(Author's note: Has anyone realized how much Anabel looks so much like Kyoko Kirigiri?)

First Person POV, Melodia

"So you're the one who dropped the wasp down Overhaul's pants by taking something of great value to him."

We sat in my bedchambers back at my island home; I invited Kyoko over as she implored to be part of my gang after I revealed to her the details of Nen and how she had the potential to wield it as well given her performance at the entrance exam.

Our partnership had evolved to where we are now on a first-name basis, as she requested that I call her by her first name rather than her surname some time back.

Now we were talking about the Overhaul case, where I told her how I basically pissed him and his group off by taking Eri from him and killed his right hand man Chronostasis.

"Yes. I took his quote-unquote daughter from him and his production on the Quirk-erasing bullets have been slowed down quite drastically. There is still the issue of Trigger, but given that I have taken his precious cash cow and one of his Eight Precepts of Death is now dead, he's probably in a tizzy." I said all of this with a nonchalant face that even put her own stony expression to shame, which she noticed.

"You say that pretty casually for one who had pissed off a powerful yakuza group.." she sweatdropped.

"Trust me when I say that I have dealt with scarier things than that plague doctor wannabe." I shrugged indifferently. "It'll take more than that group to intimidate me."

Lucario then entered the room with a message. "The Lady has returned to the premises."

Meaning that Cogita had returned from the mainland from her "shopping trip." Between her and Junko, this woman is a fashionista in her own right. And I haven't forgotten all of the times she had dressed me up like a doll when she first adopted me, and when she picked me up to take me to her place in England, she made sure that I wasn't short on clothes, especially since the Yagis couldn't be bothered to get me the right clothes for me.

"Very well," I answered him. "As you were, Lucario." He bowed to me (much to my chagrin) before he left, but not before taking a moment to assess my new friend Kyoko, before continuing on.

Kyoko's eyebrow raised as she turned back to me and ask, "'Lady?'"

"That would be my mother in all but blood, Cogita." I responded, my tone nothing short of utmost respect for the one who had saved me, not once, but perhaps twice, already. "You'll meet her shortly. Fair warning, she may go crazy on you and have you try on many outfits..."

Kyoko wasn't sure of what to make of it, but there was no delaying the inevitable as I lead the way out of my room and headed down to the entrance to greet the royal advisor of my court.

"Welcome home, Mother," I dipped my head at her as she entered the entrance corridor.

"Hello, my sweet," she smiled at me indulgently before she swept me into a hug, some of the knights setting down her boxes, no doubt full of the purchases she made during her "day out."

"Mooommm!!" I complained as she hugged me, my face getting smushed into her bosom.

"Give mother a hug, sweet..." She pretended to not hear my embarrassed complaints.

"Mom! You're messing up my hair!!" I complained, as she ran her gloved hands through my mint-colored locks.

After a few minutes of her smothering me, I finally was allowed out of her grasp. I took a few minutes to catch my breath before turning back to Kyoko, who had a bit of a blush but she seemed to be smirking at my expense.

I pouted at her as she gave me a knowing look, not realizing Cogita's expression turning thoughtful as she examined our new guest.

"Who might this be, Melodia dear?" She asked, catching my attention as I straightened up to introduce her to Kyoko properly.

"Mother, this is Kyoko Kirigiri." I gestured to the lavender-haired girl. "Kyoko, this is my mother in all but blood. Cogita."

She bowed to her politely. "Please take care of me." She spoke with utmost politeness.

"Oh trust me," I thought as I saw a certain gleam in Cogita's visible eye. "She most definitely will by the time this is over..."

"The pleasure is mine, young lady. Could you perhaps tell me how the two of you met?" She asked.

With that, we sat down in Cogita's favorite tea room, where we rehashed the first day we met at the UA entrance exam and how we have been exchanging notes on some cases that I am on along with teaching her some of the basics of Nen.

"And so I would like to join your group," Kyoko finished as we all sipped from our Lilligant tea. "If you will have me that is."

"Ah," Cogita answered, "but that decision falls with our lovely Queen here." At Kyoko's questioning expression, she pressed on. "Did Melodia not tell you? She's not only leader of the group, but she is also our queen and sovereign of these lands."

