Eroge? Bad Ends? Betrayal? I’m Just Here to Suplex Monsters through Buildings.

From the Top Rope (3.2)

…

Interlude: Asakura Hiyo, the Fiery Blade

…

Daichi’s escape soured our victory over Catherine’s mother, but Keita’s demise turned it pyrrhic.

Especially when it was his valor that gave us an ally at the most pivotal of moments.

“He passed here, and I sanctified his body. He had numerous talismans on his person, which I believe caused this damage.” Where Keita had perished was only the crumbling, burnt remains of a building. The ground was covered in scorch marks and dried blood. We recovered the three limbs that had been cut from him. “He fought with valor and conviction that I have not seen in centuries.”

“Damn, it’s a real tough break. Archdemon in exchange for a hero.” Catherine grunted. Her power was expended, so she covered herself in long robes. A faint sweet smell drifted from her, and her skin was radiant even beneath the full moon. If not for the cigar she had between her lips, I would have thought her of the Fae. “Not that you need me to tell you that, right?”

“Should your mother rise again, I will be there to aid in returning her to the infernal realm. Lady Hiyo, your betrayer shall find himself hounded by my familiars and me.” I nodded idly at the Argent Knight’s words. He had his hand over his heart and bowed as he spoke. His oath was ironclad. It was a double-edged sword. He swore many oaths when he first did not have enough strength. “Hm. I apologize, but I must take my leave. His kin are here, and I do not wish to inspire their ire.”

With a nod, he turned into mist and took flight, practically disappearing into the night.

I barely had time to message Leona that she could bring Alecia back, as I had separated the younger vampire from her senior once the truth was clear.

Even after our battle, it had taken much of my strength to put her in bondstemporarily before she swore any oaths of vengeance in rage.

But my concern lay more with the Hiyo Clan’s peers arriving in force.

As Mother predicted, the Uwabami had kept track of him.

After all, his age coincided with the temporary disappearance of my old friend and fellow heir.

“Shinobu.” I matched her gaze as she slipped forth from the shadows flanked by honor guards. A snarling mask of iron covered the lower half of her face. Her violet eyes were slitted like a serpent, and her bright green hair was tied back with a black ribbon. Her usual armor and equipment were not present. She wore all black robes as she approached me and the wooden casket containing her son’s remains. “My condolences.”

Keita had been twelve, and she was my age at twenty-four. He had no last name, was raised an orphan, and the Uwabami Clan had not brought him back when he left them.

The circumstances of his birth were unmistakable.

But she was here in mourning clothes, instead of as a representative of the clan, despite those circumstances.

Her silence, as she stared at the closed casket containing her son, was deafening.

She should have addressed me. Propriety demanded acknowledgement. Even the simplest of thanks for recovering remains that would have been used by our enemies.

But I let the silence stand as she continued to stand over the wooden box barely larger than a suitcase.

She was seemingly still, but her hands and shoulders were trembling.

She may as well have been wailing to all those who looked upon her.

Yet the silence and trembling were almost preferable to what came next.

“This is the first time that I shall hold you.” Her words made me wince, but I did not look away while Catherine bowed her head. Shinobu reached down and gently brought the box up. I winced as she cradled it like a child against her form. To my sharpened senses, even with the box, I could still smell blood, ash, and decaying flesh. She didn’t flinch, nor did she shy away. The wood creaked against her grasp. “Forgive me. I never had the strength to even give you your name.”

Sometimes I questioned Keita’s fierceness and ruthlessness towards the criminals that he fought and killed.

At Trespass, I had even wondered if I should have reined him in.

But he knew the circumstances of his birth, of what must have happened to Shinobu, and why he was raised the way he was.

Instead of hating the Uwabami Clan, he left them and lashed out at those who harmed others.

And, now, that righteous soul was gone.

Shinobu took a shuddering breath before matching my gaze. Her eyes were glassy and hazy, not seeing me at all, and I yearned for nothing more than to disappear from her gaze. But I forced myself to stand fast before her dull gaze, so far away from the ferocious glare she levelled at me when we last sparred.

I tried to find words, but none came forth.

All I could do was bow my head and watch her back as she walked, carrying her child’s remains.

…

Interlude: Helena Horner

…

Another day, another thousand dollars spent on meat.

“You buying all this for a restaurant or something, kid?” The butcher asked with a snort. He packed up the ground meat, and I shoved it into my bag. “You’ve been here every day.”

“Something like that. Just need to make ends meet. College is expensive, and I’d rather cook than anything else.” I lied. Some of it was true. The best lies were always surrounded by the truth. “If you’ve got any more bargains…”

“Yeah, yeah. I’ll give you a shout next time you’re here. Just make sure all of it is cooked well done or frozenthrough, alright?” My respect for the man rose up a bit at that. Unlike all the other butchers I was buying bargain meat from, he wasn’t trying to get to know me to butter me up. “Make sure that you cook in batches with only one source too. Other butchers try to sneak some older stuff in.”

“I’ll keep that in mind. Thank you.” I gave him a nod before sending the payment over. His eyes glowed for a moment before he nodded and accepted the payment. “See you tomorrow.”

“Stay safe. It’s almost dark out there, young lady.” He raised up a robotic hand in goodbye.

The store’s shutters automatically closed behind me after I exited.

The winter air was frosty, and the faint scent of chemicals from the last toxic drizzle lingered in the air.

I made sure my bag was sealed before putting it in the back of the trunk and checking my mask’s seals.

