I look down on… a city, from where I'm flying above it. Not exactly sure where I am, or what the city is called, but it's where Himiko is according to my Hoard senses. Why am I looking for Himiko? Because the damn cat hasn't bothered to visit recently! It's been literal months since I got a unicorn person that I'm turning into a unicorn-dragon person, and she probably doesn't even know!
Well, one of the other members of my Hoard might have told her, but I really doubt it. Mei is too focused on making babies with my discarded 'materials'; meaning scales that have fallen off, claw shavings, etc. She got a little upset when I drew the line at using my… 'waste', but I put my claws down and told her NO like a good dragon should! …Though I did also tell her that if any of her babies impress me enough that I might be willing to let her use my saliva. Which might have been what prompted her latest fervor of baby-making… Oh well, not my problem as long as she keeps the explosions confined to her lab in my Lair or her territory!
Anyways, I doubt Yui or Shinso told her either since… Well, Kyoka might have told Yui and Shinso about Eri since they hang out all the time and go to the same school and everything, but I still don't think any of them told Himiko. They don't really 'approve' of how happy she is being a villain and killing people. Which didn't really make sense to me at the time since I'm also perfectly happy to kill people whenever I feel like it, but then they explained that it's different with me since I'm so much more superior to humans and that cleared everything right up! Because I am vastly superior to humans thank you for noticing, this is why they are worthy of being part of my Hoard! Sure, they looked a little weird when they explained it to me; what with not looking at me for whatever reason and having weird tones in their voices, but it's a perfectly valid argument!
I shake my head to focus back on the moment. Find Himiko and drag her back to my Lair to meet Eri now, bask in my own greatness later. Probably have Eri bask in it too. Ooh! We could have a lava bath together while basking! That will be fun!
I hum happily as I start gliding closer to where Himiko is, idly wondering if the shapeshifter has anyone she can change into that would let her take a bath with us. Unfortunately there's no possibility of any of the others developing that capability unless they somehow earn the honor of me granting them the privilege of becoming half-bloods. That's unlikely though, to say the least. The only reason that I even granted such a thing to my unicorn is because she was both lacking an arm (fuck you, Bastard) and I could tell that she had practically no attachment towards being human. That fragile attachment was the only reason her new arm even grew so fast in the first place; if she had considered herself human it would have taken several weeks at the minimum for it to grow. As it is? The tenuous attachment she felt to her humanity completely vanished the moment she called me Mom. Or would it be more accurate to say she calls me Mom because she threw away the last considerations she had for being considered human?
Either way, earning the right to be a half-blood is not a viable method for my Hoard to gain the ability to take lava baths. Maybe I should ask Mei to try and make something so they can… but then she'd need to test whatever she makes which would probably kill whoever tests it if it doesn't work… Meh, oh well. As long as whoever it is isn't part of my Hoard I don't really care. For relaxation and baby making! But before that, introductions!
Speaking of introductions, it feels like Giran and Himiko are near each other? Huh, that's interesting. I wonder if Himiko is asking for advice on expanding her territory or collecting minions? As long as she's not doing something stupid-
My eyes narrow as the two come into sight and I take in the scene. Himiko is crouched in front of Giran with two bloody knives held in front of her, a wide smile splitting her face in half, and the grey-haired broker himself stands a few feet away, gun pointed warningly at the blonde girl while blood stains the collar of his shirt.
I don't hesitate to land, a cloud of dust rising to fill the alley the two are in as my claws dig furrows into the ground. I let a growl build in my throat, a warning for neither of them to move. Or else. Thankfully they're both familiar enough with me to listen when I tell them something and are in the same places they were when I first saw them, though both are sweating now.
Giran lifts his head in a slight nod, a strained smirk twitching on his face. "H-hey Bush, long time no see."
Like the older man, Himiko's greeting is just as tense, her body's instincts clearly telling her to flee. "H-hi Izumi! W-what ya doing here?"
I don't bother greeting either of them back, switching my glare between the two before asking in a calm voice, "Who started the fight?"
I see Giran's shoulder slump ever so slightly in relief while Himiko's alternatively get ever so slightly more tense, giving me my answer. Himiko swallows nervously. "O-o-oh. D-d-do you kn-know this guy?"
I tilt my head and give her a wide smile of gleaming fangs, which causes her to shrink down on herself, trembling. "Hi~mi~ko~," I say in a sing-song voice. "I do believe that we've already had a talk about you attacking people you shouldn't, correct?"
Himiko's knives vanish from her hands as she stands up straight, hand gripping the hem of her sleeves with a white knuckled grip. "Y-yes! We have! I've made sure to leave everyone else who's a part of your Hoard alone!"
I hum approvingly, giving her a slow nod. That's correct, she got it right. So why is she trembling even more now? "I do believe that I also told you not to hunt anyone who has one of my calling cards. Or was I mistaken?" The growl in my throat causes her to jump, her back pressing against the wall of the building behind her.