Kyoko was shocked as she heard this as she turned to me. "What?!"

"Umm surprise?" I offered a bit guiltily. It wasn't like I meant to hide it from her; it kind of slipped my mind...

Cogita shook her head at me, a wry smile on her lips. "Honestly, child, I thought that would be the first thing you would inform her about you."

"I forgot." I shrugged, trying to not make it look like a big deal. "I've been a bit preoccupied lately, and I honestly thought I told her at some point..."

"How did you...?" Kyoko trailed off, looking gobsmacked for lack of better words.

"I bought the islands in an underground auction along with the castle and with some strings pulled with the Ministry of Defense I was able to keep these lands out of Japan's jurisdiction, so none of them will come and try to seize it. In other words, should someone from the mainland try to invade, I have authorization to deal with them as I see fit." I added the last part in a dark tone, making Kyoko blink at this before she smoothed her face back out.

"I... I see," she cleared her throat. "Though this may take some time to wrap my head around..."

"Try not to sweat it too much," I advised.

"With that aside," Cogita clapped her hands together to get our attention. "How would you girls like to model a few outfits for me?"

Ooh boy...

"Well, good thing we aren't going anywhere anytime soon." I spoke dryly to Kyoko, as we have already moved her things over to the islands. All that was left now was to get her initiated and she'll be an official member of the gang and our royal court.

Timeskip to later that night...

We flopped onto my large bed in exhaustion; both of use winded and exhausted from trying on so many outfits for Cogita.

"Does she do that a lot?" Kyoko panted out.

"Only on the rare occasion she goes to the mainland to do her clothes shopping." I answered in kind. Though it did bring back some good memories from when we were living in Hisui and she would have Anthe come over to the Retreat and from there she would dress me up in so many kimono outfits. It wasn't long until Volo got into the action and began donning me in his own apparel, be it from the Gingko Guild or his own "handmade outfit." (A/N: you know, the one when he fights the MC on Mount Coronet with Giratina)

It's not that I hate fashion, quite the opposite really. It just felt really embarrassing to be revealed like that to Kyoko. I mean, when my girlfriends see me in that, especially when Cogita sends them pictures after the "fashion show" I get teased a lot later on. And then they try to fit me in some outfits of their choice, be it Tsumugi's or Junko's choices of clothing (and let me tell you, some of their choices were quite risque and resulted in four thirsty hot girls ready to rip those clothes off of me and it takes a great amount of Nen to keep them at bay).

So I can only imagine what they will try this time once Cogita sends all of her pictures she took of the both of us modeling in some of the outfits she purchased...

Right at that moment, my girlfriends entered the room.

"Hello there cub," Charm greeted me before noticing Kyoko next to me.

"Now who might you be?" Zinnia asked, looking very interested.

"I'm... Kyoko Kirigiri," She managed out. "New recruit...."

They all turned to look at me for confirmation.

"Yup." I answered them. "She's the one I've told you about from the entrance exam."

Clover's eyes lit up as she sized her up. "Aha. So you're the one Pup here wouldn't shut up about..." I blushed at this.

"Don't say it like that, Clover!" I sat up on the bed to give her a look.

She smirked. "Whatcha gonna do about it?"

"Enough." Coin spoke up. "Can't we have one evening without you riling others up?"

"Where's the fun in that?" Clover rebutted.

I turned to Kyoko as she sat up too. "So yeah, these are my co-leaders, Charm, Coin, Clover, and Zinnia. Also, my girlfriends."

Her eyes widened at the last part of my sentence, though I swear I saw something akin to sadness enter her eyes. Wonder what that meant...?

Sighing, I got off the bed. "Excuse me for a bit... I'll grab us some snacks..." I needed to clear my head for a bit.

"A-ah... okay." Kyoko nodded, her face clearing up. Perhaps I was imagining things earlier...

"Be back in a few." I gave my girlfriends a pointed look. "Please behave yourselves."

"What are we, children?" Clover scoffed.

"Whatever helps ya sleep at night, hot stuff." I took immense satisfaction at seeing her turn beet red at the retort. Payback~

I paid no heed to her yells and profanities as I hotfooted it out of the bedroom, shutting out her cursing as I shut the door behind me.

