Electric Alleycat
The door slammed behind Elegy, her back and one foot leaning against its hardwood surface. Trapping her and its sole occupant inside the bedroom she once shared with Tsubomi.
“Mother.” she proclaimed, breathing heavily. “I…”
“Never fear!” Tsubomi twirled about her swivelling chair to greet the despondent Elegy with open arms. She was in the middle of finishing an editorial for DDS-NET’s quarterly newsletter from her obsolete PC-9821Ra43, itself a hand-me-down from the sales offices of uncle Mammon. “Great Heroine Tsubomi is here!”
Elegy blinked a few times considering whether she had chosen the worst of all possible options. Asmodeus? He’s a man, not one she’d ever go to for relationship advice. Mirai? Absent, and working through her own problems in her way. Papa Lucifer? Even if he could be reached, he has quite a bit of apologizing to do. Setsuna? That leaves…
“I don’t want to talk about this, but I… don’t know what I should do.” mourned Elegy.
“Mm hmm!” concurred Tsubomi. It was rare for Elegy to open up to her mother in the first place, channeling a surge of confidence — not that she was in need of more — into Tsubomi and her maternal instincts. “I’m all ears.”
“Two nights ago, I was… with… Takajou, and… things happened.” Elegy was careful to omit the underage drinking and other details her mother would surely not approve of.
“Oh, you’re getting back together then?” inquired Tsubomi. “How sweet!”
“NO.” Elegy slammed her fist on the door. “Ce n'est pas possible!”
Tsubomi twirled her hair with her typical sleepy gaze, trying to hold back the urge to interject again. “Okay, a one night stand. That’s fine!”
“IT’S NOT FINE!” Elegy’s face was turning slightly crimson. “Takajou is supposed to be going out with Setsuna!”
“Is Takajou only going out with Setsuna?” Tsubomi was figeting with her magnifying glass, wistful for her detective days.
“…well… no… but it would be better for all of us if he could keep his dick to himself and stop fucking around.”
“That‘s just how Takajou is, dear.” Tsubomi smile faded away, sympathizing with her daughter’s plight. “You know, before I ever met that little scamp, he was in a loving relationship with your father.”
“EXCUSE ME.” Elegy’s eyes dialated, her skin started to turn pale. “HE DID WHAT?”
“That’s right, Takajou and your father were a couple before they reawaked Hoshigami.”
“HOW OLD IS TAKAJOU.” Elegy’s hands were covering her face with dozens of questions running through her head right now. “Why… why didn’t you tell me this when we were going out in junior high?”
“Oh, I didn’t think it mattered.” Tsubomi sheepishly explained with a casual shrug.
Fuming, Elegy thought twice of storming out of the bedroom, as she hadn’t gotten what she really came inside for. And, all told, she knew her mother had unconventional ideas of what a healthy, loving relationship with a spouse looks like.
“Okay, mettons ça de côté. How do I make this up to Setsuna.”
“Do you want to know how I’d do it?”
“Yeah, I sure do.” Elegy was short on good ideas, and Tsubomi had good intentions, even if her ideas were not good at all.
“Did Setsuna ever get a chance to see your Halloween costume?”
In a darkened bedroom after 6pm, Setsuna lumbered inside through the window. Takajou was missing, Elegy had become distant, and neither Davi nor Mecchiyama were able to get through to him. Was there something he had done to drive his lover and family away…?
Something gave him a pronounced tap on the shoulder. Setsuna turned to see…
“Hey, Setsuna.” Elegy was lightly smiling in a purple bunny girl outfit with fish net stockings, a belt with a holster housing a Devil Riser 2000-B, and a pair of handcuffs. Behind her, she was cradling her sword Caladborg with her arms.
“Elegy?” Setsuna winced. “Where’s your jacket?”
She gave no quarter. “Gotta be honest. Three nights ago… I’m… sorry… for going out with your boyfriend Takajou.”
“You did what?”
