The Red Hand

Chapter 299 – The Stowaway.

"It looks like your preparations are going well, little kitty." Silfana said as she sat at a small table sipping tea. "You've built up quite the base here, in a remarkably short time no less." With the modular buildings, a simple yet robust base was nearly complete, though Silfana thought that its very angular and square appearance left a lot to be desired.

{This place is far too boring. Hopefully we can capture something a bit nicer, say a Royal Palace or two.} (Silfana)

"Myaster wanted us to move into the intelligence gathering phase quickly, nah." Chloe was leaning against the wall while reading off some kind of tablet. "I've already got a team moving toward Targul, with another prepping for the Holy City, nya." Her eyes scanned over the information on her tablet as she used her finger to move the screen up and down. "This world is a lot like ours... Gods, Kings, Heroes... It's strange, nya."

{Its kind of like being back home again.} (Chloe)

"Well, Mizumi did say that our world was made by blending together her own world and that of Earth's humans' imagination." Silfana said as she bit into a frosted cookie. "So it's only natural that we'd see a few similarities. Though I must say that having a bit of familiarly for a change is a breath of fresh air." The Vampire was far more at home in this sort of world than on Earth.

"Still..." Chloe put the tablet down on a table that was at her side. "It worries me. Gods... Gods can be dangerous."

"Are you worried about Akagi?" Silfana asked. "She seemed confident that the Gods were of no threat to her, and I'm inclined to believe that assessment."

{If she wasn't strong enough as it is, that blade of hers only increased her threat level by an order of magnitude. I have no idea how serious her claims about its power were, but if It can even do half of that, then Akagi has truly broken beyond my wildest expectations.} (Silfana)

"Its not myaster that I'm worried about..." Chloe shook her head. "Myaster can't be everywhere at once, and if we have to face the Gods ourselves... That might be a problem." She was well aware that no matter how powerful she was, compared to Gods, she was nothing.

"True." Silfana nodded as she stood up and looked out a nearby window into the courtyard. "But you forget, Gods are not always the smartest bunch. Not to mention that they're not the kinds to get their hands dirty unless things truly get desperate." She could only recall one instance from FWO's history where Gods were said to have descended in their full glory, and that was within the old tales of the Demon Lord. "Our most likely opponents will be the lackeys of one of those Gods, and I think we'll be able to handle them." She said while watching the different Dumetor Clansmen continued to expand the base and assemble yet more modular buildings.

*KNOCK* *KNOCK* *KNOCK*

"Come in, nya." Chloe powered down the tablet as the door opened to reveal a familiar face.

“There you are.” Nima said as she closed the door behind her.

"Nima!" Chloe ran over to her friend. "You're late, nya!" She scratched her fellow catgirl's ears.

{They're good, but not as good as myasters!} (Chloe)

"Well, somebody had to clean up after the mess you made." Nima pushed Chloe's hand away. "You lot just had to take down the government while I needed to finish all the important discussions with the rest of the coalition." She sighed. "Being a field agent is such a simple life. I envy your need to have one working brain cell..."

"That a member of the Ondai clan could actually sit still long enough to have meaningful negotiations still baffles me." Silfana laughed, knowing well just how rambunctious their lot could be. "I figured that your kind was only good for ending lives, but I guess a few exceptions exist every now and again." She was initially surprised when Akagi told her that the Chief Diplomat of Dumetor was a former Ondai Assassin. Ordinarily, discussions and negotiations with that clan were done on a limited basis, and even its leaders weren't interested in lengthy discussions.

"Nima is an egghead, nya." Chloe snickered. "She was always like this, and even when we were kids, she'd cry about having to do field work." She laughed even as Nima held a hidden blade to her neck. "Awww. Just like old times, nya."

"I simply enjoy a different kind of take down than you idiots." Nima grinned as she withdrew her blade. "Your methods are crude and barbaric, while mine are far more sophisticated." She was adept in using Ondai assassination techniques, but she preferred using her silver tongue to defeat people instead.

"There is a time and place for both." Silfana commented as she poured more tea. "Sometimes a slow and methodical method is best, and sometimes brute force is optimal." She sat back in her chair. "Right now, Akagi wants us to secure the enslaved Spirits, and while strike teams would be effective at getting some of them out safely, you have to know that there are likely far too many for your small team, kitty."

“I'm sure we'll manage.” Chloe shrugged, not seeing the issue if some died.