POV Switch, 3rd person, Nobody

When Melodia left the room, it was just her girlfriends and Kyoko. For a moment nobody moved nor spoke a word.

Finally, Kyoko decided to take the initiative and make something of a conversation.

"So.. ah... you are her girlfriends..." She spoke in a somewhat awkward tone. Her heart ached slightly when she spoke those words. What is this...?

Clover, ever the blunt one, cut to the chase. "You like her, don't you." She stated than asked.

This made Kyoko almost choke on her saliva at her straightforwardness. "W-what-?! How did-?!" She didn't even bother formulating a denial of any sort.

"We kinda see it in your eyes..." Coin spoke up, adding her input.

"That, and I can smell pheromones coming off you..." Zinnia chimed in, grinning cheekily.

Kyoko blushed heavily at being found out. Does that mean Melodia also know?!

"If you are worried if Melodia knows or not, don't sweat it," Charm said, answering her unspoken question. "Despite everything she is capable of doing, for some reason being able to sense whether or not someone has the hots for her is not one of them..."

"That's not to say you don't have a chance with her, though," Coin added as Kyoko's expression fell before it brightened at Coin's reassuring words. "Basically, you just got to establish yourself, if that makes sense. Kinda ease her into it."

"How would I do that?" Kyoko asked in spite of herself being a "lone wolf" type of person. She had the distinct feeling that being around Melodia had something to do with it.

"Just do simple stuff." Zinnia shrugged. "Go on outings besides missions. Walk through a park. Coffee dates. You know, mundane stuff."

"Why help me though?" Kyoko couldn't help but ask.

"Well... to be honest, we aren't against having another member in the relationship." Charm said. "You seem to be a good person. And Melodia seems to like you enough, whether she realizes it or not. With time, she'll pick up on it. She may be dense at times, but she's not hopeless."

"But let's keep this between us for now." Zinnia said. "We all got a lot on our plates right now with school right around the corner and our mission in UA. I suggest we try to push the subject some time after we all get settled in the dorms at UA and we get the routine down. Especially with her teaching a class of her own during our time there."

"I don't suppose I can live on the same floor as you in the dorms?" Kyoko asked in a hopeful tone that was unbefitting of her usual character.

"Actually that can be arranged." Clover said. "All you gotta do is ask. But first," she got a gleam in her eye. "You have to be initiated into the gang first."

Kyoko couldn't help but feel as if she was being challenged. "You think I won't pass?"

"I dunno," Clover couldn't help but smirk playfully, "am I?"

Sparks began to fly between them, as fiery auras flared around their persons.

Charm and Coin sighed in exasperation while Zinnia just grinned incorrigibly, enjoying the show.

It didn't take a psychic to know that there will be a new addition to their relationship with Melodia.

Meanwhile with Melodia...

Melodia let out a sneeze while searching the pantry for snacks to share with her guest and girlfriends.

"Why do I get the feeling Clover started something again?" Melodia thought to herself as she rubbed her nose.

POV Switch, 1st Person Melodia

Timeskip to two weeks later

Today was the day we raided Kai Chisaki's base of operations.

Thanks to Kyoko and her above average detective skills, we found his location fairly quickly after the Entrance Exams concluded.

Since Kyoko and I have been growing fairly close, I figure it was about time to initiate her into my gang and see if she can prove her mettle. Don't get me wrong, I know she will pass, but everyone has to go through this test before they officially become a member of the gang. The only exception to this are the munchkins, but they get to do it when they get older as I don't wanna risk the kids' safety especially with their Nen still in their "infancy stage" and that can prove to be lethal to both the user and their targets.

Even though it had almost been two weeks since the entrance exam and informing Kyoko about Nen and she began to unlock her ability, she has shown tremendous progress in doing so. So much that it got Cogita's attention and my girlfriends began to keep an eye on her.

Thankfully, she and my girlfriends seem to get along fine. She even managed to keep Clover, the more rambunctious one in the group, in check, and trust me, that's not exactly an easy job. Though they do have their moments of being a bit competitive. And I had a distinct feeling that it doesn't necessarily have to do with the tasks and missions we have been going on to help her ease into the swing of things.