“I was…” Elegy was not used to apologizing, so it took her a moment to steady herself. “drunk, nostalgic, careless. And I never want to hurt you.”
“Well…”
“Okay, I never want to hurt you that way, petit malin.” Elegy’s face scrunched up into a look of mild disgust.
“Is that why Takajou’s missing?” Setsuna pondered.
“Maybe, I don’t know.” Elegy rested her elbow on Caladborg. “But I know of a useful idiot who could track him down.” She winked at Setsuna with a light smile.
“Who?”
“Venez avec moi. Come with me.” Elegy extended her hand outright towards her crumpled brother as her other hand was at her hip.
“Where are we going?”
“To explore the astral ocean of Shibuya and Shinjuku together.“ Elegy grinned, showing off her fangs. “Wanna fly together?”
“Wait, Elegy, this is silly. You can’t fly…?” Setsuna stammered.
The great queen Elegy’s sword rose gently from the ground before hovering in place. She carefully sat down on it like a surfboard adrift in the air.
“I have other ways of owning the sky.” Elegy took a deep breath as her brother’s eyes widened. “Now, go put on your biker jacket, and let’s find that insect.”
“Uh, sure! Right on.” Setsuna nodded, his wings outstretched, readying himself for the feeling of adventure that he was longing for.
Caladborg shot through the sunset with a blue contrail, Elegy steadying her balance on top with Setsuna flying in “wingman” formation just behind. Their first planned stop was the Shinjuku Golden Gai, when suddenly…
A bright ray of light shot from the horizon, dividing the siblings. Elegy buckled her knees to pull Caladborg closer as Setsuna plunged twenty feet.
The voice of a young boy boomed through their heads. “Fallen ones, the skies were not made for your filth. Accept your fate, and be turned to dust.”
Elegy flipped the bird at the source of the light. “Ours to conquer, yours to fuck out of here.“ Her sword rapidly accelerated with a massive sonic boom as Elegy held her position in heels, surfing the skies.
Meanwhile, Setsuna continued to lose altitude to hover closely over shadow of the skyline trailing where Elegy was headed.
Coming closer into view from the horizon was a white haired boy with an ichor-fueled red halo. The eye tracking Elegy’s positioning while a conglomeration of tubing funnelled through a jacket appeared to be wielded to the boy.
“Then accept the swift hand of the Lord, impotent worms.”
One by one, a series of hama infused beams rose vertically from the ground towards Elegy and Setsuna’s position like searchlights scoping out their subject in the red sky. Setsuna turned and twisted to avoid the beams from below as Elegy…
“Shit!”
Elegy briefly lost her footing as one beam separated her legs from Caladborg. Her left hand grasped the hilt of the sword, avoiding an untimely dismount and allowing her to sail down to the safest tall surface available to her; the clock faced NTT Docomo Yoyogi Building.
The white haired boy smiled, floating in the sky. “You’ve had a taste of profound knowledge. Now your suffering will be short—“
Setsuna grabbed the white haired boy’s valves on the back, severing them with the surgical thrust of a back pocket knife.
As the white haired by was distracted by the need to save his own life, Setsuna held him in a headlock, his red eyes holding a fire that hadn't burned since his last journey to Makai. “Back to Sunday school, twerp. Take some lessons in brevity while you’re at it.”
“#@&_!^%*()?-+” replied the white haired boy, before his form faded in a static haze, like a dead television channel, then disappeared completely.
Alone in the sky, Setsuna glided to where Elegy had sought shelter, at the bottom of the giant clock.
“My hero.” Elegy expressed with a dithering sing-song tone to a stone faced Setsuna before the two embraced. He almost felt a quick sensation on his cheek before the two separated, staring into each other’s eyes. It was probably the wind.
“First time I’ve seen an angel outside of Makai.“ remarked Setsuna, checking his gloves for unwanted remains that could be used for a murder investigation. “Or what looked like one.”