Thankfully, I could replace it soon, since my car was finally fixed up.

Trundling along the streets, I did my best to ignore sidewalks and alleys and did my best to stick with the pack of cars making their way home.

Being surrounded by traffic was always preferable to being a lone car.

I kept my radio off and kept my eyes on my surroundings, aware of my gun on my dashboard and the gun at my seat.

More than a few gazes were dissuaded by the gun on the dash, and I managed to get to my apartment.

The scent of meat roasting from my small balcony hit me hard, and my stomach rumbled.

“You’re here early.” The little monster that suddenly fell onto my car one evening greeted me with a small, upraised hand out from a yellow raincoat. The other hand was flipping burgers on a grill. The freaky part? He didn’t have that smaller arm when we first met. Just a closed-off wound. The same went for his growing legs. “Any problems getting the money?”

“No. Everything was fine.” I went into an address, opened a locker there, and inside were multiple credit chits. Each one maxed out. “You have a hundred thousand easy now.”

“I’ve got fifty, and you’ve got fifty.” He told me simply before tossing a freshly cooked patty up towards his hooded face. There was a snapping sound and a moment later a gulp of satisfaction. He had multiple liters of sugary soda beside him. Dozens were emptied and neatly bundled. “I left some patties on the table for you.”

My mother and father never cooked for me, yet here I was getting a hot meal ready for me after I got back from an errand.

“Thanks.” There were some vegetables and rice on the table too. Most of my small studio was taken up by food now. The dining room table was covered with vegetables, the fridge was full of meat, and multiple slow cookers were cooking beans, rice, and even stews. The smell of food was practically burned into my little apartment. A far cry from the desert it used to be. “So, how are you feeling?”

“A pound or two heavier. At this rate, I should be good within a month, and I’ll be out of your hair.” I didn’t know how to feel about that. On one hand, a monster was living with me. On the other hand, he was paying me, and all I had to do was bring in food for him to regenerate. “You’ll need to move out after all this, though. Start looking for an apartment in two weeks.”

“Right. Got it.” The meat was cooked through, so it wasn’t particularly juicy. Knowing its quality, though? I wouldn’t have eaten it if it wasn’t fully cooked. It was good enough, and the rice and vegetables helped. “You think someone will start looking for you? Someone that might come after me?”

“I don’t think so, but you’re better off not involved in this. Go and finish your classes and live an honest life somewhere safer. Someplace without underground fighting arenas and flesh pits.” I didn’t have much choice besides to believe him. Before he suddenly stopped my car and got in, I thought I just got a bad deal being born poor with parents that didn’t give a shit. Now, at every shadow, I was worried that monsters were waiting. Worse monsters than I grew up with and knew now. “And get a gun.”

I snorted at the absolute frankness of his statement until there was a sudden knock on the door.

I frowned, not knowing who should be out there, until a call came.

“Oh, Helly~. Did you think you could just sneak off?” A chill went down my spine. It couldn’t be. I tested out of school and left for a reason. Why the hell would they be here? “Did you seriously think you could be anything besides my little bitch?”

Year after year of torment. My clothes were snatched. Food ruined. Being told to fetch soda just to have it shaken and poured on me.

The queen of Ruger High somehow found me after I ran away after realizing what she wanted me to ‘do’ for her eighteenth birthday.

“Hey, just so you know, you made me look like a real idiot after I promised a little gangbang for the football team. They were so excited to turn you into a little onahole for the team to share. I had to give them one of the new girls instead.” Her sickeningly sweet sneer seemed to go straight past through the door and into my brain. Even though I was seated, I felt like the entire world was going upside down. Food threatened to go up my throat. “What the hell? Do you seriously think I’d come all the way here in this dump if some lock was going to stop me? You really are an idiot. It’s a good thing you won’t be needing that brain of yours after this.”

Suddenly, there were multiple footfalls on the other side, then the door began to shudder and shake as someone began to shoulder bash it.

For a second, as the door suddenly opened and one of the linebackers of the Ruger team came into view, I thought that it was over.

Despite all that I did to escape, my life was going to end.

Then, suddenly, just past my face, a slim, jagged arc of electricity surged through my room and struck him.

For a second, he shuddered and shook, then he fell over.

“What the fu—

Madeline didn’t get to finish her sentence as more sparks of electricity suddenly arced through and curved past my door.

Then, four more bodies fell.

When I saw her glassy at the threshold of my apartment, I let loose a breath I didn’t realize I was holding.

Then, the source of the electricity and my current roommate spoke.

“Help me drag them in. I’ll make some talismans to fuck with their heads so they don’t hurt anyone else again.” He ‘got up’ unsteadily by balancing on one hand and waddling forward. He almost made it to the front door faster than me and handled the football players with ease. “Hmph, these guys are on troll’s blood. It’d be safer to kill them, but that’ll cause problems.”

“What are you going to do to them, exactly?” I barely recognized my own voice. I felt like I was floating as I dragged my tormentor into the clear space in my studio.

“Get rid of some higher brain activity. Make them real stupid. Too stupid for shit like this. They’ll be happy. Ignorance is bliss, after all.” He dragged another footballer in with crazy ease, then looked over at the four of them. “Maybe put them in a compromising position together, with some drugs, so that when they’re found everyone thinks they just partied too hard?”

I almost wondered if the monster was able to read my thoughts, because I dreamed of that happening to Madeline and her cronies forever.