A
Amaryllis
[AdVenture Capital] 0
An Afternoon At Akemi's
During a relatively quiet time at the tavern Akemi sat in the main room of his tavern with a recently hired employee he'd personally assigned to the planet. The two of them were seated at a table next to the wall opposite the bar with long, soft, amply and fully cushioned seats. "Welcome to 188604. I hope you have a great time," Akemi said as he smiled happily at the other Neko with an adorable and highly enticing hairstyle across from him.
Eisei Eguchi crossed hands in her lap and returned a gleaming white smile to her new boss, one that was as charming as it could be given her mouth had a few too many canines. She had chosen to wear a simple blue-checkered dirndl dress today, which only accentuated the petite features of the unnaturally doll-like thing.
“Doesn’t… look anything like I imagined it, zee…” Bated breath, a nervous expression from their reserved perch. They wanted to make a good impression, but the situation at hand was making their voice fantastically high in pitch. “Expected biggo~ magic castles and princesses by how you sold it… Still, I’m awfully flattered you invited me along, Mister Koga-Sama Sir!”
Akemi didn't mind the disappointment. He really couldn't blame her. He'd have loved to have immediately taken her to see some massive majestic castle or something. "Well I'm sure there are some big fancy buildings and pieces of art, they'll likely be small by our standards though. Unfortunately I'll have to make a lot of the fancy stuff, but hey, there sure is nobility and whatnot. The guy I bought this tavern from is a knight of the Order of the Garter, a group that was in service to the deceased queen."
“They served her even through she was dead? So there was like a skeleton on the throne and stuff? That’s so sweet!” The pink haired neko responded with perhaps too much positivity, and showing a disinclination towards blinking. “The NMX were always big on melee, so it’s nice we have something in common… They might have just been that way because they didn’t want us to have all the good kit, sure, but… Well, the journey is a lot more fun, when all the gifts lie ahead of you, isn’t it?”
Extended, nervous laughter, closing her eyes in a conscious attempt to cease staring at the rather more sleek, refined neko male across from her. Even that last part was in itself a luxury she had not come across before. When she had changed her own body into something more befitting of a magical princess, it was simply a leap into what she figured many common nekovalkyrja must have desired internally…
"So what kind of special duties do you expect me to perform here, Koga-sama? I'll do my best to meet your criteria!"
Akemi crossed his arms and reclined in his seat. "Not much in a sense, at least not a lot right away. You can just do what everyone else typically does. The main additional thing I was thinking you might do is eventually try training your coworkers in modern weapon usage. Maybe you'd do some outdoor mock battles too. Or we could just use VR to make things faster to set up and provide more scenarios. Later you might help me actually run a military force. For now you could be my honorary bodyguard when you like."
“Modern arms… Erm, you mean like, power armor?...” Wide eyes met his words attentively… Through perhaps not so much with things going on behind them. “I mean, yes, I can do this, if you can buy some and all.”
It was subtle, but… There was definitely something just a little off about this neko. They had mentioned swapping bodies, and now the thing seemed to fill the space of a girl just a little too perfectly. Literally like someone who had learned everything they knew about human behaviour from cartoons, and was desperately trying to play that role to absolute perfection.
“A bodyguard, I can do this. I don’t mind getting shot. Never stopped me before. You’ve seen the combat records!” Absolute conviction. They were still smiling, regardless of subject matter. “Won’t let you down, Mister Koga-sama! We can spread peace, love and security to this dusty old place, for sure.”
"Great. When I said weapons I just meant regular hand held stuff though. These guys normally only have muskets and swords so any automatic rifle would be a tremendous step up for them. They'd only have other people with space weaponry to fear and I don't plan on fighting any of my fellow Star men." Akemi paused. "They call us Star people or Skyfolk here. It's pretty awesome. I find it crazy cute." An idea suddenly struck the svelte man. "Oh, I know what else you could do. You could give Olena a sparring partner. She's a native friend of mine I recently gave a body upgrade."
