Ch 51: A cat that talks.

After a good hour of ‘celebration’, Suzu, naked save from the black leather collar adorning her neck, cuddled against Noah.

“I missed this.” Muttered Suzu.

“You speak for me as well, my cute little Suzu. Now that we are sated, at least for the moment, how about you tell me what happened to you after Lilith brought you to this world?”

“Yes. I found myself in a parking lot, in front of a warehouse. Inside it was a monstruous thing that I later learned was a stray devil. Rias, Akeno, Koneko and Yuuto were nearby, and saw me kill it. I assumed Lilith-sama wanted me to meet them, so I accepted their offer to join her peerage…”

Suzu giggled suddenly as she looked Noah in the eyes.

“Master, you want Rias and Akeno to join our family, right? Should I help you?”

“And Koneko-chan as well, although I’ll wait until she’s older, yes.” admitted Noah with a grin. “But you do not need to do anything, except being a good friend to them and highlighting the advantages of being mine. I’m about to have my hands full with a few girls from Ginsei academy and the Corps already, and I must focus on getting stronger anyway.”

“I understand, Master.”

“And speaking about highlighting the advantages of being mine, there’s one thing I would like you to do for me. Suzu, would you mind sparring with someone from the anti-demon corps?”

“Just a spar? I’ll do it. Who is it?”

“Kyouka Uzen, my squad leader. She needs power, and is considering becoming mine to obtain it, but she first wants to see for herself what kind of benefits can be obtained from being mine. Do not use Hole during the spar, though. That’s too dangerous.”

“Of course. Master, does she know what being yours involves?”

“She’s aware that she would have to swear loyalty to me, and that if would involve doing erotic things and more. I’ll introduce her to the whole BDSM aspect gradually later.”

“She’s going to love it, like we all do. I’ll see her tomorrow, Master. What does she look like?”

Noah used soul magic to show her one of his memories of Kyouka’s appearance.

“She’s beautiful.” said Suzu.

“And so are you, my cute Suzu. You should be able to teleport to her, now.”

“Yes… Why does she want power, Master?”

“That’s a bit of a private matter to her, so I won’t give you details, but there’s a specific Hollow, a strong one, that she really, really wants to kill.”

“…I can guess. I won’t broach that matter with her, then. Is she really strong?”

“She is strong and fast, more so than any normal human, but not absurdly so. She also has a sacred gear allowing her to boost others, although there’s a demerit to it, but I doubt she’d use it during your spar. That’s why you are a good sample of the soul bond’s benefit, from her point of view, since you don’t have a sacred gear either. She’s trained for many years, but you have my body strengthening, as well as Stride, Armored and Maximize. Her swordsmanship is excellent. Do not underestimate her.”

“I understand, Master. I won’t disappoint you.”

Noah smiled and kissed her.

“It’s okay even if you don’t win, as long as she has to work for it. Now, Suzu, are you ready for round two? Once we’re done, I’ll tell you about what I did since Lilith brought me here in the shower, and I’ll go get stronger.”

“Yes, Master.”

The two of them resumed their ‘celebration’, unaware of the minuscule camera hidden in the vent.

…

Grayfia tapped her finger on the desk in thought as she stared at the screen. She had barely started her surveillance, and it was already bearing fruit.

Obtaining his home address from the academy had only been a matter of making a phone call, as she and Gandou were old friends and colleagues, and he already suspected they would want to keep a close watch on him.

Entering his home and hiding a few cameras had been just as simple.

She jotted a few notes on a paper to review what she had just learned.

Noah was indeed aiming at Rias, and not just her. He was more lustful and ambitious than she assumed. Although, considering his stated goals, his ambitious made sense. He was sexually dominant, and would try to make them his subs. He already had at least one, but treated them well. He could form some kind of magic bond with them that would make them stronger.

And that last part was the deal breaker, as far as she was concerned.

Him being into BDSM wasn’t an issue. Grayfia knew Rias well, and she was fairly confident that Rias was a closet submissive, or maybe even a masochist, deep inside. But magically enforced servitude was intolerable. Rias was the heir of the Gremory, as well as her dear ‘niece’, and she wouldn’t let this happen to her.

It reminded Grayfia that Rias had tried to contact her, although her message indicated that the matter wasn’t urgent, so she had delayed her answer as she watched Noah and Suzu. Was still watching. He did have a good body, and obviously knew how to give pleasure to a woman.

It was too bad that she would have to kill him.

…

Later this day, Grayfia entered Venelana’s office. She found her Master perusing several economic reports.

“Venelana-sama, I have news about Enfield-kun.”

“Already? It must be bad news, then.”

“Yes and no, Venelana-sama. Noah Enfield is able to use some kind of soul-related magic, that allows him to establish bonds with other people, sharing his power with them, but also extract sacred gears from humans without killing them. He procured the Boosted Gear and gave it to Rias-sama.”

“What? Is that a joke?” gasped Venelana, stunned.

“I have seen with my own eyes Rias-sama manifest the Boosted Gear’s gauntlet on her right arm. She is starting to learn how to use it, and there doesn’t seem to be any compatibility issue. Enfield-kun also stated his intention to procure more sacred gears for the rest of Rias-sama’s peerage.”

Grayfia gave Venelana a few seconds to process the information and its implications.

