“This better not be another dead-end. Damn it! It’s probably going to be another waste of time”

Tomina had been searching for the one who was calling himself the King of West city. It didn’t sit right with her that some punk was running a criminal syndicate in her hometown. It felt like a personal attack on her: someone was messing with her turf, and they were going to pay for it. She only intended on bringing him to the police of course. Although that didn’t mean she wouldn’t rough him up a little before that.

Tomina at least knew what he looked like. She had actually ran into him once and didn’t even know it was him at the time. When she started asking around though, she put the pieces together from the description she got. She knew his name, what he looked like, and his ki signature. And she found out that he frequented underground fight clubs. Should be a piece of cake, right?

Well, the guy was nowhere to be found. This was her fourth such time going to a place. They were a pain in the ass to find and nobody there was worth fighting. Her source of information had said that there was a strong fighter with white hair here. So it was worth checking out. As she entered, she felt a familiar ki signature. Her eyes widened, and she practically pushed a bouncer into a wall as she quickly walked towards her. Sitting at the bar was someone she hadn’t seen in a while. Grinning, she put her hand on Lucy’s shoulder.

“Aren’t these chumps a bit too weak to give you a challenge, Luce?”

(Current Power Level: 124)

So this was the next one. Asmoskon walked through the forest the sounds of the floor beneath his feet may as well not exist for the man paid them no attention. Traveling throughout the world in search of the truly strong. A sort of new chapter in his life where he would truly seek to prove his strength against others. Although it was only the first few paragraphs of this new chapter Asmoskon had found the third location where he would have a better chance of coming across someone that actually knew how to fight. He had learned about this place through a complete scum filled man in a small town that sought to mug him. On the man was a note detailing a fighting pit establishment held inside an old war bunker of some kind. Interesting enough to go on in Asmoskon’s opinion which is what led him all the way out here into the forest.

Walking through a forest like this wasn’t anything that Asmoskon hadn’t done in the past. Usually he wasn’t looking for anything specific though which admittedly took him a bit longer than he had anticipated. Taking nearly a full two hours while moving at a moderate speed Asmoskon finally came upon the sight of the military bunker. Shrouded in thousands of pine needles and leaves alike it had learned to blend in with the surrounding. What really gave it away was the sight of a female who must have been looking for this place as the same. He was too far away to know what the exchange had been like for her but he saw her gain entrance.

As he approached Asmoskon saw yet another female make it to the doorway. “Well this is definitely more popular than most.” Asmoskon wasn’t really sure if watching this second girl shove her way in was a good sign, but he was heading to a fight club so an overly aggressive individual wasn’t out of the norm. By the time he got there the door had been closed again and now when the slot was opened ASmoskon didn’t waste any time. His right hand rushed out through the slot and grabbed the doorman byu his face. The edges of the slot in the door were bent outwards making room for Asmoskon’s forearms only to have a light dent form from the smack of the doorman’s head.

Opening the door was no problem and leaving the man at the ground unconscious was just something that had to be done now. A;lthough locking the door was just a sign of his caring nature for this establishment. Getting into the main area Asmoskon could see some fighters that didn’t look like anything special being picked up off the floor. Looked like someone's etiquette showed them how things should get done. “So there’s hope of finding someone here after all.” Asmoskon managed to get himself a small round table and sat pulling back the white hoodie he was wearing and revealing his snow colored hair and sapphire eyes. Wasting no talent loud mouths wasn’t much fun anymore. So he’d wait and see just who was special enough to level these last fools.

Tomina let out a hearty laugh when she asked the bartender if he had spiked her drink, patting Lucy’s shoulder a couple of times. She couldn’t blame the demon for thinking something like that. This was an unbelievable coincidence. Tomina didn’t expect to run into Lucy in a place like this, especially with how they had parted ways. Lucy had made it clear that she had wanted to go down a different path than her. Tomina smiled as Lucy brushed her fingers against her face.

“Yes Luce, I’m not an illusion and it isn’t the alcohol. I know you’ve had a shit hand most of your life, but sometimes unexpected things can be good. There was this one time I pickpocketed a guy and he had 10,000 Zeni in cash in it. I sure as hell wasn’t expecting to make out like a bandit that day. Even that didn’t last though.”

Lucy then proceeded to call her by her nickname and kiss her full on the mouth. It was only a quick peck, but that gesture of affection along with the loving way she touched her teeth was enough to make her feel lightheaded. She then proceeded to treat her like royalty. In a sequence which the king of Earth would call efficient, she was sitting down in a chair that Lucy had laid out for her. Blushing, she rubbed the back of her hair.