"I-I-I didn't know this guy has a calling card! I-I-I'm sorry!" She goes into a perfect ninety degree bow with such efficiency that she could be a robot programmed solely for the purpose-
`~`
A teenager with engines on his legs looks away from the table where he's enjoying a meal with his family and off into the distance, filled with the sudden feeling that someone is challenging him.
`~`
-before seeming to decide that a mere bow isn't enough and immediately transitioning into a full dogeza with perfect efficiency, her forehead pressed against the ground.
`~`
The boy with engines on his legs clutches his heart and gasps as the feeling of challenge turns into a feeling of defeat, garnering questions of concern from his family.
`~`
"Please forgive me!"
I hum consideringly, tapping a claw on my chin as I peer down at her before my gaze drifts to Giran, who has put his gun away and replaced it with a cigarette that he draws deeply on. He raises a smug eyebrow at me, but my eyes are more focused on the blood staining his clothes. From where it's coming from, I can infer that Himiko likely ambushed him from above and tried to drive her knives into his neck. But Giran has been in the game a long time, and he's trained his instincts well. He managed to avoid a fatal strike and pulled out his gun, resulting in the two being in the standoff they were in when I found them.
I slowly shake my head while clicking my tongue at my vampire, causing her to go rigid. "Oh, Himiko. Tsk tsk tsk. The problem with that, is that this is your second offense. Not only that, but this time you actually managed to injure them. Gap-"
"Screw you too, Bush."
I ignore his interruption with the ease of experience. "-may not be part of my Hoard, but he is still mine. And you hurt what is mine. If this was business, I could let it go. Just like I would let it go if you injured Kyoka, Hitoshi, or Yui during a hero and villain fight. It's not personal, just business. But something tells me this wasn't business, now was it?"
She jerkily shakes her head as she looks up at me, eyes wide as she stutters out a reply. "N-n-no, m-ma-ma'am."
I nod. "Right. Which means…" My hand darts out and my claws wrap around her upper arm, causing her to cry out. Not from pain, of course, I'm not going to damage what's mine just because they're in trouble. No, she's just surprised, which is likely amplified when I extend my wings and give them a powerful flap to launch the two of us into the air. I turn around to start the flight back to my Lair, giving Himiko a wide, fang-bared smile.
"You need to be punished."
…
...
...…
Damn it, I have to try and think of a punishment that doesn't involve damaging her.
`~`
"So, what do you think?" I question my unicorn while Himiko begs to be let out of the cage. Which I can't really do since this is supposed to be a punishment. Well, unless Eri thinks this is too much, in which case I'll try to think of something else.
Said unicorn child hums and tilts her head (cutely) while she gives a considering look at where Himiko's cage is located. After a few minutes of silent contemplation (both of us still ignoring the girl) she looks back at me. "Can she die in there?"
I wave a hand dismissively. "No, Mei made a temperature regulation baby while I was sleeping so she could wander my Lair without worrying about the heat, so I set it up with the cage so that she won't suffer any heat-related injuries. She also has rugs and furniture up there so she's not walking on steaming hot metal any time she needs to stretch her legs." I'm not dumb or anything, I accounted for all of this when I came up with the idea!
Eri hums again and tilts her head to the other side. "Are you going to feed and water her?"
I huff out an annoyed breath and cross my arms under my chest. "Of course I am! And I'm going to make sure she gets her daily portions of blood too! Honestly, Eri, why wouldn't I make sure she's taken care of? This is just time out for her."
She looks down at the ground and I frown, completely confused as to where the idea that I wouldn't take care of my things is coming from. Before I can question her though, she runs off, throwing confirmation that she thinks it's fine over her shoulder before she vanishes deeper into my Lair. Still, I can't help it as my frown deepens. That entire round of questions was… weird. I certainly haven't given her any reason to think I wouldn't take care of Himiko while she's in trouble, which only leaves Bastard as to where she might have thought that. Too bad I can't question him about it since his head is part of Eri's Hoard, and most people die when their head comes off. And Eri certainly doesn't want to talk about it.
I shrug, turning back to Himiko and raising a finger. "Now, you're going to be in there for one month and think about what you did wrong. I'll make sure to bring you each of your meals and ensure you have a constant supply of water." I let my brows furrow as I adopt a serious expression. "Of course, this is contingent on you being good while you're in time-out. If you're bad, I might leave you hanging longer. Understood?"
Himiko swallows but nods her head, and I have to hold back a swallow of my own at how miserable she looks. But she's in trouble! I have to be firm in my discipline! And Eri said that putting her in time out is fine, so it is!
I give her a nod before turning around to get her dinner… maybe a big dinner in case she gets hungry in-between meals. Should I make sure she has snacks in there? And since I'm already going to be setting up a bathroom and a water reserve so that she can have access to water without me having to refill it daily, should I just make a whole other room up there? It would probably be easier than just keeping anyone on time out in a literal cage hanging above my bathtub…