“Certainly talked shit like an angel.” concurred Elegy, slinging Caladborg behind her. “I was hoping we’d get the view from the Metropolitan Government Building, but I can settle for this.”
She sat off the edge with her legs crossed, watching as the last of the daylight plunged beneath purple clouds to the night sky. Setsuna sat right beside her, giving her some cover from the high breeze with one of his bat wings.
“C’est joli ici. Nice to be here with you.” observed Elegy.
“Absolutely.” concurred Setsuna. “If only we didn’t have to deal with more questions.”
“Such as…?” needled Elegy.
“Angels in Tokyo, two of the three Baal brothers disappearing, everything about the Setos, Nagahisa wandering off to nowhere, Mirai doing who knows what in Makai. To name a few.” Setsuna was almost certainly missing at least five other curious things that happened in the last six months alone.
“We don’t need answers to everything.” observed Elegy, watching the stars come out. “Some things are best left buried six feet under and further down.”
“Like your wings?” Setsuna turned to survey Elegy’s reaction. Elegy just smiled lightly and snorted.
“Whatever gave you that idea, inspector?”
“About the time I realized there was no fight with Karen… that night.” Setsuna carefully recited. “The scarring on your back matches where the bones connect my wings.” He traced the outline of the markings on Elegy’s exposed back for emphasis. “You amputated your wings as soon as they appeared.”
“Bravo.” Elegy dryly remarked. “Not an operation I recommend, unless you want to be writhing in pain with medical assistance for eight hours. Then, there’s shitty long term problems.”
“Permission to ask ‘why’?”
Elegy looked down at her feet to consider if she had any desire to get into this.
“I never wanted to be a devil child, Setsuna.” she hugged her legs closer to her as she approached the subject. “I don’t want to be a fallen angel, I don’t want to be weird, I wanted a chance to be a human instead of some shithead’s trophy.”
“…excuse me?” Setsuna’s eyes grew wide.
“Nevermind.” Elegy took a deep sigh and waved her hand. “Just, for my own sake, for your own life. Don’t do what I did.”
“Is there anything I can do to help?” offered Setsuna.
“Don’t you ever bring it up again.” her voice raised with a finger jabbing Setsuna's chest as she was eager to move onto other subject. “Know that I need to take meds for life and some refills are going to be a little more urgent de temps en temps.”
“Copy that.” Setsuna confirmed, thinking of what to say next. “Aren’t you worried about Nagahisa?” Setsuna asked Elegy, pondering the implications of an angel this far out of their usual nesting space.
“Oh, we’ll find out about him in…” she turned to face the clock. “Shit, we gotta leave for Golden Gai now.”
Elegy unsheathed Caladborg, took a running jump off the clock tower, and surfed straight for a certain corner of Kabukicho, Setsuna in tow.
The Golden Gai is an exclusive, and expensive, bar crawl space famous at the time for the occasional friendly passing Yakuza, steep prices, and a strict “no foreigners” policy in place. Elegy was booking it in heels from the moment she dismounted her sword, barking out quick orders to Setsuna.
“Roll up your turtleneck, keep your hands out of your pockets, and pour l'amour du ciel, let me handle the conversation.”
Setsuna nodded and rolled up his turtleneck to cover his mouth and nose, giving a loose impression of a ninja or a boy trying to play as one. Elegy waved her brother inside the bar that identified itself as the Albatross G.
Inside was a massive collection of chandeliers, glassware, and drinks behind the counter. Mirrors lined red velvet walls and leather seating. On the second floor at a private table above the stuffed head of an elk, Elegy took a seat with Setsuna playing the bouncer role next to her.
“No cover charge?” Setsuna inquired, aware of the region’s reputation to post variable pricing against customers who look to be trouble makers.
“Pas de soucis. The owner likes me, you’re family, and you don’t look like trouble. For now.”
Five minutes later, a young man in colourful dress with a rifle tapered off with a series of scarves and marking entered with a woman his age down below.
