The Law of Shiki Tohno

[Verite]

"Well, because I don't have the time to, of course. As much as I care for Shiki, I'm sad to say that my duties as the White Princess of the True Ancestors prevent me from taking much free time to go out of town to go find him," Arcueid spoke, brushing aside some stray hair, "Like that dreadful Church woman, I've been busy with hunting down the Sons of Roa. I'm sure Ciel's mentioned them to you a couple of times, but if not, all you really need to know is that they're just more troublesome than dangerous, but work is work."

As a few other customers, mostly ones that had been sitting behind Arcueid and Minato, would finish up and leave the restaurant, the red-eyed blonde, keeping her eyes on Minato, would speak again.

"Coast is clear, Len. You can enjoy your cake now."

With that signal, the cat would look at Arcueid and nod, before jumping down into the empty chair behind her from the table, where she would temporarily go out of the young man's line of sight, only for a few seconds later for something else entirely to take the black cat's place.

...

Arising in the cat's place was a young, strange-looking girl with pointy ears. It wouldn't take very long to put two and two together that, like how Arcueid wasn't exactly a normal person, this "Len" wasn't a normal cat. She gave Minato a short look, before taking a nearby fork and quietly munching on the slice of cake, all the while Arcueid would talk again.

"It's the same reason Ciel doesn't just skip town and go out to find Shiki. We have our hands full at the moment, and by the time we finish up, he'd probably be in a different continent, knowing how unpredictable he is," she said, before breaking into a brief pause, "Actually, with all that killing game business, he could be in a whole different dimension for all I know. That's why we need to find him fast, using someone who has a lot of time on their hands. Tell me... Do you like cats by any chance?"

@The Tactician​

 

[Khan of the Mardu]

Seeing as the explanation was taking a bit, Minato began to dig in a little. Getting some ketchup ready, he soon had the fries to munch on, listening intently as he did so. Not even the cat changing forms caught him off-guard. It's not the weirdest thing anyways. The Reaper's Game had that giant squid monster if I remember right.

"So that's why, huh... I guess I can't argue with that, though you're going to have to explain to Ciel why I'm not home," Pausing for a moment to take a bite of the burger now, he swallowed before continuing, "Though I doubt it's a game. After Fiamma and Kotomine's demises, those things should be more or less over to my knowledge..."

"And cats are fine, though I'm more of a dog person..."

Shaking away the fleeting memory of Koromaru, Minato sighed, "Anyways, I'm guessing the question has to do with Len?"​

 

[Verite]

"Oh, don't worry. I'm sure she'll understand."

In other words; nah, I don't feel like telling Ciel about it.

"In any case, though you've probably never even heard of her before now, Len here happens to be Shiki's familiar, so the two of them, for better or for worse, share a special bond together. No matter where Shiki goes, Len will always be able to track him down. But as cute as she is, she's a little troublesome when she's by herself, so we can't have her go off to find him by herself."

...

Munch munch.

Meanwhile, Len just silently ate her cake, not seeming to pay much attention to the conversation in front of her at the moment. Not really one for talking, this one.

"And that's why we need someone to accompany her to find him. Should you accept this proposition, I'm placing her in your hands for the time being. She'll point you where you need to go, and in return, you'll have to keep her on track... Keep her from spending all her time at ogling at whatever sweets stores you might pass by on the way. Lots of teamwork involved, hmm? That's the basic gist of it all."

@The Tactician​

 

[Khan of the Mardu]

"Oh, don't worry. I'm sure she'll understand."

In other words; nah, I don't feel like telling Ciel about it.

"In any case, though you've probably never even heard of her before now, Len here happens to be Shiki's familiar, so the two of them, for better or for worse, share a special bond together. No matter where Shiki goes, Len will always be able to track him down. But as cute as she is, she's a little troublesome when she's by herself, so we can't have her go off to find him by herself."

...

Munch munch.

Meanwhile, Len just silently ate her cake, not seeming to pay much attention to the conversation in front of her at the moment. Not really one for talking, this one.

"And that's why we need someone to accompany her to find him. Should you accept this proposition, I'm placing her in your hands for the time being. She'll point you where you need to go, and in return, you'll have to keep her on track... Keep her from spending all her time at ogling at whatever sweets stores you might pass by on the way. Lots of teamwork involved, hmm? That's the basic gist of it all."

@The Tactician​

Munch munch munch.

"Mhmmm."

Munch munch munch.