“A body upgrade?... T-they should make her a princess now! It’s only n-natural…” A flick of the gaze, before her large eyes returned into her lap. “I guess this means your staff here is mostly locals, through… That’s… kinda… f-funny…”
A daydream for just a moment, completely spacing out.
“-Oh, you said firearms? Sure, I can teach those too. Just need to have a look-see at your inventory I guess.” An eventual reply. “What kind of people would want to attack a simple alien restaurant, though, I wonder?...”
"Well this planet's government was overthrown by it's current leader who came from space so as space kittens we could always end up being targeted by people that want us all gone as a result." Given the way Eisei stammered and paused a few times Akemi simply had to say something. Normally he would merely find that cute but with her eyes downcast he was worried she might need some cheering up or reassuring. "Is anything bothering you?" As the Neko spoke he shifted to lean forward. "Feel free to say whatever is on your mind. Absolutely anything. I'd love it if you would."
“No no no! It’s not like that!” The fey neko bolted upright on the chair, leaning across, as if to convince Akemi easier. Smile became a little more reserved, lips pursed together, but still there. “The isolation here can only make the spirit grow more robust! I knew this when accepting your challenge!”
Gold crescent moon on her forehead was more obvious at this distance, as was a distinct smell of candy floss. She was using this as an opportunity to examine her new boss up close, too.
“It may take some convincing, but I’m sure I can gift them the truth. True justice is a thing that comes from the sky, it is not a tool that can be fashioned by mere mortals! It only privileges us by allowing us to wield it!” Another new type of smile, distant and knowing. They really believed the words that they were saying, and was prideful that Akemi was giving them an opportunity to speak it out loud. "Not a drop of evil will slow our progress, not a single order of gyoza slowed in the name of idleness, this I can assure you!"
Okay, too close now, practically within distance to nuzzle their faces together...
"If you're this cute and enthusiastic I don't know if I can control myself," Akemi replied smoothly before tilting further forward to allow his nose to touch hers. He then gently wiggled his face back and forth to deliver a passionate Eskimo kiss while a fresh smile grew ear to ear.
Clasping her hands to her nose in response, Eisei blushed whilst rapidly breaking off and facing away, fluffy ears lowering a little. It was a look of suddenly regained self-consciousness.
“You think of me that way? Is that how t-the males work? I h-had n-no idea…” Not a lot of experience to call on, from a life spent in two armies of pure nekovalkyrja. She clearly idolized his power and the scope of his goals, but still wasn’t quite sure what exactly Akemi was.
Arms folded back between her legs with knees perched upwards. A renewed glance was sent sideways as she absent-mindedly rotated the chair a little bit back and forth, resting her chin on those knees and giving of a small, kittenish grin.
“That’s the kind of thing Mister Akemi-sama wants from his noble warrior, is it?”
"Absolutely," Akemi answered quickly. "I love your attitude. Everything you said was fantastic and I totally think of you that way. Heck, I feel that way. I just can't help it. You're perpetually armed and dangerous with those looks of yours. I've got half a mind to rip that outfit off you after you so viciously assaulted me with your charm. You certainly don't need its assistance when you're already so persuasive. You're threatening enough as is."
"Buy me a drink." A tempered pause. She was still grinning with those sharp little teeth, but her amber eyes could really turn shady when the lids were half closed. "That's how it goes, isn't it?"
"Sure," Akemi said before mentally placing an order. "Seriously, you're really charming and your attitude is greatly appreciated. I don't intend to do any big bad hostile takeovers of native land. I'm looking to start my own kingdom for fun but my intent is to genuinely vastly increase the quality of life here. Weapons training would be mainly for self-defense and taking back land from bandits. How I'd found my kingdom would be by simply finding a noble who already owns a lot of land and teaming up with them." A large hot Mazrit Brandy with plenty of cream was deposited on the table by another Neko waitress shortly after he finished speaking.
