A Fine Date
At a certain café, Leo and the female agent, Jean, were examining the pictures of recent victims gruesomely murdered by a particular Yoma. They were presented with a strange case; the corpses were all found inside random containers such as cardboard boxes, drawers, vases and bags. Their bodies appeared to be compressed into many peculiar shapes of uniform geometry; brutally deformed to perfectly fit inside whatever size of volume they were pulled into.
For instance, in one of the pictures, a woman in her late twenties was stuffed inside a small suitcase at the hotel. Portions of her body were jammed and crushed like boneless meat to fill every space and corner within the suitcase. Her meaty thighs and legs were bent upward and dislocated behind her head while her ample breasts and hips were squashed and flattened against interior walls; the twisted body looked extremely repulsive and alluring at the same time.
"We have been tracking this spirit for weeks and only narrowed it down to around the southern district. It is dangerous, but the biggest reason for such high bounty is because we couldn't find a way to catch it. The spirit can hide in any container and then suddenly appear in another. Plus, finding it is purely by chance and it strikes when you are least prepared. We have already lost a capable agent to this Yoma." The female agent reported.
"I see, I see... the troublesome type. But it's certainly worth the pay. I want to give it a try." The boy carefully studied the document that was labeled with a danger level B and glanced at the numerous zeroes behind a number.
"Are you sure? I still recommend you do the regular ones that we have always done together." Jean knew the danger was limited for Leo because the kid was a monster hidden under human skin, but this kind of Yoma could potentially take a long time to find if he was unlucky.
"I happened to know a friend that can help pinpoint its location." A certain girl came to his mind, the head priestess Yuuko had high praises for the ability of her daughter.
"If you are confident, then we will take this contract. But let me remind you, since you are doing it for cash, you have to turn in the Anima core instead of… uhm… eating it." The female agent sipped her coffee and teasingly said to the glutton.
As a civil servant, Jean cannot take the bounty for herself anyway. Such handicap was the reason why the organization was constantly short on manpower. Most of the capable Anima users went for the more lucrative routes such as serving as bodyguards or mercenaries; not many who were serving the country were in it for the money.
However, at the very least, the organization had its own reward system of providing its agents with incentives such as new Anima techniques, guidance on cultivation and privileges in certain artifacts. Jean's revolver for instance, was the experimental prototype of an artifact crafted with modern means; it has long become her favorite go-to weapon.
"Ah..." Leo was sad to find out he won't be able to fill his belly this time around; it appears that he never missed out on anything all along.
"You can also sell the core on the black market; depending on Anima compatibility of the buyer, they sometimes would offer a higher price than the bounty. But of course, entering that kind of place itself is a major risk."
Given her position in the government organization, the illegal black market wasn't something that Jean would normally suggest to the boy. Nevertheless, after knowing what happened to the island, she gave him her sympathy and honestly laid out all his options.
"The black market, huh. That's interesting to know... By the way, how is the investigation going?"
Before he left the apartment, Yurin brought her daughter over for another innocent round of milking when his harem was still unconscious in bed. The mother, for some reason, was avoiding him throughout the entire feeding session that he didn't have a chance to ask.
"The plans are being finalized. We are just waiting for all the personnel to be on standby. If you want to know more, you can come to my place after the contract, this needs to be shared in somewhere more private."
Jean was inviting the boy over solely for confidential reasons; it was also just purely a coincidence, completely unintentional, that she was alluringly licking the coffee foam from her lips at the same time.
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-An hour later-
"We are over here, Rika!" At the southern district, Leo shouted across the street at the young lady coming out of the bus.
There was a sudden breeze the moment Rika stepped foot on the ground. Holding the small straw hat to her head, the skirt of her aqua blue dating dress and her long black hair danced mesmerizingly in the air. The girl paid special attention to her appearance when she was asked out by her master; she was extremely excited that the ability she once hated actually became useful for Leo.
"Hoo... another girl." Jean glanced at the boy as she muttered in a funny tone.
"She is from the island too." As Leo said that, the female agent instantly directed her gaze at the two plushy mounds and sighed in defeat.
"Ma- Leo! This is…?" Rika curiously glanced at the woman that stood with a tall and sharp bearing.
"I am Jean, an officer from the supernatural bureau. Nice to meet you, Rika."
Followed by a handshake, Jean was surprised by the girl's well refined cultivation at such a young age. Well, relative to the average of course, not everyone was an anomaly like Leo. After a quick introduction from both sides, the female agent handed her a piece of the victim's belongings that still lingered with the trace of the culprit.
"Can you find the Yoma with these energy signatures?" If Rika's ability was as the boy described, then this girl was truly a gem that would be sought by all kinds of organizations, Jean thought.
The young lady glared at the item for a few seconds and lifted up her head to gaze around the surrounding high rises. In her eyes, there were numerous presences of weak spirits roaming about. However, the owner of this particular signature was fairly powerful, she was able to latch onto a few faint traces of Anima in the air.
"Follow me..." With her attention focused on above, the girl decisively walked towards a certain direction; but soon, she bumped her head against the pole of a street sign.
"Aww...." Rika felt more embarrassing than she felt pain; and there was a small dent on the poor metal rod.
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"..."
"Just turned legal a week ago, huh... Ma.am, you are quite thirsty aren't you, fufu. I almost thought you brought a minor into this place." Checking the student ID in her hand, a middle-aged woman with heavy makeup glanced at the innocent looking young boy and then teasingly smirked at the female agent.
"N-No...!! We are here for serious business! I-It's not what you think!" Jean's face was flustering in red.
"I know, I know. Everyone that comes here says it's for some kind of *business*. But girl, you got yourself quite a fine date." Then the woman turned to Leo. "Kid, allow me to give you an advice on how to handle an older woman like this lady. You could let her take the lead in the beginning, but once the action starts, you have to be aggressive, confident, and then sweet talk into her ears. You want to make her feel like she was a young little girl again..."
"Stoop!!! We are done checking in! Leo, let's go!" Jean hastily took back the IDs, grabbed the boy's hand and ran to the stairs.
"Your room is in 5C!" The woman reminded the two with an understanding smile.
At the moment, Leo and Jean were in a luxurious love hotel led to by Rika after following her to the red light district. The young lady was told to wait outside to avoid danger while the two entered the establishment under the guise as a couple. And currently, in room 5C, the female agent was hugging her face into the pillow on bed and venting in girlish sounds of embarrassment. Not often do one see the upstanding and serious woman act so childish like a little girl.
"Leo, I hope you can forget what that woman said." Shortly after calming down, Jean recovered her bearing and pleaded to the boy.
"What woman? What are you talking about?" Leo blinked his eyes twice; he was curiously examining the condoms that were placed on the table, none of them were remotely his size even in his flaccid state.
"Good." The female agent responded with a satisfied nod.
It was then, a small rippling wave of Anima propagated to their senses and a scream of a woman was heard from the room next door. Returning to their serious game faces, the two rush out to their neighboring suite in great haste. They didn't expect the spirit to make its move so early in the day; since most of its victims were found past midnight.