Swallowing another bite of his fries, Minato nodded as he listened, occasionally eyeing the little girl that he would need to guide and in a way take care of. It didn't seem like it would be all that difficult. How much trouble could one kid get up to? "Don't worry, I'll stop by the store and buy one of those child leashes the Americans love. If she gets too far, I can just tug on it and pull her back."

"Anyways, can we leave today, right after I get some stuff at home? I have a feeling that if we hurry, we can get this done before the weekend is over."​

 

[Verite]

"Of course. The sooner the better. If... or I guess the more appropriate word is when, you come back, you should tell Ciel all about your adventure if you can't find me. And that'll be a likely scenario since, as I said, I'm often busy. I guess with that, our business is down for now. Seems like an open and close case, right?"

Meanwhile, Len just gave a panicked look at the thought of being put on a leash.

@The Tactician​

 

[Khan of the Mardu]

"Of course. The sooner the better. If... or I guess the more appropriate word is when, you come back, you should tell Ciel all about your adventure if you can't find me. And that'll be a likely scenario since, as I said, I'm often busy. I guess with that, our business is down for now. Seems like an open and close case, right?"

Meanwhile, Len just gave a panicked look at the thought of being put on a leash.

@The Tactician​

"Seems like it. Just remember though, if she gets mad at me for skipping out on dinner, I'm going to point her in your direction. Once she's done with me, she'll know who to strangle next," Finally finishing his fries off and leaving his burger behind half-eaten, Minato began to stand from the table. Every moment they wasted here meant that Shiki got further away, which meant it would take longer to catch up and bring him back, something that the blue-haired teen didn't feel was going to make the eventual confrontation with Ciel any easier.

He stared down at Len, waiting on her to finish up, "Don't worry, I'm not actually going to put you on a leash. It'll be easier to just reward you for good behavior in the long run."​

 

[Verite]

Len simply shook her head to one side when Minato would speak to her in a rather dismissive fashion. Though she didn't make a sound, one could almost imagine her making a "Hmph!" noise as she did so, as though she was going to keep wary of any leashes that would come her way in the future, while Arcueid only gave a small giggle.

"Alright, then. If we're done here, then you can go on. It was a pleasure to meet you, Minato. You're not nearly as troublesome as Ciel," she said. Whether that was supposed to be a joke or not, it was hard to tell, "In any case, I'll be staying here to finish the food. I'll confess that I don't have any actual need to consume human food like this, and I suppose you can imagine what it's like having to finish eating something when you're not hungry, hmm?"

@The Tactician​

 

[Khan of the Mardu]

Len simply shook her head to one side when Minato would speak to her in a rather dismissive fashion. Though she didn't make a sound, one could almost imagine her making a "Hmph!" noise as she did so, as though she was going to keep wary of any leashes that would come her way in the future, while Arcueid only gave a small giggle.

"Alright, then. If we're done here, then you can go on. It was a pleasure to meet you, Minato. You're not nearly as troublesome as Ciel," she said. Whether that was supposed to be a joke or not, it was hard to tell, "In any case, I'll be staying here to finish the food. I'll confess that I don't have any actual need to consume human food like this, and I suppose you can imagine what it's like having to finish eating something when you're not hungry, hmm?"

@The Tactician​

"Your choice, not mine, Miss Arcueid," If this was an attempt to guilt-trip the teen for something, it was a fairly weak one. Ciel's attempts to do so in order to enjoy delicious curry every night had failed no matter how persistent, and the vampire princess was nowhere near the nun's level of purposely pitiful, "I'll have Shiki back in a few days. Hopefully he isn't on another one of those emotional trips and that's why he's doing this..."

Now that he had seen Shiki in the past being as depressive as he could be when moping, he both understood why people got annoyed at his own moments like that and why people didn't like it when Shiki did it. It was a pain to deal with, and if you said the wrong thing, either you're were back at square one or worse, the person would lash out at you. Sometimes both.

God, both him and Shiki could be pains in the asses. Why did people put up with them?

"Come on, Len, I need to get home and pack. If you're good, I'm pretty sure I've got some chocolate there or something."​

 

[Verite]

"..."

Although not responding aloud, she would give Minato a stare for a few seconds, and then a nod. Before long, she would slide underneath the table again all of a sudden, re-emerging in her cat form as she'd sit atop the table, looking up at the young man, perhaps because her cat form would attract less attention than her other one.

Without making a sound, as expected, Len looked at Minato expectedly, ready to go.

@The Tactician​

 

[Khan of the Mardu]

"..."