"Thanks, darling!" An appreciative look towards their colleague. Instead of drinking it in their own seat, however, they grasped the glass carefully in both hands, moved into Akemi’s personal space, and deployed themselves into his lap instead. Maybe it was supposed to be some kind of show of force, but Eisei was in truth so short and light that it didn’t even shake the table.
“I’ll be honest, I’m not really sure I understand. I’m only good at the one thing. Maybe my brain was just made that way, or put that way because it needed to stay alive.” A big gulp of the drink, sitting there with her eyes closed as she felt the warm texture seep down into her belly. “But you’re really really smart. You’re doing justice and freeing people and really great things. So if I’m using my murderin’ ability only for this, that’s making good use of it, isn’t it? That makes me happy.”
"Himiko and Dara, they... t-they d-don't seem to think I'm a very good waitress, either, so..."
"Awww, you're a plenty good waitress," Akemi reassured as he adjusted himself to provide ample back support. "You've got a good attitude so you've got a great foundation. Learning is easy. Your mindset is what's really important. Personality is a huge part of attracting and keeping customers. You certainly make me feel extremely comfortable. Maybe too comfortable."
“You think so?” Eisei just glanced over curiously, before briskly returning to her drink. Maybe if those long nails weren’t so stupid and impractical, she’d be able to hold the glass in one hand…
“As for… Well, as for self-defence… I guess, well, do you think it might be your image that is the problem? Not that you aren’t the hotness, but…” Swilling the brandy now, choosing words carefully before continuing. “Image is like a universal language, you know? Have you ever considering marrying into a big house, or even creating your own… You know, family line thing? In order to get them gandering at your good bits more?...”
“I would say your genetics gotta count. That’s… That’s like the only proper family us neko got given…”
"That's exactly what I was thinking of doing," Akemi said as he moved a hand to hold Eisei's drink and tip it when she wished to partake of it. His other arm continued to work on providing general support. "I'd like to find the biggest, most useful or prestigious house and marry into it. I'm going to a party to meet a bunch of nobles so I can make my case to them and see who would be willing to work with and possibly marry me. I was thinking you could join me as my bodyguard so you'd have a reason to be there and you'd get to meet old timey aristocrats like you'd find in books."
“Books? Oh, you mean like those story print-outs. I like the ones with pictures…” Instead of allowing him to hold the glass, she got a little confused along the way and moved her own outwards, so that they were now holding each others. Eyes narrowed and smile showed a few more teeth. “…They say those are bad, but, hey, that drawing takes a lot of work… What is it they say? A pit’churez worth hundred words, or something?”
“I can be your bodyguard, sure. I’ve worked in less places with less gear, f’sure.” In absence of another hand, they were now using a cheek to counterbalance the oversized glass. Felt relaxing. “Maybe you can give me pointers, specific things enemies might be doin’? Wearin’? Lookin’ like?”
Akemi just decided to leave how they sat entirely to his new waitress. "There's little I could tell you right now. I really just wanted to give you a way to justify coming along. I don't think you'll have to look for enemies. You might get to duel someone for me if that'd appeal to you. Someone might feel their honor needs defending at some point or maybe they'd like to have our people fight for sport or to settle a dispute. I won't force you to get involved in something like that if you don't want to."
“Really? They still do that here?” Amber eyes lighting up, hand clenching around his with an excited response. She was blushing again, but actually looking off into the distance, nearly spacing out to the point of loosing her drink. “Fighting just one on one, only my lovely durandium blade and my lovely prince… That would be really, really pretty!...”
"Durandium?" Akemi said incredulously. "Fuck that. You can use my Zesu katana if you want. Unless you're super attached to your sword or you're worried about fairness. This tavern has duels every day. Sword duels and fistfights. My friend Olena is a champion of both which is why I suggested you could be her partner. You gotta super duper swear you won't accidentally kill her though."
“Oh, that’s okay.” Putting the glass down to give him some proper attention took effort. She then used the hand to brush against Akemi’s cheek lightly, showing how endearing his care of this ‘Olena’ came across to her. “A weapon is only good if it has your own unbroken love in it, you know. So my own wand is just fine... I don’t think there will be any problems between me and your friend either. I’m used to taking a hit for the team!”
