had never paid attention to exactly why this was the case, but it probably had to do with keeping them safe. Or something. Regardless, the upper floors were mostly office space from what she knew. Various facilities beneath it actually let out all across Tokyo. For example, the mecha could be launched from nearly any point in the city. As Tamako lamented the lack of drinks, Fuuka turned to face her.

"I'll just grab some from a vending machine," she replied, "Don't worry, Tamachan."

Indeed, there was a vending machine right nearby... Without skipping a beat, Fuuka pulled out her wallet and scanned the machine. Taking note of the price, she slipped a few coins inside, enough to purchase beverages for all of them. Ordering one for herself, she was about to look back... when the machine did not vend her drink.

A few moments later, the vending machine now about a hundred meters away and in much less functional condition, Fuuka approached the others with several beverages.

"See? Easy!"

It was about then that a strange sound, a shadow of some sort, whooshed by...

"... Did anyone hear that?"

The half-fae had stared at Lotte's body a bit as she walked in, but more in disbelief that the rumors and occasional confessions he'd filtered out of demons were true and Lancelot, greatest lech in all of Camelot, had been transformed into a succubus. The irony made his lips quirk up into a smirk and he felt himself having to suppress a laugh.

If anything, the boy only smirked harder as Lotte failed to deduce her situation. Well, nobody had ever accused Lancelot of being the most intelligent among Arthur's companions. The child mage let her give her little summary and act smug before he couldn't hold back anymore and burst out laughing, hard enough that he actually fell out of the comparatively over-sized office chair and floated up into the air upside-down. He floated back upward un little eddies of wind until he looked eye-to-eye with the succubus after fading into more subdued but still rather unimpressive fits of childish giggling.

"Oh-ho-homigosh, over a millennium and a half and you're-you're still just as clueless as ever!I haven't laughed like that for at least a few centuries, but just look at you! You're just too much!" The former arch-magus regained control over himself after a little of this and floated back down into the chair, regarding the demonic swords-woman more seriously.

"Okay, okay I'll grant you, you actually got a decent amount right for someone whose only thinking used to be done with your metaphorical and literal swords. But you got a few points wrong." He held up a hand and stuck up a finger for each of the points in question.

"One: While I am admittedly impressed with the improvements to pornography made since the 5th century on a technical level, the neurological and hormonal side-effects of this body mean I don't exactly ah...appreciate them in any other way, if a dirty old woman like you really has to know."

"Two: The Daddy-Puppet is working fine thanks, you aren't meant to replace it, nor was this body an accident. In fact it was all part of my plan."

"Three: That plan means there will be some nannying involved, to keep up appearances obviously. But it mostly involves paying you lots and lots of money to fight and potentially kill a whole lot of people for me and maybe get your old sword back in the bargain. No King, no Grail, no shining dream to inspire humans that don't deserve it."

He put his arm back down and wove his fingers together on the desk as his 'father' moved jerkily to life and held up a contract and a pen.

"So does that sound like a deal, Lancelot Du Lac?"

@Atomicnut

Tamako took pains to ignore the violence that befell the vending machine, a fellow mechanical creation. Any attention paid to it might invite the wrath of her new friend upon Tamako herself. 'perhaps,' She thought, 'This is fear. I can do little to affect the outcome but can do little but imagine it.' Her smile remained exactly the same to mask the horror she felt at the destruction. Mankind really would take whatever they wanted from other life forms.

Her head snapped around at the noise, tacking the speck with unblinking intensity. The androids head tracked it until the shadow was out of sight. Her mind shifted tracks into a more serous mode of thought. "Affirmative. My damaged optical sensors lack visual acuity. The flying object remains unidentified."

The android looked between the pizza and the drinks with a forlorn expression.

---

While the convenience store run had gone without incident, Saikohime couldn't help but feel a little disturbed the whole time that she was filling a basket with instant ramen, potato chips and cola. "Spirits? Ugh, now of all times?" she groaned mentally, frowning as she paid the cashier. While she didn't really care much for the opinions of other kami-type spirits, she really didn't feel like getting an earful about how a "noble mountain guardian" shouldn't be lowering herself to dining on mortal snack foods. Gathering her things, Saikohime noted the now very close proximity of the spiritual presence in the area, and promptly power-walked out of the konbini. However, as soon as she exited the place of business, she bumped into a dark-haired young man looming over another smoking a cigarette over some chalk drawings.