Although not responding aloud, she would give Minato a stare for a few seconds, and then a nod. Before long, she would slide underneath the table again all of a sudden, re-emerging in her cat form as she'd sit atop the table, looking up at the young man, perhaps because her cat form would attract less attention than her other one.

Without making a sound, as expected, Len looked at Minato expectedly, ready to go.

@The Tactician​

With Len's true form now hidden, Minato led the way out of the restaurant, giving Arcueid a final wave as he held the door open for his feline companion. The streets had begun to clear in the late afternoon period before the shopping district's nightlife rush, the town's residents making their decision to take part or remain secluded in their homes in the meantime. He was thankful for the momentary lull as it made easier to walk the distance to home he now inhabited with Ciel due to her kindness.

He had never much minded the decor of the home one way or another, considering it mostly an afterthought, and thus, he didn't bother grabbing anything of sentimental value to take with him. Instead, he headed straight for the bedroom, pausing for a moment while he began to shut the door on Len, "Wait here a minute. I need to change so that no one realizes from afar who we are." He left who he was worried about spotting them unsaid, but the implication was clear that he expected Shiki to want to run from them.

The school jacket and dress shirt were thrown aside in favor of his simpler white with blue t-shirt and a pair of jeans replaced his slacks, and a few spare sets of clothes were thrown haphazardly into a duffle bag before a sheathed and well-used sword were thrown in with them. It would be enough for a few days along with the money from his old nighttime profession.

Stepping back out and paying Len little mind, he searched for a moment before finding the last things he needed, a notebook and a pen.

"Len, check the cabinet in the kitchen, there should be some chocolate in there," His writing flowed as he wrote out a note for Ciel to find, the explanation crisp and to the point along with the message that he would have his phone. That would have to satisfy her for the next few days.

A thought occurred to him as he tore the piece of paper out of the notebook and left it on one of the tables. He had no idea where Shiki even was.

"Len, where exactly is Shiki right now?"​

 

[Verite]

"...!"

Briefly morphing back into her human(oid) form, Len would almost excitedly open the cabinets for this chocolate that Minato talked about, eyes practically shining a little with determination.

Cats were often simple-minded like that, in a certain young man's experience, at least.

When the question of Shiki's exact whereabouts would be poised, she would think for a moment. Once again, without uttering a single word, she walked over to a nearby window and pointed in its direction. South. Perhaps she meant south of Misaki Town in general, considering how long Shiki had been gone. If there was any specific location she could name, Len was either unable, or perhaps rather unwilling, to say aloud.

@The Tactician​

 

[Khan of the Mardu]

"...!"

Briefly morphing back into her human(oid) form, Len would almost excitedly open the cabinets for this chocolate that Minato talked about, eyes practically shining a little with determination.

Cats were often simple-minded like that, in a certain young man's experience, at least.

When the question of Shiki's exact whereabouts would be poised, she would think for a moment. Once again, without uttering a single word, she walked over to a nearby window and pointed in its direction. South. Perhaps she meant south of Misaki Town in general, considering how long Shiki had been gone. If there was any specific location she could name, Len was either unable, or perhaps rather unwilling, to say aloud.

@The Tactician​

Crap, I forgot that she doesn't seem to want to talk... Noting the relative direction as south, he walked over to the familiar and handed her the notebook and pen, "If you can, just write it out for me, okay? South isn't exactly the easiest thing to go on, and I don't want us to end up in a forest or swamp if we don't have to." Leaving without any warning was one thing, but coming back and looking like a disheveled vagrant? Ciel would wring his neck before she was done with him.

His eyes peeked into the cabinets, easily spotting the candy bars that he had brought up earlier. Grabbing a few and putting them into his bag, he smiled as he held the last one down to Len, "You guide me the right way every time I ask, and I'll make sure you get another bar each time, alright?" Hopefully, he wasn't about to make a deal that would cause him to lose all his hard-earned pocket cash, because it was about all they had.

It wasn't easy to wrangle a bank into giving you a large sum of your money on the weekends, especially when you were still a high-schooler.​

 

[Verite]

Len looked at the candy bar curiously for a brief moment, before nodding silently, affirming that she had understood Minato's words, before silently opening it and taking a bite, seeming to enjoy the sweet treat. She could be described as childish in that regard, though most people who saw her would much sooner describe her as a demon rather than a child, given her usual appearance, after all. Again, perhaps that was why she generally preferred her cat form.

After a few bites, she would stuff the bar into her coat pocket, before taking the notebook and pen. Looking down at it, she began to write in it, seemingly intelligent enough to at least be able to write out the Japanese language, before quickly giving it back to Minato.

