"Now, Kageyama-kun, please answer us…"
Alter, with his hat back on, was having fun pinching the shadow mage's cheek while he was hanging from the ceiling with Lucy's whip keeping him in place. Natsu and Grey looked ready to fight, but at least Erza had the artifact, a flute with a cool skull design, safely in her hands. All they had left to do was prove their prisoner for information about the whereabouts of the rest of his guild and their plans.
The shadow mage, currently having two pieces of rolled up paper on his nostrils, growled at the white haired inspector, "You can eat my entire ass and choke on it!"
Alter pinched harder, making the mage wince, with a smile fitting of a grandmother baking cookies for her grandchildren, "Now, now, that's rude. Please tell us what we want to know or I'll have to stop pinching your cute little cheeks and check out something." he tipped up his hat and smiled wider as he grabbed the guy by the jaw, "My oh my, you have a good jaw. You don't mind if I try my hand at being a dentist, do ya?"
"What?!" Kageyama's exclamation was slightly muffled by the fingers holding his cheeks firmly.
Alter put a finger to the man's lips to silence him like a mother would to keep her son quiet, "Hush, you have nothing to worry about… So long as I get answers." He waited for a second and shrugged, "Well, I don't hear an answer. Erza-chan, do you happen to have some pliers or the like? I'll see if I can get a cavity without looking."
"They're at the main station!" Kageyama started to sing, giving them details about some of his boss', some guy nicknamed the Reaper, plans, "They will lock it up to use the speakers to get everyone they can!"
"Good, but just in case…" Alter pulled out a… bag full of jelly babies, "Oops, wrong pocket. Where was it…? Ah-hah!" he pulled out a jawbreaker, the large, hard candy sphere being the size of his fist.
"What're y—YEOW!" Kageyama yelled when Alter poked his eyes without warning in order to shove the jawbreaker into his mouth, keeping it tightly sealed.
"Don't swallow." Alter advised him before turning to Lucy, "We need to take him with us to make sure he doesn't try anything. Think of it as… taking a puppy to be neutered."
His warm smile made her shiver, "Did you have to use that example as an analogy?"
"Well, if he's lying or tricking us, I'll leave him to these guys." The inspector pointed at Erza, Natsu and Gray, the first holding an axe, the second a flaming fist, and the third an ice mace.
Kageyama got the hint that what Alter did wasn't the worst he was going to get, and let out muffled screams begging for Lucy's help. Feeling sorry for him, the spirit mage turned to the other mags and the white haired man, but she could tell they were serious. Gulping as she didn't want to make them mad, she ignored the shadow mage's pitiful cries. Though, despite her fear, she did have enough courage to ask something important.
"Isn't this a bit much?" she asked concerned, "He may be bad, but we're taking it too—"
Alter delivered a swift karate chop to Kageyama's neck to leave him unconscious and sighed, though he kept a smile, albeit a tired one, "Lucy-chan, don't you get it? I'm not really going to torture him before you like some monster. We're trying to scare him so he spills the beans."
Erza nodded, "It is working, but if you don't want to participate then I can understand you may be too kind to go through with it."
"But he had a bloody nose from Alter hitting him!" Lucy exclaimed, "And when we arrived he was keeping him face down on the floor!"
"I get it, I get it!" Alter waved his hands frantically, chuckling awkwardly, "Sorry you had to see that, but he was making it hard to keep him down. You kind of caught me at the worst moment when I was finally getting the upper hand… Ok, I'll admit I did go overboard, but I couldn't let him have an advantage. Especially with a deadly artifact like Lullaby in his hands."
Staring at him silently, Lucy felt her doubts melt at seeing his smile which seemed sincere and worried, "I… I guess I may have done something similar if I was scared and desperate…"
"Sorry, next time I'm with you I'll try not to give you a scare." The inspector said with a genuinely looking apologetic face.
"Just promise you'll watch my back, ok?" she asked slightly meekly, "This is already scary enough."
"I'll do what I can." He reassured her and extended his arms to the side with a shrug, "Want a hug to make you feel better?"
She shook her head, but giggled at his silly antics, "No. Thanks, but no thanks."
He smiled softly and turned to Erza, "What about you? I could use a hug for what I've done."
She chuckled through her nose, "I'll pass too, but thanks for amusing me." she then turned serious, "We need to think our next move. We have Lullaby and one of those dark guild members under our control. Our job is basically done, but we can't really leave the other mages roaming around when they could have some secondary plan or try to get their friend or this flute back."
