"Get off me."
Kouga growled, his voice low and dangerous as the bulkier man ground a knuckle into his scalp. The man laughed, ignoring the threat entirely and continuing the rough noogie.
Behind the bar, Wraith quietly began removing bottles from the shelves — she knew that twitch in Kouga's eye all too well.
The moment the last bottle was set aside, a loud crash rang through the bar as Siegfried came flying backward, smashing into the now-empty shelves.
Kouga brushed himself off, muttering under his breath about "degeneration transfer" and other things no one cared to understand. Once satisfied, he looked over the wreckage and sighed."Good to see you too, Siegfried."
Siegfried emerged from the rubble, looking none the worse for wear, a wide grin on his face. "See? Was that really so hard for your future father-in-law?"
Kouga only rolled his eyes.
Hua cleared her throat into her hand, cutting off any further nonsense. "While it's fascinating to see you being friendly with one of Schicksal's top fugitives, there's still the question of how you two know each other."
"We go back a bit," Siegfried replied, hopping over the counter and snagging a bottle of alcohol. "Had him watch over my baby girl while I was busy dealing with... other matters."
Hua's gaze turned sharp toward Kouga. "Anything to say for yourself?"
"Yeah," Kouga began, counting on his fingers. "One — neither you nor Schicksal get to dictate who I associate with. Two — don't think I forgot earlier, Ms. 'Herrscher-level A-rank.'"
"Not a Herrscher," Hua said flatly.
"Excuse me?" Kouga turned toward Siegfried, raising a brow.
Siegfried took a long drink before answering. "She's not an actual Herrscher — she's a clone. Cocolia made a few prototypes using leftover DNA from the First Herrscher. Two of them survived."
Kouga hummed in understanding. "Ah. That explains a lot."
"Fascinating as this all is," Hua interjected coolly, "you still haven't explained your presence, Siegfried Kaslana. You're one of the top three bounties personally issued by Bishop Otto. Your head is worth quite a sum."
Siegfried downed another swig and grinned. "So what? You planning to turn me in, pretty lass?"
"You vanished four years ago," Hua said, unfazed. "Some reports claim you died. Others say you were gravely injured and lost your combat ability, forcing you into hiding."
Siegfried smirked, sliding the bottle back onto the counter and resting his hand casually inside his jacket — right on his gun. "Care to verify those rumors personally?"
Hua didn't flinch. "I'll pass. I'm just an A-rank Valkyrie — hardly a match for someone wielding a God Key. My odds of victory are... below one percent."
Kouga muttered under his breath, "That's BS, and you know it."
"Well then," Siegfried said with a laugh, dropping his hand from the weapon and grabbing another bottle. "If we're not fighting, let's talk business. Where should we start?"
"Let's begin with Cocolia's plan," Hua replied, calm as ever.
Minutes passed in tense discussion. The longer it went, the more Kouga's irritation toward Otto grew.
"Indeed," Hua said, eyes narrowing. "If your intel is accurate, that explains Bishop Otto's indifference. No wonder he's so lax about the situation."
"Rather than intervene," Siegfried said grimly, "he seems content to let Cocolia's scheme run its course — even if it costs countless human lives."
Kouga's jaw tightened, his anger simmering just beneath the surface. He glanced toward Wraith, half expecting her to leap in and defend Otto. Instead, she busied herself cleaning up the bottles Siegfried hadn't smashed, pretending not to hear a thing.
Seeing that the argument wouldn't derail, Kouga focused back on the mission."So. How do we get the Gem out without blowing half the city apart?"
Siegfried's grin returned as he reached into his coat and pulled out a small black metal box, a faint purple line running down its center. He tossed it to Kouga, who caught it effortlessly."If you want to save those people, use that. It resonates with the Honkai energy of the Gem."
Kouga examined it skeptically. "Where'd you get this?"
Siegfried chuckled. "Let's just say I've got friends in Anti-Entropy who aren't fans of Cocolia's plan."
He straightened, corking the bottle and setting it aside. "I can't move around publicly right now, so I'm leaving this to you two."
"Wait." Hua stepped forward, her voice steady. "Before you go — why trust us with this? I'm still Schicksal, remember."
Siegfried gave a faint smile. "I've been tracking you and Kiana for a while. You risked everything to save my daughter. That tells me you've got a good heart. I trust you'll make the right call."
Then he pointed at Kouga. "And besides — with him around, I know my daughter's in good hands."
Kouga just rolled his eyes at Siegfried's smug grin and muttered, "Just like father, just like daughter."
Fu Hua chuckled softly, her calm expression curling into a faint smile. "What a trashy line of reasoning. You really are Kiana's father."
Siegfried only let out a loud burp in response, prompting Kouga to grimace. "Gross."
Unbothered, Siegfried placed the empty bottle back on the counter and turned toward the exit. "Well, my part's done. You guys go ahead and deal with Coco. I've got to get back to the others."
But just before stepping out, he paused and threw Kouga a serious look over his shoulder. "Remember—hurt her, and you're dead."
Kouga waved him off. "Just go, drama queen."
Once Siegfried's footsteps faded into the alleyway outside, Fu Hua let out a quiet sigh. "Relax," she said, rubbing the back of her neck. "We'll need our full strength tomorrow, so it's best to get some rest for now."