"Just follow me."

With that being said, like a chipper girl (albeit with a completely deadpan face), she began to skip out of the home, quickly finishing up the rest of her candy, and then morphing back into a cat as soon as she'd reach the outside, briefly looking back at the young man and giving him a call in the form of a soft "Meow."

@The Tactician​

 

[Khan of the Mardu]

Len looked at the candy bar curiously for a brief moment, before nodding silently, affirming that she had understood Minato's words, before silently opening it and taking a bite, seeming to enjoy the sweet treat. She could be described as childish in that regard, though most people who saw her would much sooner describe her as a demon rather than a child, given her usual appearance, after all. Again, perhaps that was why she generally preferred her cat form.

After a few bites, she would stuff the bar into her coat pocket, before taking the notebook and pen. Looking down at it, she began to write in it, seemingly intelligent enough to at least be able to write out the Japanese language, before quickly giving it back to Minato.

"Just follow me."

With that being said, like a chipper girl (albeit with a completely deadpan face), she began to skip out of the home, quickly finishing up the rest of her candy, and then morphing back into a cat as soon as she'd reach the outside, briefly looking back at the young man and giving him a call in the form of a soft "Meow."

@The Tactician​

I wonder if she realizes how weird it is for a girl to have such an impassive look?

Whether or not his companion knew didn't matter as he would still follow her. He shoved the notebook and pen into his bag before walking ahead, always making sure he kept an eye on the cat. I wonder if she likes to have her ears scratched like a cat... Note to self, attempt to give Ln ear scratches to test this theory.​

 

[Verite]

Maintaining her cat form, Len would lead Minato wherever her intended destination was. Some could describe the beginning of the journey as somewhat... abrupt. Just a think that an hour or two ago, there was little to no talk about some Shiki Tohno Rescue Mission or whatever, and suddenly, it would seem that Minato had his hands full for the weekend. Here he was, falling a cat to God knows where.

Teenage boys always seemed to have it rough in Japan.

Leading Minato to the edge of town, relatively little people on the streets now at this time of day, most of them relaxing in their homes or perhaps working at a part-time job now, Len would lead Minato around the corner where she seemed to be confident that no one was watching, before changing back into her humanoid form.

"..."

She silently stared at Minato for a small, brief moment, before surprisingly enough, she would finally speak, her soft, meek voice being perhaps exactly as expected from a girl with her appearance.

"How heavy are you?"

@The Tactician​

 

[Khan of the Mardu]

Maintaining her cat form, Len would lead Minato wherever her intended destination was. Some could describe the beginning of the journey as somewhat... abrupt. Just a think that an hour or two ago, there was little to no talk about some Shiki Tohno Rescue Mission or whatever, and suddenly, it would seem that Minato had his hands full for the weekend. Here he was, falling a cat to God knows where.

Teenage boys always seemed to have it rough in Japan.

Leading Minato to the edge of town, relatively little people on the streets now at this time of day, most of them relaxing in their homes or perhaps working at a part-time job now, Len would lead Minato around the corner where she seemed to be confident that no one was watching, before changing back into her humanoid form.

"..."

She silently stared at Minato for a small, brief moment, before surprisingly enough, she would finally speak, her soft, meek voice being perhaps exactly as expected from a girl with her appearance.

"How heavy are you?"

@The Tactician​

Minato gave her a sideways glance with a single eye, confused by the question. What did his weight have to do with their hunt? Was she going to carry him or something? "About 63 kilograms, probably under Shiki's weight... You're planning to eat me, are you? I wouldn't make a very fulling or tasty meal, just so you know."​

 

[Verite]

"..."

Seemingly not very humored by Minato's remark, Len would turn around and hunch forward a little in front of him, looking back at him and shaking her head once to the side, seeming to signify that... she really did intend to carry Minato. One might wonder what the point of that would be, and how silly that would look; a girl no taller than 4'4 carrying a teenaged boy on her back.

But as one might expect from a cat, she was probably going to be stubborn about this, no matter what.

@The Tactician​

 

[Khan of the Mardu]

Minato sighed as his partner ignored his joke, not even giving him a real response. He was already starting to miss home and Ciel's company compared to this. At least she would have swatted me or said something... He carefully climbed onto her back, making sure not to make her feel uncomfortable. Then again, the situation was probably uncomfortable for her no matter what he did.

Not like he felt any shame in getting a free ride to their destination.​

 

[Verite]

"..."

Taking a small breath, Len would hold Minato up with her arms. Though the gesture was naturally quite awkward, she kept a surprisingly stable grip on him, though as a demon familiar, perhaps that would be to be expected that she was stronger than the average little girl.