“I built my own house in the middle of the woods. It doesn’t have plumbing or electricity yet, but it has everything else. I was actually looking for this so-called King of West City. He’s been causing trouble in my birth town, so I figured I’d give him a whacking. I wasn’t looking for you, but I’m glad I found you again Luce.”

Tomina leaned forward, giving the woman a soft smile. This wasn’t something she often showed. She liked being viewed as tough and intimidating. But she showed sides of herself to Lucy that most people didn’t see.

“So, what have you been up to? Have you gotten any closer to finding Makai?”

It was then she heard someone clapping. Turning, she saw a man with green hair congratulating the fighting. Something about him rubbed Tomina the wrong way. She didn’t know what, but he put her on edge. Although maybe it was just because she had just found Lucy again. Tomina gave the green-haired main a forced grin.

“Yeah, she’s fucking amazing! I couldn’t ask for a more kickass lover!”

Tomina wrapped an arm around Lucy’s shoulder and pulled her close, making it very clear to the other guy that she was hers. If this was a subtle attempt at flirting, then she wanted to nip it in the bud before it became too annoying. Suddenly, she sensed a huge ki signature, and a familiar one at that. She looked around, trying to locate its source. Although the crowd was making it difficult to get an exact location.

“He’s here Luce! I’m not letting him get away this time!”

“Come on is there even going to be a next fight?” Asmoskon sat at his table waiting to see what sort of scum stepped up to face off now that the clean up was nearly done. Sure there were still some teeth on the floor and blood on a good portion, but this wasn’t a staged public event so it was to be expected. Just another spot to mark down and eliminate on his search for those that could really push him. So far that search hadn’t turned up anything substantial. The last good fight he experienced had been against a fairly attractive cop in West City. Now that he had left his old hunting grounds though he hadn’t come across anyone as of yet that could actually last long enough for him to even go all out.

Patience wasn’t something that he was particularly good at; waiting at his seat didn’t bode well. Perhaps it was a good thing then that Asmoskon saw the motion of a hand towards him that caught his sight. The one doing so was a female, the very same one he had first seen gain access. From his position he could see there were two other individuals. The second female that had gained entrance in here just prior to himself and then a deceptive looking motherf**ker. He sighed for a moment and then got back to his feet. Making friends wasn’t something that interested him nor was being nice to some random chick, but perhaps she would have some information on whoever was actually strong in this dump.

This chick wasn’t any kind of subtle though and after his first few steps almost everyone in the club was looking at him. Almost like a cue had been given a large man much larger than Asmoskon threw a punch from the cover of the cement pillar. “Bastard! This is for throwing me out.” The man shouted as his fist collided with the top of Asmoskon’s head. Asmoskon though hardly moved and in the moment that followed the man took a step back and began to scream. “What the Fuck! You goddamn Freak!” Clutching at his hand that had just hit Asmoskon the man felt the pain as his fingers and wrist were both broken, blood leaking from the smashed appendage.

The moment that Asmoskon had felt the impact against his head he forced it towards the hand of this man. The opposition forces of strength just leaned in his favor and thus instead of suffering a good wound to his head this man sustained most of the damage. Turning his gaze on the man Asmoskon gave him a bored look. “Do I know you?”

“You ass. You kicked me out of West City! Some crime boss, throwing out his own men just for doing the average.”

Asmsokon’s expression shifted to annoyance as he lifted his right foot forward kicking the man in the chest hard enough that his body lifted off the floor by a full foot. Everyone was now looking at the scene. “I remember now. You’re that dumbass that burned down some buildings. Then got mouthy about the penalty for doing arsen.” A swift kick to the head and the man was out and bleeding although as long as he was treated he wouldn’t die. “Be thankful you're even alive at this point, moron.”

Making his way over to the table, as the employees of sorts handled this waste of space that was now unconscious on the floor. “Something you need?”

Tomina didn’t want to ruin the mood. She gave the Demon a shit-eating grin. “Hell yeah! Anyone who burns down an orphanage must have a little darkness in them. Why not embrace a little more of it, eh?”

There it was. Lucy’s insistence on her being evil. Tomina felt her heart sink a little bit. Lucy had just up and decided that she was irredeemable as a person. She was giving in to her own inner demons, literally and figuratively. Tomina knew there was more to her than that. She nodded solemnly, her smile devolving into a smaller, sadder one.

“Yeah, I remember Luce.”

They had met in jail and had chatted up. Lucy was the first person who hadn’t been scared of her powers. She had actually bought her some decent clothes and then they went on their way. They weren’t supposed to meet each other again. But later the next night, Lucy had come across her sleeping under a bridge. It would have been so easy for the demon to just go about her way. She had made it clear that she wanted to be left alone. But she went under the bridge and roused Tomina from her restless sleep.