The unexpected impact loosened the mountain spirit's hold on her spoils, sending them falling to the ground. And, while her snacks fell in such a way that they wouldn't fly out of the bags (though the cola might need to wait, to be sure), her eyes widened behind her sunglasses when Justice Succubus' box bounced off the concrete. Ignoring the two men, Saikohime picked up the box and inspected it, making sure nothing had been scratched or dented on its surface. Almost as if the gravity in the surrounding area had been kicked up a notch, the air became heavy as Saikohime spotted some scrapes on the corner where the box had hit the ground. "This.... This is unaccpetab-" her thoughts, full of despair, were interrupted when she realized that the spiritual presence she'd sensed was right in front of her. At the drop of a hat, the pressure in the air was relieved and Saikohime smiled as best as she could.

"Oh-ho~. Sorry about that, pal. Well, noharmndonegottago." she rattled off before turning on a heel and once again powerwalking away, hoping that the two men weren't going to try and confront her. About the collision, or the figure, it didn't really matter.

@EnterTheHero @cuttlefisk

Clearly, this wasn't Lotte's day. Her cynical smile soon melted in a neutral stance once the ploy was revealed. She wasn't staring at some magician trapped in a child's body. This kid was THE magician. The one he had shared many than a meal with, situated right to next to the king he had once been his most steadfast support.

"Merlin..." Her lips said in a low, almost hushed whisper, as her eyes narrowed, the full weight of the situation and the magician's laughter weighing upon her mood. "...of course it had to be you." She finally added, her stance somewhat recovering as she leant forward, eyeing the tiny magician. "You're not that much better, ever if it claims it part of your plan." She let her cynical smile grow back, as she straightened herself, wiggling herself back into her chair as if it was some kind of overgrown cat. Lotte cursed mentally the succubus body's ticks and mannerisms.

"The mind is a plaything of the body, isn't it?" She half-admitted to Merlin's comment of no longer having the flesh cravings. "At the very least, this saves me having to...drain someone else to reach my goals. Even if my body likes that diet, I certainly do not." She added, folding her hands in front of her. Her eyes peeked into Merlin's own visage, examining the situation.

"Both of us have had enough of it, yes? I can see that. You trapped in a tree, and myself, even though my later attempts into redemption, being turned into this." She added, with a deft motion...and began to cup her bosoms. Damn demonic ticks, she cursed inwardly.

When the adult puppet sprung forward, Lotte made no attempt to grab the pen, instead she lifted a finger cheekily, as she began to spin and spin it. Magical flames materialized on the tip of her nail. "Even so... this body, despite not being as fit for swordmanship as my old one, it has a series of perks which aren't so bad after all." She smirked as she pointed the magical energies, searing slightly the contract after reading it thoughtfully, down to the small letter. Demonic habits died hard. The words "Lotte Blackthorn" appeared imprinted as slightly seared marks on the form, as Lotte smirked like a child showing her new toy.

"I can now do some of the craft you were renowned for, Merlin. Plus I am ageless." She finished. "Nevertheless, this is a deal... even though my name is no longer Sir Lancelot." She paused. "It is Lotte Blackthorn."

Zann was going to try and keep from embarrassing the poor little bunny any further, but that was quickly foiled by Panda when she came over and hugged Miyu, asking who of them the bunny like better. And with that already being done well...

Zann got up and walked across the desk to come up on Miyu's other side, where he started nuzzling into her and rubbing the soft fur of his body against her side, trapping the bunny between a Panda and a Fox. Though with Panda focused on squeezing an answer out of Miyu and the bunny-girl herself on the verge of turning into a quivering puddle of embarrassment it was him that noticed the blip on the console, stopping for a moment to see what it was and then huffing at the interruption. He stepped away and shifted into a human form again and walked around behind the chair to pry Panda off of Miyu while trying to draw her attention to the aforementioned blip. "Miyu, you have an alert" he indicated towards it with his head since his arms were busy.

@VitaVitaAR@RoflsMazoy

^{"Hmph. Fine..."} She said, releasing Miyu from her embrace.

She grudgingly stepped back and flopped down onto her beanbag. Little consolation for opportunity she had just given up. Out of most of the agents in the Oubtreaker Agency; Miyu was by far the softest, and squishy in certain places... Hugging Miyu was sort of like a privilege for those close enough to be so intimate with her. And her flushed cheeks, even though they didn't really raise the temperature, made Panda feel even warmer inside.

But as good as it was, work needed to take precedence over play and Miyu was an admin of sorts, so her work was more important than most. She still couldn't help but feel disappointed that her time was cut short however.

^{"Is it a job?"} She asked from her low position.

---

@VitaVitaAR @Zetsuko

Jennifer watched in confusion as the other schoolgirl chose, rather than to simply go get a drink from somewhere else--or tear the vending machine open, which she was quite capable of doing, to roundhouse kick it away. Who installed a vending machine on the rooftop, anyway? It was convenient but hardly the sort of well-trafficked area that you would expect to find something like that. Not that it mattered any more.

The English girl's opinion on the noise was a lot more relaxed than her fellow rooftop diners: "It's probably not important for now, we should eat the pizza first."