37 Kenji, The 'Love' Hero!?

Kenji was being dragged out of the guildhall by both ears by Amari and Lia as the receptionist bowed to the girls in thanks as Ai waved her hands as if to say 'no problem'.

"Ouch! The hell!?" Kenji rubbed his swollen ears as he looked up at the two, his initial glare shifted to fear as he saw the glares of Amari and this other woman he didn't recognize.

"O-oi, what was that all about? I was just about to get her to say yes to a date when you two appeared out of nowhere and dragged me out here!"

In a manner of speaking, they did both appear out of nowhere, as the moment they walked in through the doors of the guildhall, they had seen Kenji holding the hand of the poor receptionist, she had a blush on her face, but she was clearly annoyed, Amari had used her [Flash Step] and Lia had used her own [Blink] at the exact same time, grabbing Kenji by the ear and dragging him in perfect synchronization.

"Apologize to this woman, now." Amari glared daggers at a confused Kenji.

"Hey, I did away with the whole dialect, but I still want to find love! And why should I apologize to this woman? I've never met her before! (although she is a real looker.)" He whispered the last part.

"This woman wasted a precious wish from a djinn to summon your useless ass. Apologize!" Amari shouted out as Kenji's eyes widened.

Kenji dropped to one knee, grabbing Lia's hand, causing her to blush. The scene looked like he was about to propose. "You're the one that brought me here!? I've waited for so long to find the one that my Oracle told me about!"

*CLONK*

Ai had twisted the dial on her wrist and chopped down on Kenji's head after gesturing the hesitant Hoat'l to get closer. "Read the situation, idiot! Do you know what this looks like!?" Ai fumed in annoyance.

"Ai!? Che, that hurts!" Kenji said as he rubbed the newly formed bump on his head that made him look more like an Oni than a Samurai.

Lia giggled and smiled warmly. "I finally found you, my hero."

'My hero? Oi, this is... actually, this is gonna be very entertaining. fufu~'

Kenji blushed and looked up at Lia, the sun made her hair shine at this angle, her natural beauty enhanced by her sincere smile. He sat there, speechless and blushing, staring at Lia.

"Oi, we're supposed to be lecturing this fool, don't go encouraging him." Amari said in annoyance.

Lia grabbed Kenji by the ear and dragged him to the alleyway between the guildhall and the building next door, with the same sweet smile on her face.

'That's a terrifying image.'

"H-hey wait! Ai! Save me!" Kenji yelled out before he disappeared with Lia.

"We should... leave them be." Ai said, unsure of what would happen next. Whether they were going to start making out or Kenji would be reduced to a bloody pulp, Ai thought it best to let Lia do her thing. Alone.

A few minutes passed as Amari and Hoat'l with Ai at his back stood around quietly, waiting for Lia to finish whatever torture she had in mind.

*SLAP*

A loud noise emerged from the alleyway as the two walked around the corner, Lia with a smile on her face, Kenji with a red hand-print across his face, looking down and defeated.

"Now then, we should go meet my friend. Although, I should warn you that she can be a little... eccentric." Lia kept that terrifying smile.

"Well at this point, our entire party is a little eccentric in one way or another. I think we will be fine." But Lia simply tilted her head and giggled.

"It's a very dangerous place for people like my Kenji." She turned to look at him. "But you're still coming, I can't let 'my hero' out of my sight now, even for a minute now, can I?"

'Oh shit, she is totally a Yandere.'

Kenji gulped and nodded, his face now slightly swollen around the hand-print.

'You poor, poor boy, I almost feel sorry for you, almost.'

----------------------------------------

The party approached a tent sitting in a corner of the main market area, the tent was blue and decorated with arcane markings and circles. A random assortment of magical trinkets and baubles swayed in the wind, hanging from the posts supporting the relatively small tent.

*BOOM*

An explosion came from within as a group of four nude men ran out of the tent, holding their clothes over their groins. The entire group blinked in confusion simultaneously, with the exception of Lia, who held her face in her palm, shaking her head.

"Don't say I didn't warn you." She said as she walked up to the flap of the tent, raising it up and gesturing for the group to come inside. The tent looked as though it would be a tight squeeze for all of them to fit inside, but upon entering, of course, it was much larger on the inside.

The small circles and markings on the outside mirrored the huge markings on the roof inside.

'More cliches, awesome.'

"I swear, men are all fools." A blue-haired woman in a very revealing blue dress said as she lounged in a chair similar to a throne, she kicked her legs up and rested her feet on her foot-rest, which was just a naked man on his hands and knees wearing a gimp mask.

'Holy shit, Lia was not lying when she said this woman was a bit eccentric.'

The woman slammed her staff to the ground in disappointment, sending out a nova of blue fire that started just beyond her feet, so as not to hit her loyal foot-rest. The flames expanded out towards the party, freezing everything in the room, but Lia raised her hand with a smile, and a barrier formed around the party as a wall of ice appeared where her barrier had stood before fading away.

"Hello, Azura sweety, I bring guests!" Lia said with a wave, Azura disappeared in a blur, reappearing before the party, she gazed at the party with a spine-chilling sapphire glare, those soul-piercing eyes clearly judging them, then stopped as her eyes fell on Kenji.

"No perverts." She said simply as she tapped her staff on the ground, opening a portal beneath Kenji.

"Oh shi-!" Kenji tried to yell out before he fell through the portal.

"Azura sweety, he is my hero that I told you about." Lia said sweetly.

"You know he was undressing me with his eyes the moment he saw me, right?" Azura asked coldly.

Lia nodded but kept her smile, which, despite seeming sweet and innocent, slowly became the default Yandere smile to Ai. "Don't worry, I'll have him trained properly before too long." That statement sent shivers down the spines of the entire party.

'Ok, I actually feel sorry for the poor boy.'

With another tap of her staff, a scream could be heard from just outside the tent as---

*CRASH*

---Kenji landed on the ground just outside the entrance of the tent. Being close to Hoat'l and Ai, she conjured a stick of mana in her hands and poked Kenji's unmoving body as a light groan could be heard.

"Still alive." Ai confirmed, dismissing the mana stick.

'For now.'

Azura gestured for the group to enter the tent as she turned away and blinked towards a desk off to the side. "Now then, what business do you have with me." She began to sit down in front of the desk, but there was no chair, until the gimp man dived in at the last second, landing on his hands and knees.

'Now that's some dedication.'

Lia gestured toward Ai. "My friend here lost her mark in an accident, and I was wondering if you could give her a new one."

"Hmmm..." She turned to her desk, her eyes scanning for something. "Well, I suppose I still owe you for finding me this loyal subject." She said as she slapped the gimps ass. He never made a single sound.

'Is he even human?'

'Wait.'

'No, not now.'

Lia smiled and opened her mouth to say something, but was cut off when Ai started to cough violently.

The party turned to Ai as she coughed into her hands, black blood began to drip onto one of the many arcane rugs covering the ground of the tent. Slowly, Ai's vision began to fade.

"S-sis!? Is that!?" Amari dashed toward Ai as the last of her consciousness faded away.