"Long time no see, Aki."
Su Tang smiled and greeted the handsome man walking toward him.
As precise and crisp as ever—hair combed neatly, not a strand out of place, a topknot at the back.
Who else but Aki Hayakawa.
"Mm." Aki nodded to Su Tang, the sword on his back.
"Ah-leh, it's Su Tang." Another voice Su Tang found headache-inducing piped up. Himeno, with her signature green hair, popped out from behind Aki, grinning: "That Leech Devil just now—you blew it up, right? Quite the amazing man. No wonder you can handle two at once, ahem, you know~"
Know your head!
And why did you put extra emphasis on "blew up"?!
Black lines all over his face, Su Tang decided to ignore the walking innuendo machine and turned to the unfamiliar man and woman behind the pair.
"Senior Himeno, if you're free, could I trouble you to secure the perimeter for any other devils?"
Aki's tone to Himeno carried respect and courtesy.
"Ah-re-re, Aki is really strict. But somehow it's impossible to refuse him." Himeno smiled squinty-eyed, put on a show of being troubled, but still did as asked.
Su Tang watched with interest.
This didn't play out quite like he'd imagined? Weren't they living together already?
Feels more like one-sided on Himeno's part. Tsk. Come on, girl—can't get through even one layer of gauze?
"Sorry. Senior Himeno can be a bit loose-tongued, but she's a good person."
Watching her walk away, Aki seemed to show a faint smile, quickly reined in. He apologized to Su Tang.
"It's fine." Su Tang waved a hand—he didn't take it to heart.
"And these two behind me," Aki continued, stepping aside to introduce, "are new recruits to Division 4—Hirokazu Arai and Kobeni Higashiyama."
"You two—go handle relocation of nearby survivors and residents."
"Understood."
Aki's authority was high; the two newcomers answered almost in unison.
Su Tang sized them up. The man—Hirokazu Arai—looked a bit nervous, but he held himself straight. The scar on his face plus the spiky hair gave him the air of "upright and righteous."
And the girl…
Kobeni Higashiyama, right.
Soft brown hair; mid-length fringe swept on the right, two red clips on the left. Beauty marks at the eye corner and cheek—he didn't count carefully; roughly four.
Pretty enough, but… wasn't she way too timid?
Even her hands were shaking—hey! Can she really be a devil hunter with Public Safety?
Su Tang had his doubts.
Keeping in mind that Makima had loaned him clothes—favor owed—Su Tang thought a moment and raised a Shadow Ninja with a flip of his hand.
"Eeeeeeyaaaaa!!!"
Such a simple motion—and the girl jumped in fright, yelping like a devil had popped out of nowhere.
"Don't worry. He'll lead you to the survivor rally point nearby. I herded everyone there earlier."
Su Tang kept his voice as soft as he could. He felt like even a slightly higher pitch might spook this girl.
"That helps a lot. Thank you!" Hirokazu Arai was steady enough; he bowed to Su Tang, then followed the Shadow Ninja with Kobeni—whose legs were still trembling.
"Mm." Su Tang nodded. Between the two, he favored the boy: green, but organized—maybe he'd grow into it. The girl… the vibe wasn't promising.
With that timid a disposition… being a Public Safety hunter was too dangerous.
Hard to see her living long.
Sigh.
"Mr. Su Tang. You took down both devils this time, correct?" Aki came to his side and asked.
"Mm. Both were a bit weak. About… hm, somewhere around the level of a four- to six-legs-class devil."
He thought and gave the best comparison he could come up with.
"Understood. The engagement was short, collateral low, and civilians almost unharmed. I'll report as such on behalf of Public Safety. Tokyo should award a higher relief payout."
Aki nodded, considerately getting ahead of the topic.
He'd just visited a few days earlier; of course he recognized the place of broken walls as Su Tang's newly repaired clinic.
"In addition, the two devil kills also carry bounties. I can help file the claim… but…" Aki gave him an inquiring look. "You'll need to be registered as a devil hunter."
"All right. Trouble you." Su Tang smiled ruefully. "For the contracted devil line, just write 'Ninja Devil.'"
"Ninja Devil?" Aki confirmed.
If he'd seen right, hadn't the man just pounded the Leech Devil's head to pulp with his fist?
To be honest, if he hadn't known Su Tang earlier, he would have thought him a fiend.
"C'mon. A ninja knowing a bit of ninjutsu and taijutsu is normal."
Su Tang patted Aki's shoulder and winked.
"Okay." Aki asked nothing further, but looked past Su Tang at Denji-ko in back, who was scratching her head with an uneasy grin.
"I'm here on Ms. Makima's notice to hunt devils— and to bring Denji-ko and Power back for review."
"Review?" Su Tang was puzzled.
"Mm. They left their supervised patrol posts without permission. Purpose unclear."
"Oh. Understood." That did violate internal regulations; he couldn't say much. He thought a moment and added, "During the fight, I saw Denji-ko actively engaging the Bat Devil, and also warning to help unrelated civilians."
"Thank you for the info. We'll investigate accordingly."
Aki nodded to Su Tang and walked toward Power and Denji-ko, who were lying on the ground.
"Hmm, need to find a place to crash for now."
Su Tang left the scene and walked aimlessly.
He still had a decent amount of money left. For opening a clinic it was a drop in the bucket, but for a hotel there'd be no problem.
He'd head to Reze's café and take a breather.
A beauty to soothe the eyes, and some errands to run.
As he thought this, someone called him from behind.
He turned. "Eh? Angel Devil?"
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