”…One time I even got a knife in the brain…” A hand diverted, Eisei was back to staring into space once more whilst remembering something grotesque, palming against the side of her head carefully. “Backed up right to the second. It wasn’t fun, that one... B-But you still learn, even from the ones that aren’t fun!”
Still smiling. More teeth, if anything...
"I feel like you're putting a knife through my heart and I'm having the time of my life. You're really swell. I'm sure Olena and Smithee will love you. Smithee is this really dreamy looking guy and the knight I got this place from. He still manages it. Sadie is the name of our bartender. She's nice."
“They sound great! Your friends should be really fun to play with!” A sidelong glance. They really did not blink enough. “I can teach them, just like you want me to! Want me to show you? I can show you!”
No extra explanation needed, Eisei leapt out of his lap again and retrieved a brass-metal sword from her hand luggage. A short, thick, gladius-like blade, scratched to hell and yet also buffed out into a sort of gleaming, golden relic status.
Their routine was half martial arts style, half dance. Pirouettes and fancy lunges, often holding the blade by the pommel in order to make fantastically graceful, arcing strikes. Never out of breath past a gleeful sigh. Always smiling, as they darted rapid, vicious, precise jabs repeatedly at head height. Open-palm swings at imaginary tendons. Normally useless nails? Normally useless claws. Blushing. Smiling more than ever.
Magical girls defeat evil things, that was just how it went! Eisei Eughi could defeat evil things for Akemi-sama! That could be how things went, too!
"That was an awesome display like something out of a video game. It's really reassuring. I feel like I should learn from you. At the same time..." Akemi patted his knee to get Eisei to return to her spot.
"Really? Really-Really?" Eisei briskly jolted the sword back into it's scabbard, and pranced back over merrily. Her hands landed on Akemi's knees, stary eyes gazing into his at close distance. The fey cat girl just got more and more uncontrollably energetic, powering through every effort like a increasingly more cheerful rocket."You really like it!?"
"Absolutely. You're really cool and impressive. More importantly though," Akemi leaned forward and moved to give Eisei a tight hug, "you're a super sweet and cute little baby and I'd hate to put you in any unnecessary danger or harm. I only ever want you to do what you feel comfortable with."
“REALLYREALLYREALLYREALLY!!!??~” Adding more fuel to the enthusiasm bonfire made Eisei squee out loud, hugging him back whilst bouncing up and down rhythmically. “I never run-away ‘cause it’s what I’m good at and I really like peace-and-justice-butnobodyhaseversaidthattomebeforean-!!“
Just squeaking noises now. Their voice had transcended neko hearing abilities.
"A hundred million jillion percent really," Akemi answered while patiently enduring the violent hug and high pitched noise. "You're my buddy and I only want you to do what you want to do. Like sure I'm employing you but hey, I don't wanna hold that over you. There aren't going to be any knives in brains as punishment for failing to do something. Not unless you're into that. Being ex-NMX I wanna do my best to do right by you. You've probably been through some awful stuff to put it mildly and I want to show a good example of treatment for anyone like you that could one day consider working for me."
“A hundred! Million! Jillion! Percent!~” Just increasing exponentially in energy now, parroting his words whilst hoping up and down with glee even more violently. Eisei’s hug was getting tighter and tighter, until-
Suddenly, a drop off, collapsing into his arms, lightheaded, going almost completely limp. Those big amber eyes were looking straight upwards under her half-descended eyelids, having become so explosively excited that she actively fainted.
Achivement unlocked; More is better.
Being a gentleman Akemi kept his composure and smiled as he picked Eisei up and carefully princess carried her to Smithee's room. Once there he took off her shoes, laid her on the bed and tucked her in. Then he slipped his own shoes off, slid on in to snuggle up beside her and mentally summoned Smithee and Olena to see if either would join them.
"Brandy, gimme the brandy!~" A soft and slightly confused whisper, one dainty hand rising sleepily into the air.
