~Akimitsu Temple~

A portal opened in the middle of an empty street. Clouds obscured the moonlight, leaving only the streetlights to illuminate the sidewalk below. A dark-haired girl wearing a shrine maiden's outfit hopped through the temporal gate. She was followed by a taller woman with long, flowing white hair. Vetis took a look up and down the street. Her attire was similar to the other girl's.

"We made it just fine. That's the house, right?" The girl pointed to the home they stood in front of. Vetis nodded in confirmation.

"Thank you, Vanessa." She said in her usual quiet tone. Vanessa waved her hand dismissively.

"It's fine, it's fine. Just drop off the guy so we can go home? I'm hungry." She complained. Vetis only nodded at this, knowing full well Vanessa wasn't actually in any hurry. All that remained was to wait on Devin. He was carrying the rescued victim, after all.

Devin came not too long after, his bounty secured over his shoulders as he popped through the portal.

Always hated those things because of the buzz.

It could have been worse so something that minor wasn't worth bitching about, the two had beat them to the destination. "All right, I'm ready. Let's go before too many people take notice."

Vetis nodded and approached the door. It was probably best to wake the family and inform them of the incident. They would likely be ecstatic to know their father/husband is unharmed as well. She rang the doorbell and made way for Devin to come to the door. She hadn't actually met the family just yet; she was in search of the spirit rather than the host himself. It was an invaluable bonus that he could be returned unharmed.

"...Good evening." She said quietly to whomever answered the door.

Vanessa waited on the sidewalk, simply looking up at the stars. She didn't have too much interest in what was going on, really. The mission went well, the guy wasn't hurt, and they were almost done.

Devin went to get things out the way, taking things over for Vanessa. He came back not before too long, hands shoved into his pockets. "Call me a sap..but I almost got warm and fuzzy feelings at the reunion. I guess its another reason why I do what I do. Sure isn't for the money. So where we headed now?"

Vetis had waited at the front door for Devin to finish. If all was well, their business there was complete. "Home. To our temple." She answered plainly, stepping toward the street where Vanessa waited. She pushed herself from the wall, noticing the pair's return.

"All done? Great. Let's go!" The girl retrieved another spell tag from her clothing and ran energy through it. Another portal split the air before them, displaying the entrance a large shrine. Vanessa promptly entered the portal and made her way toward the temple. Vetis followed soon after. Once again, the portal would close behind Devin.


Once through the portal doorway the temple lights shone from within. Vanessa had already made her way inside; Vetis was approaching the steps, beckoning Devin to come along as well. A tall woman strongly resembling Vetis greeted her. "Evening, Vivi-dear! Another job well done." She smiled with her hands clasped. Her eyes caught Devin's entrance and she immediately approached him. "Oh~? And a new face cometh! So what's your name, stud?" She greeted him in a teasing manner. Her voice was low yet smooth. Her dress was a flowing material, light and imbued with some sort of energy. Thanks to her heels, she stood almost on par with Devin in terms of height. Her eyes were probably the most striking feature about her; deep red, a stark contrast to her white hair and matching garments.

Beautiful woman. Don't stare at her chest, keep eyes at around eye level.

Mental mantra repeated in his head, Devin gave a half smile. "Devin Lavouche. I'm a aquatience of Vetis over here. I worked on a case with her before and this would be my second time. And you are?" Her energy was decidedly vampiric in nature now that he was focusing but he couldn't really tell what race of vampire just yet. Not until he felt a spike at least.

The woman watched Devin closely, her gaze almost piercing his own. "Aw, how kind of you to assist my daughter! I am Sorana Corsair, the head maiden, and it is my honor to welcome you to Akimitsu Temple." Sorana introduced herself with a graceful curtsy. Vetis stood a short distance from the two, not one for such formalities. Sorana sized up the angel as she continued. "Devin, hm? The name does ring a bell. Vivi-dear told me of a young man who helped her not long ago." She looked to her daughter, who nodded in response. She returned her attention to Devin, a delighted expression and clasped hands. "Wow~ strong and handsome! You must allow us to show our gratitude. Why don't you rest here for the night? We'll even serve dinner and breakfast! And don't think we'll take 'no' for an answer." Again, her piercing eyes settled on his.