“50,000 yen. Each.” said the bartender.
“Oh wowzers, I don’t carry that kind of money… Rena, do you have any change?” Rena covered her forehead with a fingerless glove.
“JIN, honey!” Elegy shouted, getting all of their attention. She greeted them with a wiggle of her fingers. “The boy’s here to see the queen, let them through.”
The bartender sniffed the air. “It’ll be your tab if they cause a scene.”
Elegy crossed her arms, holding her head up. “If it comes to that, I’ll remove them myself.”
Jin was wearing an undershirt two sized too small for him, exposing his finely toned belly, with a jacket that covered his shoulders and ribs in red and black lines and stars along them. His shorts looked to have fit Setsuna when he was ten years old with a utility belt and stars, a set of checkerboard leg warmers and a single kneepad gave him the appearance of, well, a hero from a hero’s TV show. If his clothing fit him better and his weapon wasn’t obviously lethal from appearances. His hair was a giant unruly tuft of black hair with an oddly placed visor on top, sharing the star, red and black motif of the rest of his outfit.
Rena, by comparison, had been sensibly dressed for a safari. Donning black wristbands, the aforementioned fingerless gloves, and a shirt with rolled up sleeves and an array of pins around a vest. Her hair had two major strands framing her face, a single curled up “ahoge” with the back vaguely resembling Mirai’s flip. She was not as pleased to see the Kais as Jin was, at this moment.
Jin was not shy about speaking his mind. “Elegy! You look… extremely… um. Hot, tonight.”
“You’re not looking bad maintenant, Jin.” Elegy offered back.
“Why are you dressed for sex work in a bar like this.” undercut Rena, as she side eyed Jin who was still sizing up Elegy.
Elegy was looking through Rena, rather than at her. “All for business. Isn’t that what you are here for, sharing knowledge and wisdom?”
“The handcuffs are for business, too?” prodded Rena with a smirk.
“In a manner of speaking.” Elegy was grinning wider. “Now Jin, did you come back with information?”
“Oh yeah!” Jin searched a number of his pockets before finding what he wanted in his shorts. “We got… pictures… right? A little map that Rena made… and some clippings.”
Elegy and Setsuna looked on with interest at the articles presented to them. One was a photo of Takajou in pirate dress with a cadre of girls with insect features in a clothing store. Another had Nagahisa and a distinctively younger Mirai eating sweets in a train. A third was of Karen seemingly playing alone with forest animals. And a fourth…
“That’s Davi.” remarked Setsuna.
“I know it’s Davi, Setsuna.” whispered Elegy.
“Looks like she’s being followed by that… thing in the shadows.” Setsuna remarked with a measure of concern.
“Save your inquiry for later, dear.” Elegy motioned for Setsuna to seat himself again as she was pondering the meaning of these bits.
“So, uh, we weren’t comfortable about following Karen Daidouji.” remarked Jin. “We tried to find anything for three days, but she’s just a prep school kid.”
“Not a peep about grand plans to reset the world?” pondered Elegy.
“No, she mostly kept to herself outside of studies.”
“Guess I should have paid closer attention to her ‘mother’.” Elegy moved on to Takajou and Nagahisa. “Did they seem to be in distress?”
“Well, the black kid—“
“Takajou.” Elegy corrected. Rena gave Jin more side eye.
Rena took over. “Takajou ran away with acrobats from the Baal Brothers Travelling Circus, we heard from a saleswoman it was to find and ransom his brother Berith. But none of them are in any real trouble… though they may be set on finding some.”
“Heh, sorry about that.” Jin offered in apology.
“And Nagahisa, still in good hands?”
“It’s getting harder to get in and out of Makai to be sure…” added Jin.
“You’re the devil child.” remarked Rena. “Shouldn’t it be second nature for you?”
