22. Let me know if you guys see any major typos or grammatical errors. It'll be a huge help.
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(3rd POV)
After a few hours, Aoba finally finished cooking and was immensely satisfied. Cooking was one of her favorite hobbies, and she went out of her way to make her cooking as perfect and delicious as possible.
She especially liked cooking for others, as she liked seeing the satisfied expressions of others when they took a bite of her food. Once Aoba got all the food onto a large platter, she carefully brought it to where the others were.
When she saw the trio, they all had tired yet satisfied expressions. It didn't take a genius to figure out they looked like that. As she got closer, her nose almost instantly picked up the smell of sweat and bodily fluids, making her cheeks crimson, further confirming her thoughts.
Getting rid of the blush on her face, Aoba announced her presence. "Hey!! Sorry it took so long!! Whenever I cook, I intend to lose track of time!!"
Cain waved her off. "Don't worry about it," he smirked slyly. "These two were keeping me too thoroughly entertained to notice," he said, causing the three hybrids to blush.
"Yeah, I bet," Aoba muttered as she placed the platter in the middle of them. "I hope you like it."
The Latino looked at the food, impressed. "Wow, this looks pretty good." He grabbed a pair of chopsticks, grabbed a piece of meat, put it in his mouth, and chewed. "Tastes pretty good too."
Aoba smiled happily at his compliment. "Thanks. I'm glad you like it."
As Cain ate, he insisted that the others eat with him, and they happily agreed. As the four enjoyed Aoba's cooking, they conversed.
"So Cain. How did you get so strong?" She and the other two hybrids looked at him expectantly as they also wondered how he, a man, was so capable.
Aoba and Naon saw how he fought against Koko, and they were taken aback by his physical capabilities and skill. They initially believed that, outside of his dragon form, he was as useless as any other man in a fight. Imagine their surprise when he reacted to Koko's attack and sent her flying with a single kick. If Cain hadn't figured out that Koka was an ally of Aoba, then they had no doubt he would've killed her.
Cain inwardly grimaced slightly at Naon's question. How his capabilities came to be had always been a touchy subject for him, as it was a pretty traumatic experience. However, over the years, he's mostly healed from the psychological damage Eden inflicted on him, so he didn't mind sharing some information about his abilities. Of course, he'd keep the details to a minimum. They didn't need to know everything.
"Do you want the short or long answer?"
"Both," the hybrids answered simultaneously.
"Alright," Cain let out a sigh before continuing. "Well, the short and oversimplified version is that I'm genetically modified." He then gave them the extended version of what he went through.
The three hybrids were shocked and were slowly processing all the information Cain shared. After they processed everything, the hybrids looked at the older man sympathetically.
"So you're like us then," Naon commented sadly.
"What do you mean?" Cain asked, looking at her with confusion and curiosity.
Naon explained that three years ago, she was once a human and worked as a model. However, that all changed when, one day, she found herself in Mato and was chased by Shuuki. During her chase, she stumbled upon a peach tree, and out of desperation to survive, she ate a peach and managed to fight off the Shuuki pursuing her before passing out.
Upon waking up, she was in the Onmyou Agency, a research institute where Shuuki studied. After Naon learned that she was no longer human, she begged them to cure her. The head of the Agency agreed, but only in exchange for permission to study her, which she accepted.
However, things quickly turned out for the worse as the agency put Naon through horrific experiments, which caused her Peach Blessing to eventually awaken. Upon awakening her ability, she and a few others she rescued escaped the research institute.
"I'm sorry you had to go through that." Cain placed his hand over Naon's and gave her a sympathetic smile while inwardly seething after learning the hybrid's story.
It greatly angered him that there were people who were also victims of human experimentation. No one should have to go through what he did. Thankfully, Naon and the others didn't have to go through a fraction of what he did and seemed to be dealing with their trauma pretty well—well, better than him, at least.
"Thank you..." Naon smiled in return and placed her other hand over his.
Cain nodded and let out a sigh. "Now I can understand why you're all against the ADC."
Cain wasn't expecting the ADC to secretly experiment on humans, but if he were being frank, he wouldn't be entirely surprised either. It's human nature to commit horrible acts against each other, especially for those who hold power and influence. He didn't want conflict between Aoba's group and the ADC, but he wasn't naive enough to believe talking things out would solve anything.
"What are you thinking about?" Aoba asked, and Cain's features formed into a contemplative expression.
"Trying to find a way to resolve the conflict between you and the ADC because as much as I understand your anger, there are good people in the ADC who don't deserve to get hurt..." After several more moments of silent contemplation, a solution came to mind. "So I'm willing to cut you guys a deal." That got their attention.
"What kind of deal?" Aoba asked.
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After agreeing to his offer, Naon brought Cain back home, but not before bringing him into a soul-searing kiss.
He opened the door to the dorms and found the girls and, surprisingly, Tenka and Yachiho.