"The Ondai clan are assassins, Chloe. But that doesn't mean force is the only method we have to achieve our goals." Nima rolled her eyes. "If I can free up our people to do other things then there's less risk of something going wrong due to you being spread out." She didn't like the idea of the ninja being sent all across the continent like this, but it was a necessary risk.

{I just hope we don't run into any unforeseen issues. This isn't entirely new territory, but the risks are much high with Gods actively involved.} (Nima)

"I know that, nya." Chloe puffed out her cheeks. "I just don't like to sit around. I'd rather be destroying the people that made myaster angry, nya."

"Don't worry, you'll get what you want." Silfana said as she drank her tea. "I have no doubt that it will take a show of force to convince these fools that we're not to be taken lightly. That's how this always works." She had to do something similar during her ascent.

"Speaking of our first target, how is the infiltration of the Demon Capital going?" Nima asked.

"I sent a team of six led by Nemino to handle it, nya." Chloe explained how she'd split up their forces. "They're going to get a feel for the situation and sus out whether it's safe enough to send you in for a meeting with their leaders." Though she suspected that it would take quite a bit of 'bribery' and a heaping helping of threats just to get their foot in the door.

"Can you contact them? I'd like to see if they have anything to report yet, and I have a few things I need them to do." Nima asked, and Chloe walked over to a set of what looked like walkie-talkies that were placed on a small desk with I.D. numbers on each.

"Here, nya." Chloe picked up one and clicked a button on the side. Unlike regular walkie-talkies that relied on radio waves, these could use magic for longer distances and could easily connect people from across the continent.

"This is Big Kitty. Come in, nya." Chloe spoke into the receiver.

"Big Kitty?!?" Silfana nearly spit out her tea as she heard that callsign.

{That's fucking great!} (Silfana)

"Chloe has a very... bad naming sense." Nima sighed, recalling the horrible names that Chloe used to give to her pets in the past. "She even called that tsuchinoko Mr. Noodle..."

"He is best boy! Don't you dare insult Mr. Noodle's proud name!" Chloe hissed as the radio crackled.

_____________________________________________________________________________

<Nemino POV>

On the lower streets of the Demon Capital of Targul, two hooded figures walked along the main street. It was only sparsely populated at the moment, and due to the light rain, most people had packed up and went indoors, giving off the feeling of a ghost town.

"This is Big Kitty. Come in, nya." Chloe's voice came through the radio, and after finding a more appropriate place, he and his partner ducked into a nearby alleyway.

"This is Black Rabbit, over." Nemino spoke quietly, hoping that nobody would notice them.

"Oh goodie, you're not dead, over." Chloe laughed, which made Nemino roll his eyes.

"Is she really your leader if she acts like this on a mission?" The woman that he was with spoke up, and as the sun pierced through a cloud it showed that it was Shimari rather than one of the Ondai ninja.

"Chloe is a pain in the ass, but she's good at what she does." Nemino whispered to her before speaking into the radio. "We're currently on a mission, do you need something, over?"

{Please don't just call to aggravate me...} (Nemino)

"We both know that you're just spending lovey-dovey time with your new girlfriend." Nima's voice came through. "I hope you got permission to bring her from master."

"I... Uh..." Nemino hadn't and knew that he'd probably get yelled at later, though in reality there was no way that Akagi didn't know since she kept close tabs on all activity within the clan. "You didn't say over after you were done, please do that from now on."

"I'm going to take your deflection as a no, over." Nima sighed. "Just know that if your little puppy messes things up that nobody is coming to your rescue when master lays down the law, over."

"We'll be fine. You do remember that Shimari is more powerful than me, right? Over." Nemino sighed as Shimari grabbed onto his arm. "Don't worry, she's just worried about you is all. But you really didn't need to come with. I would've been fine."

"I wasn't just going to let my boyfriend go off to war on his own!" Shimari nearly shouted.

"We've only been dating for a few weeks." Nemino pat her on the head. “So you don't need to be-”

"It doesn't matter!" Shimari puffed out her cheeks.

{I'm not going to let somebody I love go off to a dangerous place while I sit around and do nothing! Especially when I can protect him!} (Shimari)

"Well, just do me a favor and don't forget why you're out there. You can take Shimari to a love hotel later, but right now I've got a job for you, over." As Nima spoke, Nemino could faintly hear Silfana laughing in the background.

"..." Shimari stood in silence, her cheeks flushed red.

"What do you need, over?" Nemino asked what was going on, and Nima filled him in on the details of her plans, which caused the ninja's lips to curl into a nasty smile. Something that made Shimari think her bunny boyfriend looked even cuter.