Compliant, but not quite gone.
An Afternoon At Akemi's
During a relatively quiet time at the tavern Akemi sat in the main room of his tavern with a recently hired employee he'd personally assigned to the planet. The two of them were seated at a table next to the wall opposite the bar with long, soft, amply and fully cushioned seats. "Welcome to 188604. I hope you have a great time," Akemi said as he smiled happily at the other Neko with an adorable and highly enticing hairstyle across from him.
Eisei Eguchi crossed hands in her lap and returned a gleaming white smile to her new boss, one that was as charming as it could be given her mouth had a few too many canines. She had chosen to wear a simple blue-checkered dirndl dress today, which only accentuated the petite features of the unnaturally doll-like thing.
“Doesn’t… look anything like I imagined it, zee…” Bated breath, a nervous expression from their reserved perch. They wanted to make a good impression, but the situation at hand was making their voice fantastically high in pitch. “Expected biggo~ magic castles and princesses by how you sold it… Still, I’m awfully flattered you invited me along, Mister Koga-Sama Sir!”
Akemi didn't mind the disappointment. He really couldn't blame her. He'd have loved to have immediately taken her to see some massive majestic castle or something. "Well I'm sure there are some big fancy buildings and pieces of art, they'll likely be small by our standards though. Unfortunately I'll have to make a lot of the fancy stuff, but hey, there sure is nobility and whatnot. The guy I bought this tavern from is a knight of the Order of the Garter, a group that was in service to the deceased queen."
“They served her even through she was dead? So there was like a skeleton on the throne and stuff? That’s so sweet!” The pink haired neko responded with perhaps too much positivity, and showing a disinclination towards blinking. “The NMX were always big on melee, so it’s nice we have something in common… They might have just been that way because they didn’t want us to have all the good kit, sure, but… Well, the journey is a lot more fun, when all the gifts lie ahead of you, isn’t it?”
Extended, nervous laughter, closing her eyes in a conscious attempt to cease staring at the rather more sleek, refined neko male across from her. Even that last part was in itself a luxury she had not come across before. When she had changed her own body into something more befitting of a magical princess, it was simply a leap into what she figured many common nekovalkyrja must have desired internally…
"So what kind of special duties do you expect me to perform here, Koga-sama? I'll do my best to meet your criteria!"
Akemi crossed his arms and reclined in his seat. "Not much in a sense, at least not a lot right away. You can just do what everyone else typically does. The main additional thing I was thinking you might do is eventually try training your coworkers in modern weapon usage. Maybe you'd do some outdoor mock battles too. Or we could just use VR to make things faster to set up and provide more scenarios. Later you might help me actually run a military force. For now you could be my honorary bodyguard when you like."
“Modern arms… Erm, you mean like, power armor?...” Wide eyes met his words attentively… Through perhaps not so much with things going on behind them. “I mean, yes, I can do this, if you can buy some and all.”
It was subtle, but… There was definitely something just a little off about this neko. They had mentioned swapping bodies, and now the thing seemed to fill the space of a girl just a little too perfectly. Literally like someone who had learned everything they knew about human behaviour from cartoons, and was desperately trying to play that role to absolute perfection.
“A bodyguard, I can do this. I don’t mind getting shot. Never stopped me before. You’ve seen the combat records!” Absolute conviction. They were still smiling, regardless of subject matter. “Won’t let you down, Mister Koga-sama! We can spread peace, love and security to this dusty old place, for sure.”
"Great. When I said weapons I just meant regular hand held stuff though. These guys normally only have muskets and swords so any automatic rifle would be a tremendous step up for them. They'd only have other people with space weaponry to fear and I don't plan on fighting any of my fellow Star men." Akemi paused. "They call us Star people or Skyfolk here. It's pretty awesome. I find it crazy cute." An idea suddenly struck the svelte man. "Oh, I know what else you could do. You could give Olena a sparring partner. She's a native friend of mine I recently gave a body upgrade."