Lucy was appalled by her living conditions. Tomina had gotten used to it by now though, which she tried to convey to the demon. But Lucy wasn’t having any of it. "Oh for fuck sake... Are you kidding me??? You can't be living under a god damn bridge. Give yourself more respect! Take this damn money! You need to find a roof over your head!”

Tomina had argued with her about it of course. She didn’t want to accept someone else’s charity. Both of them were equally stubborn though. In the end, they ended up traveling together. Tomina stuck with Lucy, despite her inner demons. And Lucy had accepted her faults and didn’t push her away even after her fire powers hurt the demon. That person was still there.

“If you’re really set on going down this path, then I want to make sure that the demon I love survives, if only a little bit. Lucy… I’m going to be your conscious, whether you like it or not.”

The Elfen hybrid thought to herself. She frowned at Lucy’s description.

“I don’t think he’s the type you can recruit if that’s what you have in mind. I suppose there isn’t any harm in just talking though. But I’m not hesitating to beat the shit out of him if things go south.”

Tomina smiled, leaning her head against Lucy’s shoulder. Despite the strangeness of the whole situation, she felt content with things. At this moment, Lucy was just being herself. Right now, she was the only thing that mattered. Although when her inner demon showed herself, Tomina’s head jerked up, looking at girlfriend with concern. Losing control in a public place like this would be the worst possible outcome. But she didn’t make any moves against them. And that wasn’t the only thing. Blushing lightly, Tomina grinned at the other girl, reaching over and stroking Lucy’s hair with her fingers.

“Let them stare. We don’t need to hide anything from anyone. I’d much rather everyone know that we belong to each other anyway. You know… your other side has never complimented me before. Does that mean that even your inner demon has accepted me?”

Tomina looked over at the other person who Lucy called a demon. His ki signature seemed to have a similar tone to Lucy’s, so that was probably the case. Although her attention was taken away from him once Asmokon himself approached them. Tomina watched him with steely eyes as he sat down on the table next to them, lowering her hand so she had her arm draped around Lucy’s shoulders.

“I have to admit, I didn’t expect you to be the so-called King of West city. But you certainly have the strength for it. Where does a crime lord learn martial arts from? Those movements aren’t something a greenhorn can do.”

The demon, who had introduced himself as Zegram, chimed in about how he thought Asmo should have hurt the guy he knocked out. Were all demons this prone to violence? Tomina unconsciously gripped Lucy’s shoulder tightly. If this what was Makai was like, then she couldn’t let Lucy go in there alone. Tomina feared that not a trace of her would remain if she went there by herself.

Getting over to the table that definitely was serving as a little area for the most dangerous in the establishment right now, Asmoskon recognized one of the two girls sitting down. A pretty little dark haired girl that he had shared lunch with . . . Sorta. Whether or not she was actually a fighter he still didn’t know. He could immediately tell that the girl clinging to her was a ravenous one. She gave Asmoskon the feeling of someone that wouldn’t hesitate to tear an opponent to pieces in order to secure victory. She was the one that had called for him to come over, but she wasn’t the first one to actually mention how that idiot had just attacked him and got his ass kicked.

Instead it was the only other male at this little table now that he had arrived. A sly looking guy that seemed just a bit too skinny. His clothes were a bit too formal for Asmoskon’s taste with the exception of his pants which were similar to his own. He was the first out of the three to say anything and of course it was about how Asmoskon had just dealt with the idiot. Stating that he should have hit him in a different location first in order to make his pain a bit more. Asmoskkon was going to anwer, but it seemed they all had something to mention on the subject so he felt it would save some time and frustration if he just let all of them talk first.

Right after Asmoskon sat down the girl that he had met in West City, spoke although her look told him that something had changed. The last time that they had encountered each other it had been fairly normal and civil with no real issue, now though she looked as if her goal was to use his head as a soccer ball. What she said told him what had changed though. “So she was only pleasant before because she didn’t realize who I am. Well that’s disappointing.” Asmoskon thought to himself just after she had finished speaking yet only a moment prior to the last entry to his welcome committee.

From everything that was said Asmoskon was starting to form a bit of an opinion or perhaps it was just assumptions based on each of them. So far the other male with the green hair was the biggest mystery and Asmoskon couldn’t be sure whether or not he was a threat. Although in a close match he was confident he would be able to handle himself against almost anyone this guy didn't give him the feeling of someone willing to fight fair. He felt like the sort that would try and win by any means whether it be sneak attacks, drugs or numbers. The girl with the blackl hair was almost as much a mystery though because Asmoskon really couldn’t gather why she was here. At least he couldn’t for the first minute. She seemed like a good person which meant that being here was out of her environment.