Now the day (or rather night) has come to see what she has learned and to see if she has what it takes to be one of the higher ranked members of my gang. With her being quite the quick study in regards of awakening her Nen, she was powerful enough to be on par with my girlfriends. So chances were she was going to end up being one of my co-leaders, should she pull through this raid.

"So we leave this Chisaki character alive while we take out his lackeys?" Kyoko asked for confirmation as we geared up in our outifts and selected our weapons for the raid.

"That's the long and short of it, yes." I responded, donning my Baneful Fox Mask and my outfit for the night. I chose my pine green ninja outifit, as did the other girls, matching accordingly to their themes. We six chose to take the base on ourselves, though we do have several of our gang members on call and ready to go should something happen. If there was one thing I learned from Killua is that you never go in without a backup plan, if not several. Since we are dealing with the Eight Precepts of Death (sans Chronostasis as I have already killed him beforehand) one cannot be too careful, Nen or not.

"Why not just off the guy right then and there?" Zinnia asked as she pulled on her ninja sandals.

"Because I want to see him squirm as we take out his so-called vital tools and be watching his back before I ultimately put him down." I replied in a dark tone.

Charm gave me a deadpanned look. "You really need to stop playing with your food, cub."

"I like watching my prey squirm." I shrugged while the others just sweatdropped at my words.

"Is she always like this?" Kyoko asked Coin.

"Only when she is dealing with someone she really hates...." Coin answered honestly.

"Oh! Before I forget," I took out another mask, this one like my own, only in this case, it had the colors of a shiny Hisuian Zoroark. The same one I wore when I killed Muscular few years ago.

"I want you to have this," I told Kyoko, who took the mask wordlessly. "I figured it would work more for you than me since your hair and outfit matches it."

She was wearing a amethyst ninja outfit, which went well with her skin tone and hair color.

We all made sure to wear headkerchiefs and face masks if only to keep ourselves from being readily identified by Overhaul or any of his lackeys, and whoever else that may try to interfere with our mission.

"So how are you feeling right now?" I asked Kyoko, tying my headkerchief on.

"I'd be lying if I said I'm not nervous," she admitted.

"Understandable," I replied.

"But," she seemed to steel herself, "I am not backing out. I have taken on dangerous cases before and I never had the liberty of having a Quirk at my disposal, so what will be so different with this mission?"

"Just don't get overconfident," I cautioned her.

"But of course." She nodded.

"Everyone ready?" I asked the group, getting confirmations all around.

"All right," I gripped the sheathe of my katana. "Onwards, soldiers."

Timeskip

Overhaul's Base

"Everyone in postition?" I asked into a walkie-talkie, getting a crackling response from one of my Shadow Triad.

"Affirmative. All systems go, your Ladyship."

"Very well. Stay alert for any heroes lurking around and take out any threats with extreme prejudice." I ordered.

"Roger that."

With that we were ready to strike.

"Fifth Cohort, Advance!" I called out over the comms unit, all of us moving in for the kill.

(play music here)

"Remember!" I called out to the others, "Take whoever comes your way! But remember, Overhaul is to be left alone! HE IS MINE!" I added with my bloodlust flaring as we all converged on the base, kicking down the doors as they flew off the hinges.

The place was soon flooded with Overhaul's grunts; they weren't a challenge for me and the girls, however, despite their sheer numbers. We never activated our Nen once to put them all of commission.

"No holding back, ladies!" I howled, pointing my blade as I recognized the Eight (now seven thanks to having Chronostasis killed off) Precepts of Death starting to come in to intercept us. No doubt because Overhaul saw that we have more or less mowed down his grunts and have ordered them to take us out.

"Looks like he is getting desperate..." I smirked behind my mask as I clotheslined a guy named Kendo Rappa before activating a Foe-Hold Orb to keep him in place so I could throw a Blinker Seed down his throat and force him to ingest it so I can render him blind.

As soon as I hit him, the Foe-Hold Orb deactivated, releasing him from his paralysis state. Unfortunately, since he had ingested the Blinker Seed, he was rendered blind and he seems to be one to rely on sheer physical force than using his head to fight. Which gave me the upper hand as I ran circles around him using Rhythm Echo and continuously pelt him with Blast Seeds, Iron and Silver Spikes, and, just for the hell of it, Sticks and Geopebbles.