“A body upgrade?... T-they should make her a princess now! It’s only n-natural…” A flick of the gaze, before her large eyes returned into her lap. “I guess this means your staff here is mostly locals, through… That’s… kinda… f-funny…”
A daydream for just a moment, completely spacing out.
“-Oh, you said firearms? Sure, I can teach those too. Just need to have a look-see at your inventory I guess.” An eventual reply. “What kind of people would want to attack a simple alien restaurant, though, I wonder?...”
"Well this planet's government was overthrown by it's current leader who came from space so as space kittens we could always end up being targeted by people that want us all gone as a result." Given the way Eisei stammered and paused a few times Akemi simply had to say something. Normally he would merely find that cute but with her eyes downcast he was worried she might need some cheering up or reassuring. "Is anything bothering you?" As the Neko spoke he shifted to lean forward. "Feel free to say whatever is on your mind. Absolutely anything. I'd love it if you would."
“No no no! It’s not like that!” The fey neko bolted upright on the chair, leaning across, as if to convince Akemi easier. Smile became a little more reserved, lips pursed together, but still there. “The isolation here can only make the spirit grow more robust! I knew this when accepting your challenge!”
Gold crescent moon on her forehead was more obvious at this distance, as was a distinct smell of candy floss. She was using this as an opportunity to examine her new boss up close, too.
“It may take some convincing, but I’m sure I can gift them the truth. True justice is a thing that comes from the sky, it is not a tool that can be fashioned by mere mortals! It only privileges us by allowing us to wield it!” Another new type of smile, distant and knowing. They really believed the words that they were saying, and was prideful that Akemi was giving them an opportunity to speak it out loud. "Not a drop of evil will slow our progress, not a single order of gyoza slowed in the name of idleness, this I can assure you!"
Okay, too close now, practically within distance to nuzzle their faces together...
"If you're this cute and enthusiastic I don't know if I can control myself," Akemi replied smoothly before tilting further forward to allow his nose to touch hers. He then gently wiggled his face back and forth to deliver a passionate Eskimo kiss while a fresh smile grew ear to ear.
Clasping her hands to her nose in response, Eisei blushed whilst rapidly breaking off and facing away, fluffy ears lowering a little. It was a look of suddenly regained self-consciousness.
“You think of me that way? Is that how t-the males work? I h-had n-no idea…” Not a lot of experience to call on, from a life spent in two armies of pure nekovalkyrja. She clearly idolized his power and the scope of his goals, but still wasn’t quite sure what exactly Akemi was.
Arms folded back between her legs with knees perched upwards. A renewed glance was sent sideways as she absent-mindedly rotated the chair a little bit back and forth, resting her chin on those knees and giving of a small, kittenish grin.
“That’s the kind of thing Mister Akemi-sama wants from his noble warrior, is it?”
"Absolutely," Akemi answered quickly. "I love your attitude. Everything you said was fantastic and I totally think of you that way. Heck, I feel that way. I just can't help it. You're perpetually armed and dangerous with those looks of yours. I've got half a mind to rip that outfit off you after you so viciously assaulted me with your charm. You certainly don't need its assistance when you're already so persuasive. You're threatening enough as is."
"Buy me a drink." A tempered pause. She was still grinning with those sharp little teeth, but her amber eyes could really turn shady when the lids were half closed. "That's how it goes, isn't it?"
"Sure," Akemi said before mentally placing an order. "Seriously, you're really charming and your attitude is greatly appreciated. I don't intend to do any big bad hostile takeovers of native land. I'm looking to start my own kingdom for fun but my intent is to genuinely vastly increase the quality of life here. Weapons training would be mainly for self-defense and taking back land from bandits. How I'd found my kingdom would be by simply finding a noble who already owns a lot of land and teaming up with them." A large hot Mazrit Brandy with plenty of cream was deposited on the table by another Neko waitress shortly after he finished speaking.
"Thanks, darling!" An appreciative look towards their colleague. Instead of drinking it in their own seat, however, they grasped the glass carefully in both hands, moved into Akemi’s personal space, and deployed themselves into his lap instead. Maybe it was supposed to be some kind of show of force, but Eisei was in truth so short and light that it didn’t even shake the table.