He seemed to notice then just how close the two girls were together and how they were holding one another. That’s when he made the connection and realized why she was most likely putting up with this sort of environment along with the individuals that thrived in it. “Can’t even live the way that her soul wishes? Pathetic.” Asmoskon kept his thoughts to himself though the nice girl that he had met in the ramen shop had just gone down as someone with a personality not worth dirt in his mind.

As for the last one, the girl that had called him over. Well she was especially vicious. Pushing past what the green head had suggested and going another level beyond what she stated should have been done to the thug that was no doubt in a back room right now slumped up against a wall several hours out from this world. “I don’t find pleasure in beating the weak. The screams of the worthless are just that. If I’m gouging to put in some extra effort to cause pain then I believe it should be on someone that is able to cause me some as well. There is no point in proving dominance over the meek.”

Now though Asmoskon was starting to get even more information and based on what was being said he gathered that the girl that had invited him over to this little group and the green haired guy were both Demons. Strange though, Asmoskon always pictured demons as powerful, a trace that would appear as mighty muscular and dark like the legends and the myths depicted them. Not as a pretty young college dropout and a stylish homosexual reastate agent. Asmoskon wasn’t sure how strong any of them actually were, but there was just as good a chance that they would be a challenge to him as anyone else in this dump so may as well sit down, gather some more information about this Makai place as he could and get a drink out of it.

“I didn’t learn Martial Arts as a crime lord. I already knew some of what I do now when I overthrew the scum and took over.” Asmoskon wasn’t in the mood to play twenty questions again after what had happened up in the north with the detective. He was starting to think maybe he was just too damn pretty. It seemed everybody whether they be male or female wanted to know his life story. He would have thought it was only good people or those that knew about him already, but everywhere he went he caught the attention of sexual energies. Never would have thought such a thing would become a hindrance, but it seems anything is possible. “I’m up to stepping into the ring. I assume it’s why we’re all here. I’d be lying if I said I’m not curious what you two are capable of.” Asmsokon using his eyes as indicators that he meant Lucy and Zegram. Barely even two minutes in and this was already starting to escalate. . . . the poor owners of this establishment were in for a real nightmare.

When Lucy joked about Zegram’s sexuality. Tomina snorted, then smirked at the demon who had approached them.

“Now that you mention it, he does look like a bit of a stick in the mud. Honestly, you’re missing out on a great deal of fun Zegram. You need to learn to live a little! At least pretend to enjoy it when you see another guy beaten up in front of you. Everyone here has a shitty story, but you shouldn’t let that ruin the chapters you’re writing right now.”

Tomina didn’t know Asmo’s background, but getting involved in the underground arena typically wasn’t something a happy child did. She still thought he was going to be trouble in the long term if she was intending on recruiting him. He seemed a little too strong-willed. He did seem genuine at least though. She didn’t have to try to read him like she had to do with Zegram. Maybe he would be useful to Lucy. Tomina shrugged her shoulder at his explanation for things.

“I was originally planning on beating the shit out of you, but now that I’ve met you I’ve lost interest. You aren’t exactly the cutthroat crimelord I thought you would be. I’m a bit curious as to why you went out of your way to learn martial arts, but I guess it doesn’t matter. Just don’t get on my bad side.”

Tomina frowned when Lucy mentioned those nights, furrowing her brow in thought. She did recall certain incidents when Lucy wasn’t herself.

“I do remember them. It’s just hard to remember all the specifics since there were a few incidents. It’s not exactly like you had a glowing sign that said “I’m the fucking alter ego!” whenever you did change.”

Tomina wasn’t sure if she should feel insulted or amused that Asmo completely overlooked her. She did understand why he would think Lucy was the biggest threat. She displayed the most confidence around him. But the fact that he found Zegram more interesting than her was a little funny. In the end, Tomina decided to just chalk it as a victory towards her power suppression prowess. Tomina looked over at Lucy, pulling her close again.

“Sorry Luce, guess I’ve just been on edge lately. But that sounds like a plan! Asmo and Zegram should fight each other. I have private things I wish to discuss with you anyway. We have a lot of catching up to do. As for those two...”

Tomina turned her attention to the other two people. First, she looked at Zegram. Then she turned to gaze at Asmo, smirking at the crime lord.

“You two talk a big game, but talk means shit if you can’t back it up. I’m not letting any second-rate wannabes join Lucy. So show us your stuff!”

Tomina waved her hand dismissively, shooing them away. She was looking for any opportunity to speak with the demon alone. These two were annoying distractions. Maybe they would be useful to Lucy in the future. But right now they were just obstacles. Besides, she wanted to fully gauge their strength without Lucy just jumping into things and fighting them. She didn't want her friend to potentially get beaten up by someone stronger than her. It was better to be safe than sorry. At least in this case.