"Hmm…" Alter looked at Kageyama and grinned warmly, "Erza-chan, I think you will owe me a date, because I just have the best idea."
"And that is…" she started.
He beamed, "We let Kageyama-kun go and meet his mates—"
"What?!" Natsu, Gray, Happy and Lucy yelled in shock.
The inspector waved a hand to calm them down, "Think about it, what better way to find them than letting him go and see them?"
Erza nodded, "It's… risky, to say the least."
"Erza-chan, level with me." he started like he was trying to sell her something like a charming salesman, "In this life, what isn't risky? Seriously, I just came here to check out Lucy-chan's skills, but now here I am…"
Said pigtailed girl looked embarrassingly at the ground, And I haven't done a thing yet… It's like he's wasting his time. As that thought crossed her mind, she felt something snap in her, No, wait! I just have to do something and I won't be a waste of time! If there's a battle, I have to use one of my spirits, but which one…?
As she pondered that, Alter went to Kageyama, grinning.
Back at the Exceed kingdom, the crowd was cheering as the butler was delivering lightning fast stabs and swift slashes against Panther Lily. To the knight's credit, he could use the sword fast enough to block every strike and counter. The butler found his relentless offense halted from time to time when it was needed to duck under the enormous slab of metal. Yet, even as he dashed backwards, his face didn't change.
Changing his stance to extend his arm, aiming Killer Queen at the knight while making his right side face him, the blond spoke softly, "We should end this soon, these are my favorite shoes and I wouldn't want to see a single scratch on them." He kept his left arm on his back as the two warriors circled one another.
Panther Lily held his sword to his side in a more offensive stance, ready to swing it and slash the butler with a grin, "I can agree there. You're truly an odd one, butler. No matter what I do, you're unfazed. I guess to be the queen's bodyguard you have to keep your mind clear. However…" he narrowed his eyes at the blond, "You lack passion. You may love her as much or even more than we do, I can see it. And yet you do not possess any drive to put your emotions and heart into something. Even now you can't put your all into this."
"I see, so that is why you wanted to duel with me." Haruto started, his eyes narrowing slightly in a way that Panther Lily didn't expect. The butler's dull, bored face had gained an aggressive spark, "I do lack emotions, I shall give you that. To question that my determination isn't enough to fight for Her Majesty, though…" his eyes narrowed more into a determined glare, "Panther Lily! Prepare yourself!"
Twirling Killer Queen in his hand, the blond brought it down to his hip, the blade's tip inches from the floor as he fully faced the knight. Both charged, and Panther Lily felt something completely different in the clash of steel against steel. Sparks flew and the knight stepped in for an attack, only to see the blond do so faster. Bringing up his broadsword, the tall Exceed blocked a strike that forced him to backpedal.
And he couldn't help but grin, "That's more like it, butler!"
The two charged again, their swords flying and cutting the air as Haruto ducked under a strike and slashed at Panther Lily's side. The knight twirled his sword in his hands and nailed the tip on the floor to stop the strike, if barely. Seeing sparks flying from the collision, Haruto spun around the blade and delivered another slash in a split second. Panther Lily jumped back and brought up his sword to nail the butler. Unafraid and determined, the blond jumped up… and Panther Lily gaped when seeing not only his sword hit the ground, but the butler landing perfectly still on its blunt side.
Without another word, the human raced at him, and in the blink of an eye everything was over. Panther Lily gaped as he found Killer Queen's tip pressed against his throat, "I may not have emotions, but I'm capable of taking things seriously." He pulled back and the sword vanished in a flash of light before putting both arms behind his back, "If you have any more questions, I fear I may not hold back to prove my worth."
"That is enough, both of you." Queen Shagotte said as she approached them, "Panther Lily, I understand your concern. Haruto, I appreciate your dedication. However, if you both fight to prove your loyalty to me, I beg you to do me a single favor…" she approached her butler and the knight, and both kneeled before her to look her in the eye, "Never question yourselves. I would never doubt you two, so if you don't think you can put faith in your own selves, do remember I trust both of you with my life."
"I see." Haruto started and stood up, "I apologize for making you worry, Your Majesty. Though, being frank, I did need that push. Whether this is an emotion or not, I can at least be serious when it comes to you."
She managed to control her blush and keep it from being seen, "And I couldn't thank you enough for that."
Having said his piece, the butler left, and Panther Lily nodded to himself before rubbing his throat with a hand, "Even getting serious, he held back. I can now truly be certain he's our greatest defender."