WOOOOSH!

With that, at superhuman speeds, Len would suddenly take off once Minato was secured on her back, running like the wind. Gusts of wind would repeatedly hit the young man's face a number of times, though it wasn't too bad. At least she wasn't breaking the sound barrier, though whether it was because she just was not capable of that, unlike the other creatures within this world, or out of thoughtfulness on Minato's part, was left up in the air.

Fortunately, as they were at the edge of town at this point, Len counted on nobody seeing her display her powers like that. Even if she was below the speed of sound, it was still difficult to gauge how fast she was exactly going. If she was going below 700 miles per hour, then perhaps she was going 400? Perhaps even around 600? Who knew?

Several minutes passed. Minato eventually stopped seeing the town from over the horizon as the two of them traveled from Misaki Town to what felt like the middle of nowhere.

Several more minutes passed. Even trees ceased to be visible in Minato's line of sight. At this point, the only thing visible was the road, the sidewalk which they were moving on, and endless fields of grass further out.

Several more minutes passed, and--

SMACK!

Suddenly, out of nowhere, Minato would suddenly find himself stumbling onto his feet again, as though he had been lightly thrown forward. If he would look back, he would see that Len seemed to have tripped on nothing, the familiar lying face-first on the ground.

...

"Uuh."

As Len would eventually get up, her eyes trembling as though she was struggling to fight back coming tears, she would cover her forehead with her hands, the spot having taken the brunt of the fall. Though Minato didn't see any sort of bruise, it was still evident that Len seemed to be mildly hurt.

Like an ogre, she was the kind of creature who perhaps wouldn't be killed by a bullet, or even grievously injured, but would at least still come out of that experience with a bad feeling.

@The Tactician​

 

[Khan of the Mardu]

"..."

Taking a small breath, Len would hold Minato up with her arms. Though the gesture was naturally quite awkward, she kept a surprisingly stable grip on him, though as a demon familiar, perhaps that would be to be expected that she was stronger than the average little girl.

WOOOOSH!

With that, at superhuman speeds, Len would suddenly take off once Minato was secured on her back, running like the wind. Gusts of wind would repeatedly hit the young man's face a number of times, though it wasn't too bad. At least she wasn't breaking the sound barrier, though whether it was because she just was not capable of that, unlike the other creatures within this world, or out of thoughtfulness on Minato's part, was left up in the air.

Fortunately, as they were at the edge of town at this point, Len counted on nobody seeing her display her powers like that. Even if she was below the speed of sound, it was still difficult to gauge how fast she was exactly going. If she was going below 700 miles per hour, then perhaps she was going 400? Perhaps even around 600? Who knew?

Several minutes passed. Minato eventually stopped seeing the town from over the horizon as the two of them traveled from Misaki Town to what felt like the middle of nowhere.

Several more minutes passed. Even trees ceased to be visible in Minato's line of sight. At this point, the only thing visible was the road, the sidewalk which they were moving on, and endless fields of grass further out.

Several more minutes passed, and--

SMACK!

Suddenly, out of nowhere, Minato would suddenly find himself stumbling onto his feet again, as though he had been lightly thrown forward. If he would look back, he would see that Len seemed to have tripped on nothing, the familiar lying face-first on the ground.

...

"Uuh."

As Len would eventually get up, her eyes trembling as though she was struggling to fight back coming tears, she would cover her forehead with her hands, the spot having taken the brunt of the fall. Though Minato didn't see any sort of bruise, it was still evident that Len seemed to be mildly hurt.

Like an ogre, she was the kind of creature who perhaps wouldn't be killed by a bullet, or even grievously injured, but would at least still come out of that experience with a bad feeling.

@The Tactician​

"Owww..." Stumbling quickly led into a face plant as Minato had just been about to fall asleep for a quick nap when the trip came. Thankfully, as he pushed himself up and looked down at the ground, he didn't feel nor see any sort of blood dripping onto the cold earth. That meant he wouldn't need waste a heal on himself at least.

Though that didn't mean Len wouldn't need one though. Picking his bag off the ground and making sure his Evoker and sword were in good shape, Minato sighed as he checked on the girl, his hand beginning to glow with the magical power of Dia, "Here, let me handle this. I don't need to summon anyone to use this spell..." Pressing his hand to her forehead, he inhaled and released a deep breath with eyes closed as his magic healed whatever damage there was. He then reopened his eyes with a concerned look, "Feel better now, Len?"
​