"Stop throwing shit at me, you damn brat," he snarled as he blindly smashed his fists into a wall where I was once standing before I moved out of the way in plenty of time, "and fight me like a man!"

"The funny thing is," I sidestepped a sloppy right hook, "I'm not a man." I then jumped up, doing a sharp kick to his spine, shattering it beyond repair as he fell on his face.

"And neither are you," I added coldly, spitting on him. I looked up to see how the others were doing.

Coin and Charm were locked in battle with Shin Nemoto and Sakaki Deidoro; both of which were stunned when their Quirks "Confession" and "Sloshed" did not work on either of them. Little do they realize that they have plenty of experience resisting stuff such as truth serum (no really, that stuff is real, even though it is pretty much illegal in many countries even now in this era), and we have fought through armies when wasted to hell and back. So this is barely a warmup for them. Both of them had no problem wasting them before five minutes was up.

Clover was up against a muscle-head known as Rikiya Katsukame, who had the Quirk "Vitality Stealing." Despite having hit her a few times, he was surprised that she wasn't weakening against him. Rather, she seemed to be getting stronger as he was slowly weakening. I smirked, knowing this was her Nen ability, Emotive Strength, in action.

My smirk vanished when I spotted a jerkwad named Soramitsu Tabe trying to sneak up on her, opening his mouth to eat her to activate his Quirk "Food", before a bullet hole was blown through his mouth, making him fall short in his tracks.

Looking behind him I saw it was Zinnia, holding a pistol in one hand, a dead Yu Hojo with the other. By the looks of it, she had no problem with disposing of him. The Crystallize man didn't seem to have a chance to put up a fight before her Nen ability, Dragon Manisfestation, had slashed him across the chest, cutting him deep enough to sever his arteries. Not even an EMT can save him now.

As for Kyoko, she was going head-to-head with Hekiji Tengai, whose Quirk is Barrier. He was surprised that she managed to break through this force field (thanks to her Ren effectively shattering it) before they were exchanging blows with each other.

Seeing that she was fine on her own, I caught sight of Toya Setuno, whose Quirk is "Larceny", trying to sneak away without getting noticed.

No doubt to go get his boss Overhaul.

"Not on my watch, coward," I snarled inwardly, my turning sharp as I used Rhythm Echo to catch him off guard by getting in front of him and shoving my hand through his chest, puncturing his heart and forcing his lungs to fill with blood before he chokes on it.

"Can't be having you being a little snitch, now can we?" I asked rhetorically as he collapsed on his face. Flicking the blood off my hand, I went back to the others.

And just in time to see Kyoko put an end to Tengai, her eyes glowing purple before her gloved hands were encased in the same color before a wave emanated from her palms before it struck Tengai in the chest, similar to Mewtwo's signature move Psystrike, meaning she is perhaps an Emitter.

Tengai's eyes rolled back in his head before he fell to his knees, before slumping onto the floor, similar to his comrades. We didn't bother turning them onto their backs as leaving their bodies facedown means a sign of disrespect, which is what we are trying to express to whoever finds their carcasses.

Brushing our hands off, I turned to the others. "Everyone okay?"

"All good here!" Zinnia grinned at me ferally, not unlike Clover. Like her, she gets a thrill for fighting, especially hand-to-hand. Gon and Killua always had a fun time sparring with her while we were at Heaven's Arena.

"All right. Let's deal with the bodies and then we'll split!" I said, unsheathing my blade as I walked towards the bodies.

Charm grimaced. "Oh no. There she goes again, making the bodies into avant garde sculptures..."

"Wait what?!" Kyoko was uncharacteristically shocked at what Charm said.

"I suggest that if you got a weak stomach, you better leave the area..." Coin said to her, making her pale slightly behind her mask.

Timeskip....

When Overhaul finally emerged from his hiding place, he was shocked and horrified to find his entire base soaked in blood.

Venturing to where he knew his remaining Precepts of Death were last located before he lost contact with them, he felt his blood freeze when he found their heads on steel rods, their bodies strung up and quartered, and whoever did this had written a message in their blood:

"EvEN HeLl CAn'T PRotEct YoU FRoM DIvINE pUNishMeNT."

