Chapter 500: Nicknames?
Kat tried to keep her ears out as they cut down the nearby rats, searching for any sound that might alert her to what was going on out of sight. Of course, with those headphones on, there really wasn't any chance of that tactic working. Kat realised this issue when she realised that she wasn't just not hearing anything in front of her. She couldn't hear anything at all, including her footsteps as she walked forward.
As Kat was casually stomping on another rat she asked, "Hey, do either of you guys have any good way to keep track of things nearby other than just using our eyes? I realised that because of the headphones we can't here. Well, we probably wouldn't be able to hear properly without them, but still…"
"I've got nothing I'm afraid," said Kamiko, "but I'm sure our eyes are more than good enough for the task. We have great vision and the lanterns won't let us dip into darkness even if that isn't too big of a deal for us."
"Speak for yourself" said Sue "some demons don't get night vision for free"
Kamiko shrugged, "I'm not even going to apologise for that one. It's a very common basic mutation for a demon to pick up. If it wasn't for the number of demons that don't use vision for their primary sense and the ones that get eyes that turn into flashlights, I'd say it's actually more common to be able to see in the dark"
Sue shrugged from the back but nobody was really looking at her to see. "I guess, it does kinda suck not having it though. It's one of the few things I am actually a little miffed about. I mean, I got over it, and it does mean that sense deprivation is actually an option for my vision, but never really had a good time to enjoy that. I doubt it's worth the night vision loss."
"Well…" said Kat not really sure how to answer that one.
"Well indeed," said Kamiko "I suppose I can see your point. You'll probably pick it up later though. It doesn't even normally take up your ability slot even if you do get it later."
"Bah" said Sue, "for you lucky ones that are already Rank 2 sure. I've been Rank 1 for half a decade at this point. It's not like I've got no hope of getting to Rank 2, but I doubt I'll get past 3. Rank 4 is practically a pipe dream, and that's not even thinking about Rank 5 or higher."
"You shouldn't take that attitude Sue" said Kamiko "There's a lot of research to suggest that believing yourself incapable, or desiring to remain at your current Rank can stifle your growth. I'd suggest trying to work on that, it'll probably help a lot."
"Yeah? What makes you say that shorty?" snarked Sue
"My mother is Nira, one of the Rank 5 medical researchers. She's looked into this."
Kat was surprised to hear the crash. Whipping her head around, she saw that when Kamio revealed this information Sue had tripped. It was clear she'd tried to recover and failed, before throwing her arms out in front of her. Her hands had collided with some blood though sending her face first into the dirt. Kat was beside her before a human could blink and carefully lifting her up.
"Um… thanks" said Sue really softly before carefully getting on her feet. Kat and Kamiko waited for a second to make sure she was fine before Sue gestured for them to continue. When they did, she also kept talking. "Also… um… sorry for being a bit snarky asking you that Kamiko. I mean… look I meant it but… I also didn't really think you'd have any reason to know, you know?
"I just… you don't… you don't really seem that interested in that sort of data… so I just assumed you'd heard from someone. Those… those sorts of rumours are common for people like me and… well… sometimes it's a little hard. I take enjoyment where I can but… it's hard to look to the future and wonder if you'll be weak forever."
*What.* Kat was nearly as surprised as Sue had been just before. Hearing her apologise sincerely. For the first time since Kat had met her. *Damn, this must be important information.* "It's no problem," said a smiling Kamiko, "I sort of know what you mean. Sometimes people say bad things that aren't true even though they can say them. Plus, these sorts of things are always a big worry for everyone."
"I'm still going to lay into you both though!" said Sue trying to regain a bit of her bluster. "Just because you've told me what might be the most important piece of information I've ever heard in my life doesn't mean you don't deserve to be taken down a few pegs!"
"Of course Sue" said Kat happily, smile clearly in her voice even while her back was turned to Sue.
"Yeah! I wouldn't have you any other way!" said Kamiko, mostly just happy to have more 'friends' or at least acquaintances. She was pretty sure after their checkers match Sue counted. She wasn't as great as Kat, and wasn't really best friend material, but there was something there… at least Kamiko thought so.
"Oh? Well, I need a better nickname for you then. Shorty is boring, and somewhat inaccurate. Sure, comparatively you're the smallest one here but you aren't actually that short for a Succubus. I can also tell your packing pretty decent heat under your robes. Dunno why you don't show that off, but I can't mock you for that either… hmm… this is going to require some thought…" said Sue
"Or you could just call her Kamiko, or maybe Kami? She's adorable no need to give her a derogatory nickname Sue" said Kat
"You ain't getting out of this either Legs. I'll figure something for the both of you just you wait. Plus, Kami is alright, but it's just shortening her name. It's lazy. You could just call her K at that point if you weren't also named with the same letter." Said Sue
"Legs?" asked Kat
"Look, it's all I got for the moment. You've probably got the best pair of the three of us, but I'm not quite sure if they're impressive enough on there own to carry that as a nickname. You're outfit is surprisingly good at keeping you covered even though it isn't that long… wait you actually want to keep yourself covered up?" said Sue, raising her voice at the end.
"I mean yes?" said Kat "Isn't that the point of clothing?"
Sue shook her head quickly before saying, "Nah nah nah, see, Succubi handle Demonic Attire slightly differently. It isn't just a convenient thing for us, it's a bigger part of our brand. I don't just wear leather straps for an outfit, I wear something that almost reveals everything but never does. It's actually part of my Attire that keeps it working like that. You however, seem to have gone the opposite way, with it keeping you as covered as it can without breaking physics too much"
Kat raised a confused eyebrow and shot a look to Kamiko as she slashed another rat in two. "I'm not sure Kat" said Kamiko "I've heard it said yes, but Mum hasn't tested it at all, and I wasn't really close enough with Aslena to ask if it was real or not before now"
*Ah yes… that… that makes sense I suppose.* Just as Kat thought that, they rounded the corner to a dead end.? Cursing internally Kat looked around but couldn't find any other exit. The path was… well not straight but there hadn't been any turns at all up to this point. The sudden dead end was a bit of the shock, the walls didn't narrow it just ended.
Right here, at this rather odd coloured patch of wall. Kat froze, looking at it more closely. The dead end was a darker shade then the wall, while that was mostly pale stone with some other colours mixed throughout the wall was much darker, closer to brown almost. It was also very uniform in colour now that she looked at the whole thing. It also had lin- Wait…
Kat took a careful step back and really looked at the whole dead end. Not just the wall itself but the edges of that wall. As soon as she did she spotted what was out of place. It was breathing. It wasn't a wall.
*Oh shit. That's one big rat.* Kat carefully walked backwards with her arms out letting the other two know that something was up. As soon as Kamiko saw this, she took another glance at the wall over Kat's shoulder and reached the same conclusion, arms out, carefully walking backwards.
Sue couldn't see in the dark properly and the lanterns had, at this point, left the 'dead end' behind so she wasn't quite in the loop. She did know, that neither Kat nor Kamiko were the type to play jokes on her, so she carefully stepped backwards making sure not to actually glance behind her lest that drop the shield around Kamiko. Things were getting serious, and while she wasn't really a fan. It likely had to be done.
Read latest chapters at f(r)eewebnov𝒆l Only