The Bounty Hunter

January 16th, 2090

Rin’s POV

Mwahaha!  Despite boiler brain’s unexpected confession to Master, I still managed to be the one to go on a date with him first.  Okay, it’s not an actual date, but I don’t have to tell boiler brain that.  Master got quite agitated after big sis said the name Hayashi.  He told me to get ready for an excursion tonight, so here we are at some fancy mansion in the fancy part of Tokyo.  I still don’t know what is going on.  “Hey Master!  What are we doing tonight?”  I asked him telepathically as we ghosted through the building.  “Getting some answers and possibly killing some people.”  “Yay!  It’s been a while since I’ve killed something that’s not a demon!”

This is a date.  I mean, what else could it be?  A cute girl (me) and a handsome guy (master) out alone late at night doing something naughty (murder) is the definition of a date, right?  That’s what those shows on TV always say.  Hehehe, seems like Master couldn’t resist me after my fourth tail.  I knew that the extra fluffiness would get to him!

My delightful daydreams (or are they normal dreams since I’m doing it at night?) were interrupted when we arrived at a bedroom with the guy Master wanted to interrogate.  The bed he was sleeping in was HUGE.  It like could have fit everyone back in the apartment in it at the same time and still have space left over to toss and turn!  “Wait here.”  Master commanded me as he went over to the bed.  He placed his hand on the old man, and started sifting through his memories.

…I’m bored.  Master’s done nothing but stand there for like a minute already!  Come on, come on, come on, come on, come on.  After an eternity (2 minutes!!) Master was done.  “Rin, feel free to devour his soul.  Just don’t get mad if you get indigestion.”  “Okay!”  I eagerly chowed down on the soul, leaving the body intact at Master’s request.  Apparently, he wants it to look like the old man died in his sleep.  I don’t get why, but whatever!  If master wants me to do it like that, I’ll do it.  And I won’t be a meanie about it like boiler brain!

“Let’s go, Rin.”  “Alrightie!”  I used this chance to leap into Master’s arms as he started teleporting.  We appeared in the apartment, where boiler brain was waiting.  It was the middle of the night and the others were asleep, so we made sure to stay quiet.  I did not relinquish my grip on Master, much to boiler brain’s chagrin.  And she couldn’t even yell bad words at me about it, since she didn’t want to wake the others.  Ha!  Take that!

“Did you find out the details behind the attack, boss?”  boiler brain asked.  “Yeah, it seems my recently deceased grandfather hired Pandemonium to kill Hikari.  He was going to use me as a pawn in his corporate schemes, which required me being un-engaged.”  Master replied.  “Shit, that little cock-sucker is really somethin’.  How long did you torture him before you capped his fuckin’ ass?”  “I didn’t bother.  He’s dead, that’s all that counts.  Besides, he was family.  Shitty family, but family nonetheless.  Since he was kind enough to have just recently reinstated my mother into said family and write her back into his will, I made it quick.”  “Master is so nice!”  I chimed in, hoping that he’d pet me for the complement.

He did.  Ahhhh, it feels good.  It feels even better than usual because I can see boiler brain’s jealous face as she is forced to watch.  Fufu, it’s not that I would mind sharing Master, but it’s just too much fun messing with her.  Right when boiler brain was about to try to counter, I turned to look at Master, taking full advantage of my cute and innocent looks as I asked “Can I sleep with you tonight?  Big sis told me a scary ghost story earlier and I don’t want to be alone…”  I followed up with the “puppy-dog eyes” that always seem to work.

“I don’t mind.”  Master replied as he helplessly fell to my secret attack.  I then went for the super combo by doing the drooping sleepy eyes.  As expected, Master picked me up gently before carrying me off to bed.  I gave a smirk back towards boiler brain, who was fuming over getting her alone time with master cut short.  This was a good night.  I irritated boiler brain, got to kill someone, and am now going to cuddle with master until morning.

Terra’s POV

I woke up this morning with Rin snuggled up against me, pondering about what to do next.  My wonderful grandfather was the culprit behind Pandemonium’s attack on Hikari and Veronica.  He was also the one who had been subtly harassing my parents’ livelihoods behind the scenes, with the full intention of outright suppressing them once Hikari was out of the way.  His memories were very informative, although his knowledge of Pandemonium was minimal.

For better or for worse, with my grandfather’s death I no longer have anyone to kill.  Pandemonium has gone quiet recently, and I’ve slaughtered all their known and suspected affiliates.  Whatever plans they had must have taken a hit with the massive loss in manpower.  The Council of Nine has also been actively engaging Pandemonium, and that interference must be working.  All that’s left is to wait until Dante loses patience and does something rash.

Until then, I’ll need to keep training the girls and Reiji in order to prepare.  The girls have proven themselves able to stand toe-to-toe with Dante’s lieutenants.  I need to trust that they can deal with them next time we fight.  This will be vital for taking Dante down, since we are so closely matched (especially with whatever artifacts he has found).  I can’t afford him getting any assistance which might tip the balance in his favor.  That’s how I lost last time, and if it hadn’t been for Rin, it would have been how I died.

That’s not to say that I won’t be making any preparations of my own.  I made good use of those 5,000 souls that died when I went berserk.  As a power source, they’ll allow me to keep fighting no matter how many small-fry demons Dante tosses at me to wear me down.  Unless he has an entire army at his back, our battle won’t be determined via attrition.  And then I can finally have some long-awaited peace and quiet after I kill the bastard.