Underneath the blood-soaked message was the picture of a fox's head, done in the same fashion as the message on the wall.

Meaning that soon, very soon, the Baneful Fox will find him, and kill him. And his death will not be a quick one, either, knowing the fox-masked anti-hero's MO. Especially where people like him, who have hurt innocents repeatedly without remorse, were concerned.

The sound of police sirens and the flashing lights from the police cars alerted him, meaning that unless he wanted to be captured by the Heroes, he better move.

Though some may say he would have been better off being captured.

Then again, no jail cell in Tartarus can keep him safe from the Kitsune's wrathful reach.

Back at the Island

"Well, Kyoko, you are now officially one of us now," I declared, as we all sat in the bar area.

We had made it back to the base without any casualties on our end; given that our mission to dismantle the remaining Eight Precepts of Death went off without a hitch, that was reason enough to break out the sake we have been saving since last New Year's.

That and since Kyoko had passed her initiation test, and on top of that, had unlocked her Nen ability (we labelled it off as an Emitter type when we had Cogita look her over) in record time (it took all five of us roughly a few months before we could begin to master it with the help of Wing), she was more than qualified to be not just in the gang, but also as one of the heads with my girlfriends.

At first when I brought up the idea to my girlfriends, I thought they would not go for it as they are quite protective of me and it is not often (if at all) that one becomes qualified to lead the gang with the title as one of the Celestica Kings of Paradise.

Imagine my surprise when they all unanimously said that they were fine with the idea.

I decided to not look into the issue for now as there were more pressing things to deal with, the raid being one of them.

"Welcome to the Five Celestica Kings of Paradise team," I said to her, smirking at her gobsmacked expression as she was more than aware of the "pecking order" in the gang's caste system. No doubt since that being able to acquire the position as high as one of the Kings of Paradise she must be very shocked to hear this kind of news.

"Y-you are putting on your team rather than one of the, pardon my phrasing, one of the lower-ranked teams?" She questioned, her eyes still shocked even as Clover began pulling out a large bottle of sakura sake with several cups to go around us.

"While the official ceremony will come later," Charm spoke up, "this is another way of saying welcome to the team."

"Given that you awakened your Nen and it's ability in record time and was able to control it to a certain degree where it didn't cause any collateral damage, it is safe to say that you even exceed the Seven Sages and the Shadow Triad," Coin chimed in.

"Speaking of which," I turned to see Pekoyama, Mukuro, and Maki had disabled their Gyo to show themselves to us. "Did you get the item?"

"Yes, kaichou," Maki said, handing me two nondescript cases.

"These are the finished product that we managed to find before the authorities showed up." Mukuro added. "Though we noticed he had a long list of clients that wanted these. And a lot of them have already bought the product going by his ledger."

"Speaking of," Peko tossed me a flash drive. "You should probably look at this before you send it to Karasuma-dono. There should be a list of those who are Overhaul's clients and the like."

I nodded to them. "Duly noted. As you were. You lot go celebrate with the others. We have a special ceremony to perform here with just the Kings of Paradise to perform the ritual."

Thye all nodded before shooting Kyoko a smile, their nonverbal way of them saying "Congratulations and welcome to the team!" Before using their Gyo to turn invisible and leave.

"So what is this ritual that you speak of?" Kyoko asked after they left the area.

I grinned pulling out the assorted flavors of sake we have had stashed away.

"Drinking contest," I answered, her eyes widening as a result.

Though it should be noted she did not hesitate in the slightest to take part in the unofficial rite of passage.

Timeskip

For someone who did not have a lot experience with drinking alcohol, Kyoko really did know how to hold her liquor.

She, the girls, and I have been going shot for shot with our sake, having already gone through the first four bottles and she was still kicking.

Clover was wasted but is still going regardless; Coin was buzzed but not quite tanked yet like Clover; Charm was shit-faced but she was doing good covering it up... provided she didn't try to walk around the room or a certain distance to find something; and Zinnia was seconds from chugging the bottle straight up if not for me keeping her from doing so with a light whap on the back of her hand when she tries to grab the bottle by the neck.