"Right," Kouga agreed, stretching his arms with a tired groan. "Sleep for a few hours at most and wake up before dawn." He glanced around the dim bar, already forming a plan. "You take the bed with Kiana. I'll crash down here in one of the booths."
Fu Hua raised a brow, folding her arms. "Why not use the couch upstairs? I'm sure Kiana would be happier waking up to a friendly face nearby, at the very least."
Kouga shook his head immediately. "And wake up at exactly the wrong time while you or Kiana are changing? Sorry, but I'm not risking that."
That earned him a faint smirk from Hua, but before she could reply, Wraith suddenly spoke up from behind the counter, looking far more serious than usual. "Sorry, maybe I missed something… but am I the only person who noticed that an S-ranked fugitive just broke into my bar, drank half my stock, and left without either of you doing anything?"
Both Fu Hua and Kouga answered in perfect unison, "Just be happy it's still standing."
Wraith blinked once, then sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose. "Of course. Sure. The bar survived, so that's a win, I guess." She turned away, starting to gather the empty bottles Siegfried had left behind. "I'll deal with the cleanup and try to pull more intel on Cocolia while you two sleep."
"Good night, then," Kouga said as he leaned back into one of the booths, folding his arms behind his head. Within moments, his breathing slowed, and soft sighs escaped his lips as sleep overtook him.
Fu Hua watched him in silence for several seconds before letting out her own quiet exhale. Then, shaking her head slightly, she walked over to where Kouga rested and gently took him by the arms.
"Sorry," she whispered with a faint smile, "but I feel this is a better idea than yours."
The Next Day
"…Why?"
Kouga muttered under his breath, more to himself than anyone else. He'd woken up wedged between Hua and Kiana — the latter clinging tightly to his chest while Hua calmly rested her head on him like a pillow.
He exhaled slowly through his nose, careful not to wake them. With practiced skill, Kouga slipped his arm free from Kiana's hold and replaced himself with a pillow. Both girls remained fast asleep, completely unaware of his escape.
With his newfound freedom, he descended to the ground floor and found Wraith — back in her male waiter disguise — wiping down what few bottles Siegfried had spared. Kouga took a seat at one of the chairs, ignoring her wide-eyed stare, and asked flatly,
"Water."
Wraith blinked but didn't move. Kouga glanced over and found her halfway out of disguise, phone in hand, camera aimed right at him.
"Ditch it."
"Sorry! I was just… looking at contact info," Wraith replied quickly, stuffing the phone away with a light blush. "What'll it be?"
"Water," he repeated.
Wraith complied this time, grabbing a shot glass, filling it from the tap, and sliding it across the counter. Kouga downed it in one gulp and set it back down.
"What info did you get?"
"Not much," Wraith admitted, tapping at her pink holographic screens. "Seems Cocolia gave that creep Hua mentioned a voice band — some kind of neck device to let him speak. He took a stroll through the hotel, met up with Magi, and tried to kill him. Magi managed to escape, though."
Kouga nodded slowly at the update.
"So," Wraith continued, polishing another glass, "what's the plan? Wait for Hua to wake up and go together, or head out now?"
"The second one sounds appealing," Kouga said, rubbing the back of his neck. "But I'll wait. I want to see if Kiana actually wakes up first — make sure you two weren't feeding me false info."
"Ye of so little faith."
Kouga shot her a look that could kill. His tone dropped low and dangerous."If what you told me isn't true — if you lied and wasted my time, when I could've gone after Magi myself to force him to cure her — believe me when I say the Herrschers will be the least of your problems."
Wraith straightened immediately and gave a shaky salute. "Crystal clear!"
Kouga shook his head and turned toward the stairway door — just in time for it to burst open. A sleepy Kiana stood behind it, rubbing her eyes with one hand.
Kouga blinked, then looked back toward Wraith, who was smiling smugly. He allowed himself the smallest smile in return before turning back to Kiana.
As soon as he did, Wraith muttered under her breath, "So he can smile like that."
Deciding to test how lucid Kiana was, Kouga asked, "How are you feeling, Kiana?"
She blinked sleepily, then tried to step forward — only for her legs to give out. Kouga caught her before she hit the ground.
"Sleepy," Kiana murmured with a yawn. "And kinda weak. What happened yesterday?"
"Nothing important," Kouga said, lifting her easily into a bridal carry. "Let's get you back to bed. You need rest."
"…You and Hua are gonna go do some mission thing, aren't ya?" she mumbled, her head drooping against his arm. "Gonna go fight the bad guys while I stay here, right?"
"You're too exhausted," Kouga said gently. "You haven't recovered from last night. Leave the heavy lifting to Hua and me for now."
Kiana pouted, squirming weakly in his arms as they climbed the stairs. "I can help too…"
"I'm sure you could," Kouga said, opening the door, "but it'd be better if you were at a hundred percent instead of barely five."
Inside, Fu Hua was just finishing putting her uniform back on, her clone already dismissed. She looked up, saw Kouga carrying Kiana, and — with a knowing smirk — slipped past him and out the door without a word.
Kouga set Kiana gently back on the bed and tucked her in. Just as he turned to leave, she caught his wrist.
"If I feel better later… can I come?"
"…Just rest for now," he said softly, pressing a light kiss to her forehead. "We won't be long."
With that, he turned and headed downstairs again.
By the time he reached the bar, Hua and Wraith were already deep in discussion. Kouga crossed his arms and called out,
"So. What's the plan?"