“Well, we had to make this map…” Jin tapped on Rena’s work, with little drawings of mountains, petit frosts, deserts, towns, and features about. “Because Makai from two weeks ago is different from Makai of six weeks back. Something’s not quite right ‘round those parts.”
“Did you find anything at all about Lilith?” inquired Elegy.
“Nope, a whole lotta nothing.” Jin explained. “For a former queen you’d expect there to be something, like, I guess a marker, a palace, or a demon that remembers her.”
Rena confirmed “Not a single purple haired snake woman in Makai that we could find.”
“…are you three talking about Yuriko?” asked Setsuna.
Elegy froze.
“How did you know that name?” shot Elegy with a look of suspicion and disgust.
Rena and Jin looked at one another, curious if they had stumbled into a lead. Setsuna raised his arms and gently waved his hands.
“I had this really weird dream about her…” Setsuna offered a look of surrender. “We can talk about it later.”
“Let’s.” Elegy turned back towards Jin and Rena. “Was that everything?”
“As far as we ourselves could find!” Jin gave a goofy grin and a thumbs up. “I think that calls for a pretty good reward.”
“Seeing me in a bunny suit is not enough?” Elegy batted her eyes at Jin.
“Actually…” Jin stroked his chin, receiving an elbow to the gut from Rena.
“NO.” yelled Rena.
“Then how about this?” Elegy opened the chamber of the Devil Riser 2000-B to take out a summoning bullet, handing it to Jin. “Try it.”
Jin looked at the bullet with curiosity and anticipation. Silver with gold highlights, it was installed into the chamber of his modified Devil Riser rifle, aimed squarely at an unoccupied space on the floor…
“CALL!” shouted Jin.
From a Star of Solomon on the ground rose a heavily armoured beast in a power suit. Electrical power rising above it as the beast stood to kneel before his new master, Jin.
“I am Iron Kitsune. Pleased to be of service to you.”
Jin whistled with approval. “Holy toledo, that’s the maximum prize at the Fire Land Casino!” He was not a very good player of famed Makai parlour games such as Big and Small, which made this an especially satisfying pickup.
Rena started entering away information into her Devidex for BATTLE-NET competitive play before the opportunity completely slipped by, as Elegy and Setsuna sat back to observe the celebration.
“C'est tout.” commanded Elegy. “Let’s rendezvous next month, same time, same location… Ignore Karen Daidouji, and pay closer attention to Takajou and Nagahisa’s whereabouts.” She leaned forward towards Jin’s clear line of sight. ”I promise you the journey will be worth it.”
“Roger roger.” Jin saluted. “It’s been a blast!”
“Later.” said Rena.
Elegy blew Jin a kiss, no effort made to hide it from Rena. “Pour affaires… I’ll be seeing you in your dreams.” She gave a friendly wave and wink.
“Shut your mouth, Elegy.” Rena grabbed Jin by the arm and left the Golden Gai in a hurry, as Elegy and Setsuna left — satisfied — in the opposite direction.
Rena peered over her shoulder to witness the departure of the Kais, once they were out of earshot. “Looks like they’re off to Kabukicho… I’m not surprised.”
“Whaddaya mean?” inquired Jin.
“It’s the red-light district. They probably think of themselves as hard edged badasses and creatures of the night.”
“Dunno about you, Rena.” Jin offered. “That white haired guy with the bat wings and the mummy hand looked pretty cool.”
“Yeah, about that…” Rena flipped open her GUMP to a page with two profile pages, head shots and Devil Buster data; SETSUNA KAI and ELEGY KAI.
“Wait, they were brother and sister?”
“Children of the legendary DBD Tsubomi Kai.” Rena expounded, as the screen shifted to a profile of Tsubomi with her biography of works. “Setsuna was more insightful than I thought he’d be. Elegy, well,” Rena paused to look unamused at Jin. “You know exactly how I feel about Elegy.”
“She’s cute!” Jin blurted, thoughtlessly.