As for me, I am still okay. I mean, if we were somewhere else, I wouldn't chance trying to drive anything, but I'm only mildly buzzed. Let's just say it has been awhile where I was actually shit-faced drunk, and it took awhile to get to that point...

Clover was now passed out on the couch in the lounge area, her limbs akimbo as she snored loudly with a empty bottle in one hand, holding it loosely by the neck.

Coin and Zinnia were engaged in a makeout session but it was difficult to tell who was domming who, at least from my perspective.

Charm was slumped over the bar, snoring lightly even as her facial markings have been smeared a bit from the night's activities.

Which left just me and Kyoko.

I downed another shot of peach-flavored sake as Kyoko gave a light chuckle. I turned to her, my eyebrow perked up slightly.

"What is it?"

"We look like a bunch of grownups than a few kids..." she laughed, gesturing to us with our drinking glasses before she downed another shot of sake.

"Kinda ironic given we are a bunch of juvenile delinquents," I chuckled back, my face pleasantly warm.

She sighed. "That aside, what are your plans to deal with the Overhaul issue?"

"As much as I don't like to mix business with pleasure, I can make an exception since I am still sober." I blew out a breath as I raised the cup to my lips. "After I look whats in the flash drive the Triad gave me, I'll send the data to Karasuma and Netero. Same thing with the finished product of Overhaul's Quirk-destroying bullets and Trigger. I want to analyze the products' compostition, though I got a feeling of what it is made of, and I sure as hell don't like it..." My scowl formed as I held back from destroying the sake cup in my hand. Sighing, I put the cup down before I pulled out my vape pen, taking a puff on it before letting the smoke come out through my nostrils as the flavor of CBD mixed with some medicines from Seiko hit my tongue, easing my tension.

"You vape?" Kyoko asked, most likely to change the subject.

"Very much so, yeah." I answered nonchalantly. "And I've been doing it a lot more than usual recently."

"I can guess why that is," she said. "Any chance you can..." She seemed nervous for a moment before she finished her sentence. "get me one of those?"

I shrugged. "Eh. Why not. Tell you what." I reached in my pocket and pulled out one I have recently bought but haven't used. "You can have this one since I'm not using it."

"Thanks..." She replied gratefully.

The next hour was spent on teaching her the basics of how to use a vape pen properly before taking her first puffs with some E-liquid I gave her.

Neither of us noticed Cogita and Volo watching us from the hallway as talked before we decided to get the girls off their drunken butts and go to bed as we did have training the next day.

POV Switch 3rd Person, Nobody

"How long until we tell them about their Reincarnates?" Volo asked Cogita, as both of them have sensed something special within Kyoko, just like they sensed when they first found Melodia.

It was no coincindence that Melodia is the reincarnation of Natural Harmonia, given their similar looks and their innate ability to speak to Pokemon and connect with them.

As for Kyoko, Cogita suspects that, like her adopted daughter, is also a reincarnation of Anabel, another noteworthy figure among Pokemon, as like Natural Harmonia, she can also talk to animals and calm them down with her empath ability as she is also a Psychic. And with Kyoko having almost identical looks to Anabel and having unlocked her Nen ability with her latent Psychic powers (not that she or her soon-to-be girlfriends know this), it was enough to garner Cogita's attention.

While Psychics and Aura guardians are known to be rivals, they are known to be more of the friendly sort rather than having a relationship similar to Seviper and Zangoose. Some have also been known to settle down together too.

In answer to her nephew's question, she stated, "I plan to when she and the others get established at that school. Under normal circumstances I would have done it tonight, but since they wanted to do the ceremony of our newest addition to the family, I decided to wait until things cool down."

Volo nodded. "Got it. What should I do in the meantime?"

"Continue as you have been doing," Cogita replied. "Speaking of which, how goes your plan to be watching her in UA?"

"Ginter had managed to get himself and the others of the Gingko Guild to come and teach their Business Course students. So that means I can keep an eye on her while making sure those scum bags don't get too close to her." His face darkened as he clenched his fist, his nails nearly drawing blood from his palms as they were digging into them.

"Calm yourself, nephew." Cogita advised.

He sighed. "I still can't believe those fools have the audacity to demand she return to them."