Vetis' voice called quietly from behind her mother. "If you aren't busy..." She extended the invitation as well.

Devin found Vetis little bit at the end oddly cute in its own way, but he couldn't really explain why. From the looks of things, Sorana wasn't going to just up and let him go that easily which was fine.

Finally, he chuckled, holding up his hands briefly in defeat. "Man, you guys drive a hard bargain. All right, I'm in. I'm not currently doing anything so that gives me some down time. Business has been slow."

"Haha, marvelous!" She spun on her toe and began striding out of the room. "I'll call everyone when it's ready. Vivi-dear? Why don't you show Mr. Devin around until then, hm~?" Vetis nodded before her mother disappeared further into the temple. She decided upon showing him the perimeter halls before going through the individual rooms and courtyard. The rooms were nothing special; Japanese-style tatami mats lined the floors, the doors slid open and most furniture was low to the ground for kneeling access. The grounds were kept tidy and orderly, obviously a lot more work than three working women could handle without assistance. Also, strangely enough, the temple's interior was quite obviously larger than the exterior would lead one to believe. There was some sort of magic at play within those temple walls; as for what... it was hard to place.

The courtyard was expansive and, in addition to a resting area, clearly doubled as a training ground. Dummies composed of wood and straw were scattered about the field, but mainly off in one direction. The clearing was either used for sparring or resting. Vetis, although a tour guide, had been explaining the temple's locations with terse descriptions. It didn't seem like she was against leading Devin around, however. She loved her home, it just didn't exactly show in her reposeful speech.

"...Ah." Vetis paused their tour when she noticed one of the dummies had been split from heavy usage. "Wait here." She padded down the walkway and reentered the temple. As she left, Vanessa appeared from around the corner. She had changed her clothing to a light kendo gi, and held a practice sword to match. She looked like she was about to begin practice until she saw Devin.

"H-hey. Your name's Devin, right?" She walked a short distance beyond him and sat down on the path's edge, overlooking the courtyard. "I'm Vanessa, just in case you don't remember. It sounds like you helped out Sis earlier, so, thanks."

Spending time with three beautiful women alone in a temple and freed food; Devin would have to be stupid to say no. Of course he'd think of some ways of repaying their kindness somehow, some way. Vetis seemed to have a distant way in which she referred to things, but he noticed it wasn't out of coldness..it was just how she was. Vetis always seemed to be a person that had a harder time expressing her deeper emotions.

When he heard a voice and saw Vanessa, Devin turned around. He gave a small half smile. "Hey, no problem. I was happy to help, and to the truth I've always been a sucker for helping people. Probably a big reason business is sorta down is I don't charge as much as I should on certain cases, but hey." He shrugged. "So you heading to do some training?"

Vanessa gave Devin a somewhat skeptical look. "Hnnn~ I wonder... Sis seems to magnetize a lot of men playing the 'nice guy' act." After a moment of sizing him up, her expression softened. "But you actually seem genuine. And not only did she pay attention to you, but she brought you home. I guess you're alright." She shuffled her feet in discomfort at Devin's question to her.

The angel's eyes glimpsed to her sword for only a moment. "Y-yeah, but, you know, it'd be rude if I were to do that with company." She said, looking away from Devin. She didn't particularly like to train while in the presence of others, let alone complete strangers. Her nervousness faded as she shifted the focus back to Devin. "What about you? Are you just visiting or did you come all the way out here to train or something?" She looked up at him again. The three girls seemed to have very contrasting eyes. Sorana's were intense, Vetis' were somewhat distant, and Vanessa's were soft.

"Me? Not really. I got no business in Japan besides things with my client. Otherwise I'd probably just go around and explore. I was going to see what I can see before you guys invited me to dinner. As for the comment, thanks for the vote of confidence. I'll try not to dissapoint." He teased hoping to lighten the mood a bit. "How long has this shrine been around?"

"Huh? Oh. According to Mom, about nine hundred years or so. This temple actually started off as a small shrine honoring a renowned spiritual exorcist, Arabame Akimitsu. Hence the name, but you get it." She stood and dusted off her butt. "Anyway, over time worshipers noticed that the tranquil feeling around here wasn't just coincidental. The area has a protective aura about it that keeps malicious spirits at bay. Eventually, they built a temple around the shrine for followers to stay and train in. The original shrine is more toward the back of the temple." Vanessa pointed beyond the courtyard toward a pair of large, thick double doors.

