"Ugh….look, I'm sorry that I interrupted your fun, but I'd advise you to give me that precious sapphire before I'm inclined to make you hand it over by force."
In the dead of night, the young man who was enveloped by a completely black outfit that hid most of his face brandished a sharp knife, pointing it at the young terrified couple who lay naked under the bedsheets.
"WHA-"
"Don't scream, or I'll pick that sapphire from your corpse," was the immediate response to the trembling woman. "Let's make this quick so that you can get back to slutting each other out, shall we?"
--Liohime Kitagami had now directed his stern voice to the man as he aimed to finish the robbery of the rare sapphire hastily.
As a member of the criminal organization known as the Shinigami Soldiers, the 'Shadow Thief' was proficient at his job, and although he would not say that he enjoyed his work, it always helped him in times of financial need.
The woman, who shamefully and fearfully hid her lower half with the bedsheet, tried to slowly reach for her pocket, but Liohime's hands were quicker as he immediately pulled out a loaded gun frum his hip and aimed it straight at her face, causing her to freeze in place.
"P-Please…." the man stammered in horror, putting up his hands and immediately bursting into tears.
Clicking his tongue, Liohime frowned.
"Make it quick, I said," he commanded. "I took thirty minutes scouring your house looking for that shit while having to hear you two go crazy, and then I couldn't find it so that I could leave peacefully. That seriously pisses me off. So, give it to me, or I'll have to make you give it to me in other ways."
"A…Alright…just please, don't hurt her-"
"I give you my word. I hate having to get my hands dirty, but if push comes to shove…" his voice trailed off, keeping a stern, low voice to ensure that he was not playing around.
How many times has it been that he found himself in this situation?
Well, not the situation of robbing while people were fucking like rabbits. Rather, the guilt-tripping situation of having to confront his victims and hear their pleas.
The man quickly removed a blue ring from his pinky finger and the crystal-like object materialized out of thin air. He then outstretched his arm to Liohime as the latter took it from him swiftly and infected it for about three seconds before heading out to the door. However, he stopped and took one last look at the couple.
"You know," he muttered, "From one guy to another, foreplay is kinda important, man. Don't forget to do that. Oh, and aftercare, too. Girls love that for some reason."
"Uh…"
"Later."
And after giving some of the best advice at the worst possible fucking time (great job, dumbass), Liohime Kitagami quickly fled the scene.
***
Mission successful. Great job, me, thought Liohime as he stood outside of his door at nearly two in the morning.
He knocked on the door with three rapid knocks in succession, waiting for the cryptic message to be delivered.
And sure enough, the door unlocked and opened, followed by-
"UWAHHH!!! YOU'RE FINALLY BACK-MMMFFF!!"
"Q-Quiet down! You'll wake up the neighbors, Shihon!"
-Shihon, Liohime's Magical Beast Girl, who came running into his arms with a tearful and snotty face, bawling as her despair for him was apparent to see, and he quickly covered her mouth.
He entered and closed the door before scolding her.
"Geez, Shihon! I'm pretty sure that you said that you were fine with me going out to work and that you were okay staying at home by yourself!"
He could still picture the state she was in before he left his house in order to begin his mission.
(One and a Half Hours Before…
"D-Don't leave me here by myself, Master! Take me with you!"
Shihon held onto his legs as he tiredly dragged them along with her body and hobbled towards the front door.
"Huh!? Weren't you perfectly fine with this when we discussed it like five minutes ago!?"
"I won't leave you by yourself! I need to stay with you at all times!"
"Seriously, Shihon! I gotta fucking go now! And keep your voice down! I don't want you causing a racket!"
"Uwahhh!! Master, you meanie!!"
)
What Liohime failed to realize until that point was that Shihon was still pretty much obsessed with him and would barely let him out of her sight. No matter what, she wanted to spend as much time with him as possible, as long as there was a possibility that she could.
Unfortunately for him, the only thing that kept her from forcing herself to go with him was him promising that he would watch a movie with her as soon as he returned while cuddling with her and giving her constant kisses every now and then, and then sleep together on the couch (Liohime had to remind her that he meant sleeping as in sleeping, and rejected the quick suggestion of the missionary position to start it off).
You poor soul. Why would you suggest a movie at two in the morning after knowing that you'd probably feel fatigued?
Anyway, he also suggested another outing later on in the day, at a nearby park.
***
"Master, you look like you're about to die."
"...Whose fault do you think that is?"
Liohime had (somehow) kept himself awake throughout most of the movie, but now was struggling to keep his head upright and his eyes open. Within the close embrace of his arms was Shihon, who was kept close, and she kept her head on his shoulders.
"Hmm, last time I checked, you were the one who suggested this," she whispered in his ear, grinning.
"Ugh."
"It's fine, Master. I think that it's about to end, anyway."
"Thank goodness."
"I lied. We're not even halfway in, I think."
"Why do that to me?"
"Hehe, sorry, sorry."
Unable to fight it any longer, Liohime began to drift off, and Shihon decided not to wake him up and continued to watch.
The scene in the movie now transitioned into a high school couple standing together at the balcony near the roof of their school, staring at the sunset.
They held hands, exchanged glances, neared closer and closer, and their lips touched ever so slightly before they both embraced each other.
Shihon's lips pursed, and she averted her gaze to the unconscious young man beside her.
She edged closer, her heart pounding as her lips also neared his, and now that she hovered over him, only a few centimetres separated their faces.
…And after a few seconds of silence, her soft lips could not advance any further, so she quietly sat back down next to him and sighed, turning her attention back to the television screen.
The high school girl had pulled away, her nervous expression ominous.
"I-I'm sorry," she stated. My emotions are all over the place right now, and I don't know what to feel right now…"
Shihon's eyes drooped low, and she faced Liohime once more.
I love you so much…yet, I don't even know why. I feel a great longing towards you, as if I'm scared of the chance that you disappear from me forever, but I don't know the reason.
It hurts. It hurts to not know.
She bit the bottom of her lip in frustration.
"I love you, Liohime."
Those words that she whispered to him were so easy to say, and she could say it a hundred times without ever getting tired of it.
I love you. And…
"...And I promise…" she continued with a renewed resolve, "...that one day, I will find out why I love you the way I do. And when I do, I will probably come to adore you even more than I do now, my love."