The meeting room in the Khaos Brigade headquarters was a place entirely devoid of comfort. It existed within a pocket dimension, and its walls seemed to be woven from compressed shadows that absorbed any stray sound. A dim magical crystal on the ceiling cast an uneven, sickly light on the round table, around which sat the four most dangerous figures in the organization.
Vali Lucifer, the White Dragon Emperor, sat leaning back in his chair, his silver eyes half-closed. He appeared calm, but the frantic energy boiling beneath that icy mask made him resemble a supernova ready to explode. His recent humiliation at the hands of Izayoi Jin demanded an outlet, but he waited.
Bikou, descendant of the Monkey King, was whistling. He lazily rocked on the back legs of his chair, hands clasped behind his head, yet his gaze was unusually focused. Ophis, the Ouroboros Dragon of Infinity, levitated at the head of the table. Her small figure in a gothic dress was the center of this oppressive silence, her void-like eyes fixed on the fourth person present.
Kuroka felt as though she had been pinned to her chair by three icy spears. She had just returned from her unauthorized mission, and an interrogation awaited her.
"Kuroka," Ophis's quiet, colorless voice was the only sound to break the silence. "Tell us what you learned."
Kuroka gulped. All of her usual playfulness, her "nya"s and "ara-ara"s, evaporated in the face of reality. She was on the verge of blowing it. Vali wanted facts. Ophis wanted an answer to her grand question. And Bikou... he was simply looking at her with that curiosity she found more irritating than anything else.
"He... he's just strong, nya," she began, her voice quieter than usual.
Vali opened his eyes. A cold silver gleam cut through Kuroka. "'Strong'? Is that it? Is that your brilliant report? You disappeared for days, and all you brought back is the word 'strong'?"
"What do you want to hear?!" Kuroka snapped, her tails twitching nervously. "He's incredibly strong! Monstrously! I... I've never seen anything like it!"
She remembered that night, his icy stare, the way he effortlessly suppressed her ki just by looking at her. It was a primal, instinctual terror that she couldn't explain with logic. "You know he's strong yourself! He broke your precious armor! Or did you already forget?!"
"I asked for a report on his weaknesses, not your hysterics!" Vali barked, his aura flaring dangerously.
"He doesn't have any weaknesses!" Kuroka shouted. "At least, I didn't see any! I was near him. I felt him. It's not magic that can be analyzed or dispelled. It's just... power. Pure, blunt, physical power that breaks everything it touches. I... I don't think I can beat him. I'm not sure any of us can, at all."
Vali Lucifer laughed coldly. It was a short, sharp sound, devoid of amusement. "'None of us can'," he mocked. "What a useless report, Kuroka. You were right next to the target, and all you did was get scared."
He leaned forward, his silver eyes digging into her. "You are a specialist in stealth, in poisons, in illusion magic. Your assessment of a close-quarters fighter is worthless. You are the weakest of everyone sitting at this table. Don't project your weakness onto him. He is strong, yes. But no one is invincible. You just got scared, and now you're justifying your failure by making him out to be a god."
"Hey, Vali, take it easy!" Bikou interjected, though he also looked disappointed. He chuckled quietly. "But, Kuroka-chan, you really are exaggerating. 'Invincible'? Seriously? There are no invincibles in this world. I agree, he's strong. But everything has a limit. Let me get close to him, and my staff will quickly find out exactly how tough his bones are."
"You idiots!" Kuroka hissed, her tails angrily lashing against the back of her chair. "You weren't there! You didn't feel..."
"Enough."
Ophis's voice interrupted them once again. She looked at Kuroka, then at Vali. "It does not matter. He is strong. And it is possible he will be at the Summit. Our plan at this juncture becomes disadvantageous. Too many variables. The attack is canceled; we must decline Loki."
To Kuroka, this sounded like a death sentence. All her plans, her years-long obsession... "Canceled?! No nya-way!" her voice cracked. "I've waited so long for the perfect moment! I'm taking my sister back, and I don't care what you think!"
"Use your brain, if you still have one," Vali threw out in an icy tone. "You were just going on about how invincible he is, and now you want to crash a party where he'll be a guest of honor? Are you out of your mind?"
"Vali is right, Kuroka," Bikou said, surprisingly serious. "It's suicide. It won't just be this Jin guy there. The entire top brass will be gathering. Sirzechs. Azazel, Michael. And Odin himself."
Kuroka bit her lip, her eyes filling with tears of rage and despair. She looked at Vali, at Bikou, at the indifferent Ophis. They wouldn't help. They didn't understand. "Then I'll go alone!" she cried out, jumping to her feet. "I don't need your help to take back my sister!"
"Fine," Vali stood up as well, his White Dragon aura flooding the room, forcing the shadows to thicken. "Go. And die there. I don't need idiots on my team who walk into their deaths over emotions."
"If she wishes to be destroyed," Ophis added, "so be it."
Kuroka froze. This was a dead end. Bikou was looking at her. At her trembling shoulders, at the way she desperately tried to hold back her tears. He saw her despair. He fidgeted in his chair, ruffled his hair, and muttered something under his breath.
"Aaaargh, damn it!" he sprang up with a crash, knocking his chair over. "You guys are insufferable!"
He turned to Kuroka, trying to look as cool and detached as possible, even though nervous sparks danced in his eyes. "Alright, crazy cat. I'll go with you. I can't just let you die alone, can I? That wouldn't be very gentlemanly."
Vali raised an eyebrow in surprise. He stared at Bikou for a few seconds, then a crooked smirk touched his lips. "Perfect. Two idiots."
He sat back down. His tone became businesslike once again. "And the second things get too hot—we just bail."
Later, when the meeting had ended and Vali and Ophis had left, Bikou and Kuroka walked down the dark, echoing corridor of the base. Bikou was whistling, hands behind his head, while Kuroka walked in silence, looking down at her feet.
Suddenly, she stopped. "...Nya."
Bikou turned around. "Huh? What is it?"
She wasn't looking at him. Her ears were flattened slightly, and her tails were perfectly still. "Thank you," she whispered so quietly he barely heard her. "Monkey."
Bikou froze. And then his face broke out into the happiest, most idiotic grin he could muster. "Hah? What did you say? I didn't quite catch that, Kuroka-chan! Speak up!"
"I said THANK YOU, idiot!" she barked, a deep blush flooding her cheeks. "Don't make me repeat it!"
"Hahaha!" Bikou laughed heartily. "Come on! It's gonna be a fun adventure! Just try not to get too carried away, alright? Vali'll never let me hear the end of it if something happens to you."
He turned around and kept walking, whistling, but now there was a hundred times more swagger in his step. Kuroka watched him go. On her lips, for the first time on this grueling day, flickered a faint but genuine smile.