At this, Vetis returned with a spell tag in hand. A strange insignia was drawn on this one. She placed it on the dilapidated target dummy. With a small incantation, the tag glowed and seeped into the wood. The object appeared to animate for a few moments as it repaired itself to its original form. Vetis stood back to examine it before returning to Devin. "Sorry." She apologized for the wait.

Nine hundred years? That's a lot of history. Devin listened patiently as Vanessa began to tell him a bit about the place's history. He actually found this sort of thing interesting. History wasn't usually a subject he had a lost of interest in, except when it came to certain periods/events that struck a chord with him.

When Vetis came back he gave a half smile. "It's fine, you have things to do. Just wondering, is there like other priestess or monks that end up coming here to train?"

"Of course." Vetis nodded. Another short and sweet answer. Vanessa picked up the rest of the response to elaborate.

"We get different travelers here all the time that are trying to improve their spiritual abilities, tolerance, all that stuff. There are a bunch of locals that come to help out with cleaning and prayers, too, but the travelers don't stay too long after their training is completed. There's no need since we watch over and take jobs the area." All were welcome at their temple; after all, training others advanced their own skills and knowledge. Vanessa was about to continue when the aroma of food wafted through the courtyard.

"Vivi-dear! Nene-dear! Dinner time! You too, Mr. Devin!" Sorana's voice called from somewhere within the walls. Vanessa hopped up onto the path with her sword in hand. She aimed to put it back in her room before coming to dinner.

Vetis led Devin to their dining room. A traditional setting with a low table adorned with a small feast and surrounded by soft zabuton. A fourth cushion had been set for their visitor. Vetis took a seat adjacent to her mother. Upon Vanessa's arrival and after a quick prayer, it was time to eat. She sat on the side opposite her sister, leaving the seat opposite Sorana for Devin.

"Where is it you come from, Mr. Devin? Your attire is interesting, I must say." Sorana queried, idly holding her chopsticks.

Devin had been to Japan a few times so he wasn't completely new to some of the things here. Besides, who hadn't eaten with chopsticks for Chinese food or something? Though granted this was a bit different.

"Me? I'm from New York." He said, taking some chopsticks. "This isn't exactly something you can just pick up; I had it custom made for me. There's this friend of mine who's really good at making personal clothes, has a small shop back there I go too. Five Stars is the name. If you ever need a personal style of clothes I recommend it if you ever visit the big apple."

Sorana pouted a little at that. "Oh? And just what's the matter with the clothes I'm wearing? I rather like my fashion sense!" She was teasing, of course. In actuality, her dress was custom made as well. Vetis and Vanessa wore generic priestess robes with alterations here and there, though the latter typically wore her kendo uniform at home.

The two sisters simultaneously reached toward the plate of dumplings at the table's center to grab the same item. Vetis was content with letting her sister have it. That is, until she pulled. Vetis tightened her grip and pulled back. A heated look appeared in Vanessa's eyes as she pulled again. Vetis' expression remained as she flicked the dumpling out of Vanessa's grip and swatted it into her own mouth. "AH! That's cheating!!" Vanessa pounded the table. Her elder sister merely shrugged in response. "T-two out of three!" Both sisters clamped onto another dumpling with their chopsticks.

"Oh... Must you girls do this in front of company?" Sorana sighed.

"She started it!" Vanessa turned, a mistake that cost her yet another dumpling as Vetis quickly popped it into her mouth. "Nooo!!" Vanessa fumed. Losing was not her strong suit.

Devin grinned at the teasing. "Nothing. Hell, you could probably wear something from the 60's and still be fine. I really don't have that luxury." He chuckled as he took a bit more of his food. "Cooking is something I need to work on too, its really good Sorana. I can nuke things in a microwave and burn a few things but that's about it. But never too late to learn."