“She always needs to be right, always has to be the center of the conversation, always keeps anyone else from getting a word in edgewise, always has to rub it in my face that she can do whatever she wants with you and you’ll never tell her to stop.”
Jin’s smile faded at Rena’s well justified outburst. Rena continued marching through the streets of Shinjuku towards Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden.
“I’m sorry.” offered Jin. “Ya see, I never really think about standing up for you, since you always know how to stand up for yourself!”
“That’s a terrible reason not to support your friend, Jin.”
“She does give us reliable work, though!”
Jin and Rena had been running into a bit of a dry spell for Devil Buster work of late, between the relative calm over Tokyo and the worldwide recession.
“I guess I can be grateful she let us drop the shady assignments.” Rena remarked. “Now, that name Setsuna dropped, I’ll get to work on ‘Yuriko’.” Rena dismissed the cards with the profiles of the Kais to show a map populated with colour coded onimarks.
“Hey,” Jin unloaded the cartridge from his downright obsolete Devil Riser to give it a good cleaning as they strolled on. “Ya think Elegy’s on to you being an angel kid?”
“I think half the reason she likes you is that she knows you’re a devil child.”
“So you don’t?”
“I don’t think she cares that I exist.” Rena packed away her GUMP. “Moving on, I’m looking forward to a nice walk through the park…”
“She’s a devil child too, ya know.”
Rena lifted one eyebrow. “Explain.”
“You didn’t notice it? She’s got strong constitution, impressive strength, the power to command demons — like her sword! — and a handful of psionic talents.”
“Oh.” Rena’s eyes went wide. “Jin, you’d better write down all the dreams you’re having tonight.”
“Why’s that?”
“I’ll be seeing you in your dreams? That was a threat.”
“OH. That.” Jin put one arm behind his back. “Yeah. Okay. I guess it’s about time to start a dream diary…”
On the second underground floor of Furin Kaikan in Kabukicho lies a dimly lit spot of velvet carpets, crammed with bleach blonde gentlemen and women looking for solitude and companionship. It is a host club, the Sakura BAR. A fine establishment running beneath a well known demilitarized zone for the nearby Yakuza protecting their turf.
That night, assisted by the wonders of exquisitely forged identification, Setsuna and Elegy were able to secure a table with one of the hosts.
“There is no way this is your first time here.” groused Setsuna to his sister.
“Not my seventh, either.” grinned Elegy. “I think you’ll enjoy the experience.”
“Well.” Setsuna considered. “The men do look nice, and this is definitely not a place where we’re gonna see folks from school.”
“Bien sûr!”
“But why are there so many bunny girls here…? And maids… and well dressed women…?”
“Vous voyez… this is a place where…” Elegy carefully considered her words at this time and place, “adult entertainers and women of power come to hang out and have fun.”
“I’m not sure I understand how…”
“In Kabukicho, your body is the commodity.” Elegy opined. “So girls with power in that sense use that for companionship.” She swept her arm to gesture at all the hosts on the horizon. Some looked to Setsuna like punk rockers, others like members of a J-Pop boy band.
“Though you can’t take any of them home, they’ll never get mad, get sad, or be needy. They’re here to be someone to talk to… and rack up a massive bill of food and drink.” Elegy winked with her glass, sipping on nonalcoholic Wild Idol Sparkling Rosé.
Setsuna nodded. “Okay, I think I get it now… so do they mind having a man to wait on?”
“Better ask Kazushiro.” Elegy gave their host a tiny tap with her elbow.
“Man, woman, devil or human, everyone needs someone to love.” their mysterious long, silver-haired host opined. “And everybody, equally beautiful and ravishing in their own way.”
“Is that why you picked us out of the crowd with an umbrella?” inquired Setsuna. “My wings were fine at keeping us dry, you know.”
At the time, Setsuna was a bit alarmed at being propositioned in the rain. He was still trying, casually, to remove the remaining blood stains from his gloves and jacket. Fortunately, Kazushiro didn’t ask questions, and Setsuna had no interest in attracting more surprising company.