“I’ll be honest, I’m not really sure I understand. I’m only good at the one thing. Maybe my brain was just made that way, or put that way because it needed to stay alive.” A big gulp of the drink, sitting there with her eyes closed as she felt the warm texture seep down into her belly. “But you’re really really smart. You’re doing justice and freeing people and really great things. So if I’m using my murderin’ ability only for this, that’s making good use of it, isn’t it? That makes me happy.”
"Himiko and Dara, they... t-they d-don't seem to think I'm a very good waitress, either, so..."
"Awww, you're a plenty good waitress," Akemi reassured as he adjusted himself to provide ample back support. "You've got a good attitude so you've got a great foundation. Learning is easy. Your mindset is what's really important. Personality is a huge part of attracting and keeping customers. You certainly make me feel extremely comfortable. Maybe too comfortable."
“You think so?” Eisei just glanced over curiously, before briskly returning to her drink. Maybe if those long nails weren’t so stupid and impractical, she’d be able to hold the glass in one hand…
“As for… Well, as for self-defence… I guess, well, do you think it might be your image that is the problem? Not that you aren’t the hotness, but…” Swilling the brandy now, choosing words carefully before continuing. “Image is like a universal language, you know? Have you ever considering marrying into a big house, or even creating your own… You know, family line thing? In order to get them gandering at your good bits more?...”
“I would say your genetics gotta count. That’s… That’s like the only proper family us neko got given…”
"That's exactly what I was thinking of doing," Akemi said as he moved a hand to hold Eisei's drink and tip it when she wished to partake of it. His other arm continued to work on providing general support. "I'd like to find the biggest, most useful or prestigious house and marry into it. I'm going to a party to meet a bunch of nobles so I can make my case to them and see who would be willing to work with and possibly marry me. I was thinking you could join me as my bodyguard so you'd have a reason to be there and you'd get to meet old timey aristocrats like you'd find in books."
“Books? Oh, you mean like those story print-outs. I like the ones with pictures…” Instead of allowing him to hold the glass, she got a little confused along the way and moved her own outwards, so that they were now holding each others. Eyes narrowed and smile showed a few more teeth. “…They say those are bad, but, hey, that drawing takes a lot of work… What is it they say? A pit’churez worth hundred words, or something?”
“I can be your bodyguard, sure. I’ve worked in less places with less gear, f’sure.” In absence of another hand, they were now using a cheek to counterbalance the oversized glass. Felt relaxing. “Maybe you can give me pointers, specific things enemies might be doin’? Wearin’? Lookin’ like?”
Akemi just decided to leave how they sat entirely to his new waitress. "There's little I could tell you right now. I really just wanted to give you a way to justify coming along. I don't think you'll have to look for enemies. You might get to duel someone for me if that'd appeal to you. Someone might feel their honor needs defending at some point or maybe they'd like to have our people fight for sport or to settle a dispute. I won't force you to get involved in something like that if you don't want to."
“Really? They still do that here?” Amber eyes lighting up, hand clenching around his with an excited response. She was blushing again, but actually looking off into the distance, nearly spacing out to the point of loosing her drink. “Fighting just one on one, only my lovely durandium blade and my lovely prince… That would be really, really pretty!...”
"Durandium?" Akemi said incredulously. "Fuck that. You can use my Zesu katana if you want. Unless you're super attached to your sword or you're worried about fairness. This tavern has duels every day. Sword duels and fistfights. My friend Olena is a champion of both which is why I suggested you could be her partner. You gotta super duper swear you won't accidentally kill her though."
“Oh, that’s okay.” Putting the glass down to give him some proper attention took effort. She then used the hand to brush against Akemi’s cheek lightly, showing how endearing his care of this ‘Olena’ came across to her. “A weapon is only good if it has your own unbroken love in it, you know. So my own wand is just fine... I don’t think there will be any problems between me and your friend either. I’m used to taking a hit for the team!”