Cogita nodded, her own expression also a bit dark. "Indeed. I too am a bit.... vexed with those imbeciles..."

"And there is also the other problem." Volo added cryptically.

"Ah yes, Cresselia and Darkrai have told me that those interlopers have been disturbing her in her cognitive state." Cogita nodded, her visible eye thoughtful. "It has taken everything to keep them from interfering with her every day routine though I wonder how much longer before it actually does..."

"Even after making that dream catcher nothing seems to work... Even Musharna is not having any luck with her nightmare problem. And Darkrai can't seem to be able to touch it, even if he can go in and out of her mind..." Volo was understandably frustrated; he really loved his imouto and he will go through the Reverse World and back if it meant keeping her safe and happy.

"For now, we must remain vigilant and protect her even in her sleep." Cogita then began to leave. "Come. They are about to head to bed soon. We have to be ready to give our assistance when they enter the cognitive realm..."

Volo nodded. "Right."

With that the two left the hall to head to their quarters as Melodia and Kyoko have already brought the other girls to bed, and, much too tired to fins another spare bed for Kyoko to sleep on, they all ended up on the deluxe sized bed and passed out as soon as their heads have hit the pillow.

Within the Mindscape

We now see the same castle layout from last time.

A small Melodia donned in her bandit attire was playing with a Munna and Deino out in the courtyard.

Her ears perked when she heard the bushes shake from behind.

Turning around, she yelped in surprise when she was suddenly tackled by a small Clover and Zinnia, who were both dressed similarly to Melodia, only with different colored Bandit outfits.

"EEK!" Melodia shrieked, before she began to laugh gleefully seeing two of her only human friends that live with her in the castle.

"Gotcha again, silly Melodia-chan!" Zinnia grinned cheekily before she held the girl's arms down.

"Punishment time~" Clover grinned deviously before spidering her hands along Melodia's sides.

"EEEPP!!!" She could only kick her feet as she was tickled relentlessly by the girl with twin braids. "Hee hee hee! Kyahahahahahahaha! Clover-chaaaann!! Stawp!!!"

Zinnia grinned deviously before blowing a raspberry onto the girl's stomach, making her squeal louder, before another voice, this one much more mature than the others.

"You three are getting quite loud over here." There stood a small Charm, though it was easy to see that she is the oldest in the group, both mentally and physically, making her the "Big Sister" of the group.

"You nearly attracted the attention of the guards," A younger Coin added, the second "oldest" if only by maturity standards. She is second in command to Charm in terms of being the older sibling.

"Sorry, onee-sans," Melodia was finally allowed to sit up as she apologized to Coin and Charm.

"Please be more careful, imouto," Charm cooed, placing a hand on Melodia's cheek.

"That aside," Coin added. "Mother Cogita said to meet her in the throneroom, as we have a new addition to the family."

Melodia's eyes lit up with excitement. "A new Pokemon?!"

Charm only shrugged. "We don't know. Big Bro Volo said to find you three first and then meet her in the throneroom."

"Must be really important if Volo-kun couldn't give us details..." Zinnia stated.

"Well what are we waiting for?" Clover barked, jumping to her feet with vigor. "We certainly won't be getting any answers sitting around asking questions. So let's go already!"

With that she began to dash away. "Last one there is a rotten Exeggcute!"

"You're on!" The others took the challenge, the four of them arriving to the throne room with haste.

They quieted down when they heard Mother Cogita clear her throat. She stood at the throne, her arm behind her back, as Grovyle and Absol stood on either side of her, almost like bodyguards of some sort.

"Hello there, dear children." She spoke in the same motherly yet soothing tone. "Allow me to introduce you to a new playmate."

Looking behind her, Cogita gently lead a girl with light purple hair out from hiding behind her, the four girls in front of her blinking as they saw her shy expression.

"H-hi... My name is Kyoko.... Please take care of me...."

AAAAANNNDDD SCENE!

Sorry not a whole lot here aside from giving Overhaul a "warning shot" of sorts courtesy of Melodia and Co.

I apologize for the spastic updates, I have been juggling laziness and my work life on top of my love life. Make of it what you will!

This is ArtVampire signing off!

Ja ne!