Then Vetis and Vanessa began..we'll, he wasn't sure what they were doing but he soon grew amused all the same. "Nah, I don't mind. Beats being stiff. Clothes aren't the only thing I got custom made. The sword? I got it made by Erza Yormu, he's a pretty famous hunter so maybe you've heard of them. That's where I learned most of my trade..just went with being a supernatural detective then a hunter or going with Nobus. No idea what the big guy is up to."

"Oh, my~! Mentored by the famous Ezra Yormu? How impressive!" Sorana clapped her hands a little; knowing Devin was trained by such a man was a treat. This gave her an idea. "Hm... I'm wondering if I might ask for your help, Mr. Devin? You see, we have been commissioned for a few jobs tomorrow. We intend to take them simultaneously as they have have relatively high priority, but I prefer not to send anyone out on a job alone. If you aren't busy, would you terribly mind assisting one of us?" She clasped her hands and winked at him, her smile was warm. "You've helped Vivi-dear in the past, so I'm sure this will be no trouble for you physically. And, of course, you'll be properly compensated for your time. What do you say, hm~?"

"Sure. I don't mind helping out. What kind of jobs you looking at?" Devin wanted to know partly out of curiosity and partly so he would know what he was going to be dealing with. Part of being a good detective and fighter was anaylzing a situation and not just jumping into things. Devin felt a bit of nostalgia of the good old days of training with Erza, where his granddaughter, Michael and Yanira were all in the same circle. Those had been some fun times.

A bit of heat rose at the wink but he reigned it in quickly. Easy Devin, its harmless winking. Sorana was a very, very attractive woman and so were her daughters and it had been a while since he was with anyone. That didn't mean he was going to think of anyone as a piece of meat. It just meant he was still a man with the weaknesses of one, sometimes it was easy to forget.

"Also, I don't need a lot of money for these jobs. As long as everyone comes back okay in one piece. I'm not doing much of anything right now, either."

"Really~? Oh, you are such a nice young man!" Sorana was beaming at that point. "Now the first job isn't too far; it's in a forest near Osaka. The location was once a hot spot for tourists and couples but there have been a few disappearances as of late. Someone managed to identify the spirit of a female that appears at night. They've quarantined the area for us until tomorrow, so there's no danger of an incident tonight." It was important for everyone to take proper breaks if time allowed.

"The second request hails from within the Demon Realm. A small village has been attacked by a demonic earth spirit. The attacks appear to be triggered when the villagers approach the nearby mountains; their source of fresh water and herbs. Normally, I'm sure this would be handled by local hunters. Unfortunately, the village is rather poor. For that reason, and the fact that I have friends there, we've accepted the job gratis. Of course, we would still pay you should you assist with the task." Sorana smiled sweetly. "So then, Mr. Devin. With which request do you wish to lend your assistance?"

Devin seemed to think for a moment. "Hm..I'm gonna have to go with the first option on this one. I think I got a idea what you're talking about if is what I think it is. I'm guessing we're going to head tomorrow rather then right away?"

Sorana nodded. "That's right! Nene-dear needs a little time to prepare the tags for the night, and I want to do a little more research before anyone leaves. You'll leave with one of us a little after dusk tomorrow, if that's alright?" Vetis and Vanessa were wrapping up their little competition. The latter was none too happy with the results of their squabbling. They joined the conversation henceforth.

"I'll have the tags ready to go in the morning, Mom."

"I'll go with you..." Vetis offered. She was worried about sending her sister to the Demon Realm.

Sorana giggled at this. "Guess that means you're with me tomorrow, Tiger."

Devin shook his head. "It's fine. I'm game for whatever you guys decide to do. In the mean time.." He went to grab a few plates and things left behind by the dinner. "If you guys are letting me stay for essentially free, I'm gonna find ways to pull my weight. So just let me get the dishes; its the least I can do around here for now."

So a day with Sorana huh?

Devin had no problems with that.

When Devin entered the kitchen, he'd find that there were quite a few dishes there already. It had been a while since one of the girls could get in there to tidy up. Vanessa came rushing in shortly after his entrance. "H-hey, hold on! You don't have to help!" She rolled up her sleeves and prepared the sink. "It's my turn to do the dishes." A hint of begrudging could be heard in her voice. "Stupid dumplings..." She murmured to herself. It would appear that was the wager in her little tug-of-war competition with Vetis.