”…One time I even got a knife in the brain…” A hand diverted, Eisei was back to staring into space once more whilst remembering something grotesque, palming against the side of her head carefully. “Backed up right to the second. It wasn’t fun, that one... B-But you still learn, even from the ones that aren’t fun!”
Still smiling. More teeth, if anything...
"I feel like you're putting a knife through my heart and I'm having the time of my life. You're really swell. I'm sure Olena and Smithee will love you. Smithee is this really dreamy looking guy and the knight I got this place from. He still manages it. Sadie is the name of our bartender. She's nice."
“They sound great! Your friends should be really fun to play with!” A sidelong glance. They really did not blink enough. “I can teach them, just like you want me to! Want me to show you? I can show you!”
No extra explanation needed, Eisei leapt out of his lap again and retrieved a brass-metal sword from her hand luggage. A short, thick, gladius-like blade, scratched to hell and yet also buffed out into a sort of gleaming, golden relic status.
Their routine was half martial arts style, half dance. Pirouettes and fancy lunges, often holding the blade by the pommel in order to make fantastically graceful, arcing strikes. Never out of breath past a gleeful sigh. Always smiling, as they darted rapid, vicious, precise jabs repeatedly at head height. Open-palm swings at imaginary tendons. Normally useless nails? Normally useless claws. Blushing. Smiling more than ever.
Magical girls defeat evil things, that was just how it went! Eisei Eughi could defeat evil things for Akemi-sama! That could be how things went, too!
"That was an awesome display like something out of a video game. It's really reassuring. I feel like I should learn from you. At the same time..." Akemi patted his knee to get Eisei to return to her spot.
"Really? Really-Really?" Eisei briskly jolted the sword back into it's scabbard, and pranced back over merrily. Her hands landed on Akemi's knees, stary eyes gazing into his at close distance. The fey cat girl just got more and more uncontrollably energetic, powering through every effort like a increasingly more cheerful rocket."You really like it!?"
"Absolutely. You're really cool and impressive. More importantly though," Akemi leaned forward and moved to give Eisei a tight hug, "you're a super sweet and cute little baby and I'd hate to put you in any unnecessary danger or harm. I only ever want you to do what you feel comfortable with."
“REALLYREALLYREALLYREALLY!!!??~” Adding more fuel to the enthusiasm bonfire made Eisei squee out loud, hugging him back whilst bouncing up and down rhythmically. “I never run-away ‘cause it’s what I’m good at and I really like peace-and-justice-butnobodyhaseversaidthattomebeforean-!!“
Just squeaking noises now. Their voice had transcended neko hearing abilities.
"A hundred million jillion percent really," Akemi answered while patiently enduring the violent hug and high pitched noise. "You're my buddy and I only want you to do what you want to do. Like sure I'm employing you but hey, I don't wanna hold that over you. There aren't going to be any knives in brains as punishment for failing to do something. Not unless you're into that. Being ex-NMX I wanna do my best to do right by you. You've probably been through some awful stuff to put it mildly and I want to show a good example of treatment for anyone like you that could one day consider working for me."
“A hundred! Million! Jillion! Percent!~” Just increasing exponentially in energy now, parroting his words whilst hoping up and down with glee even more violently. Eisei’s hug was getting tighter and tighter, until-
Suddenly, a drop off, collapsing into his arms, lightheaded, going almost completely limp. Those big amber eyes were looking straight upwards under her half-descended eyelids, having become so explosively excited that she actively fainted.
Achivement unlocked; More is better.
Being a gentleman Akemi kept his composure and smiled as he picked Eisei up and carefully princess carried her to Smithee's room. Once there he took off her shoes, laid her on the bed and tucked her in. Then he slipped his own shoes off, slid on in to snuggle up beside her and mentally summoned Smithee and Olena to see if either would join them.
"Brandy, gimme the brandy!~" A soft and slightly confused whisper, one dainty hand rising sleepily into the air.
Compliant, but not quite gone.