“But you deserve to be waited on, my dear sir. You and your sister, beautiful creatures deserving attention — can I get you a sparkling cider?”
“Yeah, be my guest.” confirmed Setsuna, settling into the casual atmosphere. It wasn’t home, but it felt safe here. Despite the transactional nature of the place and the business itself.
As Kazushiro jumped up to grab Setsuna’s drink, Elegy took out a red pill and ingested it in a gulp of Wild Idol.
“Medication?” Elegy nodded. Setsuna was in an especially curious mood, and Elegy was unusually open to answering questions tonight. “For, that thing we mentioned earlier…?”
“Ringo’s recipe.” Elegy confirmed, referring to their next door neighbour and well-known witch, mother of Kaname Mirai. “You can ask her for le parcours.”
Kazushiro hurried back with a glass for Setsuna, marking off items in a tiny pocket book as Setsuna observed, then carefully sipped on the fancy apple juice.
“Could I interest you in a portrait, to capture your beauty…?”
“Magnifique!”
“Hold it, I don’t wanna be here for too long…” raised Setsuna.
“I can do it in five minutes,” offered Kazushiro, “if you’ll be so kind as to hold a pose that long.”
“Let’s do it.” Elegy pressed her brother.
“Wait, I didn’t…”
Thinking fast, Elegy cuddled up to her brother in her warm embrace, the same special technique used to get Setsuna to settle down and shut up in bed. Setsuna had no further complaints.
“Thank you, kindly.” Kazushiro got out a set of watercolour pens and went straight to work.
“Hey, Setsuna.” Elegy whispered while they were locked by an everlasting hug. “Takajou has this funny habit of talking about you when he’s relaxed like this.”
“You want to talk about boyfriends at a time like this?” Setsuna wondered.
“Nobody else is here to judge us.” grinned Elegy.
“Alright.” Setsuna considered what line of questioning wouldn’t irritate Elegy. “Is there anybody you miss from our time in Makai?”
“Hmm.” Elegy contemplated. “Astaroth made it to the known world avec soulagement. Most of us Holy Children made it out of Makai. Dad’s been missing… ” Another pause. “There is one person I’d like to see again.”
“LIKE like?” pressed Setsuna.
“Maybe more than that.” Elegy squinted. “I’ll give you three guesses.”
“I’ll get it in ONE.” grinned Setsuna, with a twinkle in his eye.
“Okay, mind reader.” Elegy snorted. “Bring it on…”
“…Fenrir.” Setsuna made a finger gun at his sister and imitated a clicking sound with his tongue.
“Fuck right off.” Elegy made a gagging noise with her tongue.
“I’m right. I’m absolutely right.”
Elegy’s face was turning beet red as she tried to hide her shame behind a smirk. “I am going to clobber you after this.”
“Please,” interjected Kazushiro, “A lovely madame shouldn’t worry in a place like this.”
“You’re right.“ as Elegy re-adjusted her bunny suit and ears. “So, matchmaker,” turning her attention to Setsuna, still in a vice-like cuddle. “What do you think the queen should do about Fenrir?”
“Do we know if he’s alive?”
“He’s chiseled and sturdy.” Elegy reflected. “His odds of survival are pretty good.”
“Why not write him a letter?” offered Setsuna.
“Like the ones dad never responds to?” Elegy’s tone lacked its usual spark.
“They’re great. Not even a love letter!” Setsuna proposed. “Put together something to ask if he’s alright and to check up on him.”
“How do we find him?”
“Mammon would find a way.” Though both knew quite well that it would cost them. “Cool and Mecchi could probably do it too. Or maybe even Jin, or Rena, for less…”
“Kaz,” Elegy snapped her fingers. “Are you taking notes on this?”
“Anything for madame! A refill?”
“Merci. Write this down… Reach out to Jin on VineCon. Demand that he deliver a letter of interest to the noble knight Fenrir. Queen’s orders.”