"Hey everyone, sorry it took so long," he greeted them with a wave. "The hybrids were quite the chatty bunch." Before he could say any more, the girls, except for Yachiho, tackled him into a hug. "Whoa..." He quickly found his balance before he fell on his back. "What's with this? I said I was going to be back, didn't I?" He questioned rhetorically, sounding amused.
A few minutes later, they separated from Cain and demanded that he explain what had happened between him and Aoba's faction. He told them everything, excluding the part where he fucked two of the hybrids and his past.
"So you managed to create an alliance with them?" Kyoka questioned.
"Eh, somewhat. I got them to agree to incapacitate any members of the ADC rather than kill them, and they did agree not to harm any civilians. In exchange, I'd help them free the people from the agency, and I wouldn't get in their way when they destroy them," he further explained.
Everyone frowned at the last part of his sentence.
"You know this will cause issues with the Japanese government, right?" Yachiho commented, making the Latino snort.
"And you think I care? It's their fault for allowing human experimentation in the first place. Actions have consequences, Yachy. If they expect me to save their asses, they have another fucking thing coming. They should be glad I decided not to help the Hidden Village take down the agency. It wouldn't have been difficult to take them down."
"Then how come you didn't do it?"
"Because destroying the Agency would've made the Japanese government my enemy, and in return that would've made the ADC my enemy too. And no one wants that, am I right?"
The girls nodded in agreement, but they still weren't pleased about it.
"Was there really nothing else you could do?" Kyoka questioned.
Cain thought about her question, and a grim expression appeared on his face. "I could've killed them. They had their guard down the entire time. But I decided against it, as they're the victims. Sure, they killed members of the ADC, but that's different. You guys knew what you were signing up for when you decided to enlist in the ADC. But apart from that, no, there wasn't much else I could do," he said, making his girlfriend let out a sigh.
"I see..." She let out a sigh. "I guess I can't fault you for that."
"I'm glad you understand." He then got up.
"Where are you going?"
"Getting Yuuki. I'll be back in a bit."
"Can I come with?" Tenka asked.
Cain looked at her with a quirked eyebrow. "Why?"
She walked up to him, hugged his arm between her breasts, and gave the older man a seductive look. "Do I really need a reason to spend time with my boyfriend? Besides, it's been a few days since we last saw each other," she pointed out, trailing her finger over his chest.
"Fair enough," he shrugged and looked at the others. "We'll be back."
"Don't have too much fun," Kyoka warned, looking at Tenka with narrowed eyes.
The blonde gave her a sly smile. "No promises~"
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- Japan -
"Cain!!" Yuuki exclaimed upon opening the door. "Hey man, it's been a while!!" He then noticed Tenka and blushed. "And who's she?"
"I'm one of his girlfriends, Tenka Izumo. But you can just call me Tenka," Tenka greeted, giving the young man a friendly smile that caused his face to turn redder.
Yuuki's eyes widened in surprise when he heard that she said she was one of his girlfriends, and he looked at Cain in disbelief and envy.
"Wait, what does she mean she's one of your girlfriends?! You have more than one?!" He exclaimed.
"Besides her, I have three more, and before you ask, I don't know how it happened. It just did." Cain didn't include Naon or Koko, as neither of them put an exact label on it, but he wasn't against dating them. "But we're not here to talk about my love life." His expression became serious. "I found your sister."
"Y-You did?!" Yuuki's eyes widened even further.
Cain nodded. "I'm bringing you to her, so get your shoes on."
Not needing to be told twice, the young man immediately got some shoes, and once she was ready, Tenka teleported them back to Mato.
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- Mato, Hidden Village -
"Hey, Aoba, guess who I brought!" Cain said, causing her and the other two to look in his direction.
"Yuuki..." Tears of happiness poured down her face upon seeing her younger brother after so long.
"Aoba..." Yuuki's eyes widened as he was surprised by her appearance, but he shook his head and smiled. "It's really you..." Both siblings ran up to each other and hugged. "I never thought I'd see again... I missed you so much..." Tears began running down his face, and he hugged Aoba tightly.
"I missed you too... I'm so sorry that I've been gone and left you all alone... I wanted to come home. I really did..."
Cain smiled at the reunion between the siblings. He turned to leave, as he would rather not ruin their moment.
However, Aoba had called him out before he could get very far. "Wait!!"
As soon as Cain turned to look at her, Aoba pressed her lips against Cain's, taking everyone by surprise, especially Yuuki, whose expression looked horrified after his mind registered what was happening before him.
"AOBA?!" Yuuki exclaimed.
After a few moments, the hybrid pulled back, her cheeks crimson, and she smiled shyly at the older man. "Thank you for bringing Yuuki."
Cain smiled. "No problem. If you need anything else, don't hesitate to contact me."
"I won't."
With that said, Cain left.
End.
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Bronze Tier [1.50]
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