“Okay. What’s the bad news, then?”

“Before I speak about it, there is something else, related to Koneko’s sister Kuroka.”

Grayfia went on to report on everything Rias had told her, and gave Venelana the paper they had found in Koneko’s hair clip.

“…I can decipher some of it, but… It does seem legitimate. I’ll give this to Ajuka, he’s the expert on these matters. If he confirms it, I will ask for Kuroka’s stray devil status to be revoked at our next gathering. What else?”

“Enfield-kun stated his intention to add Rias-sama, Akeno-san, and Koneko-chan, when she grows older, to his harem. He is sexually dominant, and his maids aren’t just his maids, but also his submissives, maybe even his slaves. Although he does seem to treat them like your average human would his kinky girlfriend, and I have seen no sign of abuse.”

“Oh… I can live with that. This dear daughter of mine will likely love it, actually.”

“But there is an issue, Venelana-sama, and that is the bad news, although not an urgent one, as he said he didn’t want to try to seduce Rias-sama immediately. He is apparently working his wiles on several other young women first…”

Grayfia’s expression turned grim. “…The power-sharing magic he uses with his maids may involve them swearing loyalty to him, and that loyalty might be magically enforced.”

Venelana immediately understood and she winced.

“Are you positive about it?”

“No, Venelana-sama. It was implied only.” replied Grayfia as she shook her head.

“…We can’t risk him making Rias into his puppet… Keep observing him, but do not take action until he goes to Hagun Island. Maybe he won’t return from it, and this headache will go away without us having to do anything unpleasant, or maybe additional surveillance will show that you were mistaken. We do not need to do anything hasty at this point.”

“If he returns alive from that island, however… I’ll have to ask Ajuka to procure a replacement Bishop and Rook Evil Pieces for my daughter. Rias will be angry at me, but she’ll understand eventually.”

“As you wish, Venelana-sama. Should I act immediately if he returns from that Island, or wait for him to procure more sacred gears?”

“…I will let you decide.”

…

Noah looked at himself in front of the mirror, making sure he was presentable, and turned to Suzu.

“I’m going now, Suzu. It might be a while before we see each other, so do not worry about me if I don’t show up.”

“I understand. Good luck, Master. I will work hard to grow stronger, too.” Nodded Suzu.

They hugged and kissed each other, then Noah took a step back.

“Bye, Suzu. I’ll miss you.”

“Me too.”

Noah nodded and teleported directly in front of a small shop, simply named Urahara Shop, in Kurakura town. It was now past dinner time, so the shop was closed, and the windows of the large wooden sliding doors were heavily tinted, so he couldn’t see what was inside.

A knock at the door gave no answer, so Noah created a folding chair and sat nearby. He simply started reading an eBook on his smartphone.

A few hours later, he felt something and lifted his head. Sitting on top of the wall, three meters from him, was a black cat, its golden pupils sizing him up and down.

“Are you perhaps Yoruichi-san?” tentatively asked Noah.

The cat, who wasn’t actually a cat, nodded, and started speaking with distinctly male voice.

“Oh? You are not an ordinary person, to know about me. That sword at your waist seems to be a Zanpakuto. Are you a Shinigami?”

“It is an Asauchi, yes. And I am not ordinary guy, but not a Shinigami, either.”

Noah rose from his chair and bowed slightly at the not-cat.

“My name is Noah Enfield. It is a pleasure to meet you, Yoruichi-san.”

“Nice to meet you, too, boya. What are you doing here? And why do you have an Asauchi?”

“I am searching for someone who can teach me Shunpo. I was hoping to speak to Urahara-san, but you might actually be a better choice, since you are the best at it, if my information is correct. As for me having an Asauchi… I’d rather keep that information secret for now. An innocent person might get in trouble, if that information reached the wrong ears. But I haven’t stolen it, and never set foot in Soul Society yet.”

Yoruichi’s eyes narrowed as the black cat considered him in silence.

“… And why would I teach you? Assuming you could learn Shunpo, it would likely take you months or even years to get it to a usable state. Why would I invest this time for you?”

Noah’s smile widened.

“If you agree to teach me Shunpo, I will tell you a few things, about one of several crises looming on the horizon. Aizen isn't the greatest threat. A crisis big enough that the Soul King himself will be under threat. I will also give you one useful advice. If you agree to train me and teach me more than just Shunpo, I will actively assist the Gotei 13 in dealing with those crises. In that case, however, I do not want my name to circulate among the captains. I am not strong enough to move openly yet.”

“And If I just decide to torture you for information instead?” wondered aloud Yoruichi.

Noah simply shrugged.

“You’re not that kind of person. I could see you killing an enemy with no hesitation, sure. But harming someone who doesn’t bear ill intent toward you, your friends or Soul Society would be out of character for you. Besides, you will want to keep me alive to see what other secrets I may have, or how much use you can extract from me.”

“You would be surprised by the things I am willing to do if I believe they are necessary, boya.”

Noah nodded, conceding the point, but kept smiling, showing that he wasn’t afraid of her implied threat.

“…But you are right about my character. Torturing you for information might not be necessary, yet. I will teach you Shunpo. But your information is better be useful and credible. And I want you to tell me what you know about Aizen.”

The black cat jumped from the wall and started walking away.

“Follow me.” Said Yoruichi with a look back.