“Done.” Kazushiro ripped out a paper slip and promptly handed it to Elegy, who stuffed it in her corset.
“I think we’re about done here.” interrupted Setsuna. Both had their fill of fancy, expensive juices, and they’d have to spend more than 9800 yen to remain on premises with the devil painter.
More importantly, Setsuna wasn’t confident that further discussion of their love lives was going to lead to easy small talk given his sister’s inclination to share his lover.
“I go with the boy.” Elegy confirmed.
“Understood, madame and monsieur.” proclaimed Kazushiro with what little French he knew. “I look forward to seeing you two characters again, next time you need shelter from the meat market outside. I’ll have your sketch delivered to your home tomorrow, after colouring… for an extra fee.”
Elegy and Setsuna took a moment between them to consider their financial situation before Elegy replied with “We’ll take it. If you don’t make us look gorgeous, I’ll have your head.”
“It will remain attached, I assure you.” Kazushiro made a small praying gesture, as the Kai siblings flew back home.
“Why do we have to use the stairs?” Setsuna whined.
“Why do we always have to enter from the window?” shot back Elegy.
“Because it’s easier on my wings.” grumbled Setsuna. “And besides, I can’t even remember the last time you wanted to do more walking…?”
Elegy rolled her eyes and scoffed. “Maybe I don’t want to play superhero every night? Just shut up and use the damn stairs.”
“Fiiiiine.”
At the front door of the Kai apartment, Setsuna fidgeted for the keys in his pockets.
“You know, I wouldn’t mind more of these adventures with you.” Setsuna remarked wistfully. “Especially if you’re the heroine in the bunny suit.”
“Are you interested in going out in assless chaps?” Elegy gave a big, satisfied smile.
Setsuna froze. “Assless what?”
“Or you could even do a jacket with no shirt.” offered Elegy. “When was the last time you dressed sexy?”
“I… uh… guys… do that?”
“Maintenant, you have to learn to give and take.” snorted Elegy. “I’ll get you out of your shell.” With one of her high heels, she gave Setsuna's foot a little poke.
Keys located in his pocket, Setsuna surged with haste to get through the door of the Kai residence to find…
“SURPRISE!”
“What the…?”
The lights flipped on to reveal Davi Seto, Cool, Mecchiyama and Tsubomi holding a cake with a drawing of a smiling boy in spiky grey hair on it.
“HAPPY BIRTHDAY!” they shouted in unison. “WE LOVE YOU!”
“I… wow. Um, thank you.” Setsuna, gobsmacked, was trying to collect his bearings as Elegy was simply smiling right beside him. “I guess I forgot that today was White Day.”
“We’re all so proud of you and what you’ve done!” proclaimed the Kai matriarch, Tsubomi. Setsuna was hoping nobody heard the conversation he just had with Elegy just outside.
“You’re still our hero, just one Mecchi Mecchi year older!” shouted Mecchiyama.
“I know I haven’t spent much time with you lately…” ruminated Cool. “But you’re always my best friend, no matter where we are.”
“Setsuna.” Davi batted her eyelashes.
“Davi.” Elegy remarked with crossed arms.
“Elegy.” Davi curtseyed in her dress. “It’s nice to be with you in your home. I hope you don’t mind at all.”
“No, please! Stay, stay for as long as you’d like.” Setsuna stammered.
“I’ll be in our room, Setsuna.” Elegy passively remarked as she headed for bed, waving wearily behind her. “See you in a few hours, hero.” The door slammed shut.
Maybe nothing works out as Setsuna expected. His friend, brother, and lover scattered to different ends of the Earth. Earlier that morning, Setsuna thought he’d be spending his birthday alone with himself.
With the commotion at his home, Setsuna reflected on the time. No one is replaceable, but nor are there limits on who he can call family.
He has people who love him for who he is. Maybe that’s all he really wanted.