With crossed arms, Lyric reinstated her position next to him.

"Some show that was. I was right; you're no nobody."

"It's goin' in one ear and out the other, at this point."

The red fog from the Demon's appearance had completely dissipated now, leaving a calm and clear afternoon sky to take its place.

A small pitter-patter called for a look over his shoulder. That little boy practically slammed into his leg, doing his best to hug the life out of the Miscreant.

"That was so cool, mister!"

It'd been some time since Kyoya felt pride quite like this. The sun, the great blazing eye he'd always felt to be ridden with ire, now bestowed a bold warmth upon him.

"Hey, don't worry about it. It's what I do." He smiled, kneeling down to the child's height and exchanging a small fist bump. "If you really try, you might be able to get strong enough to do that when you get older."

A wide, toothy smile grew as the child nodded over and over.

"I will! I will!" After a few moments, his parents called him back over, and with one last starstruck cheer, he scrambled back to them.

Lyric, though, appeared to be off-put by this gesture.

"That was pretty cool, y'know. You didn't have to do that."

"Of course I did. We were all like him at one point... It's only right to return the favor."

Following a private thought, the girl spoke further.

"Well, with that outta the way..."

Kyoya took notice of her eyes falling upon something in front of them. He traced it, and eventually spotted Allison making her way toward the pair.

"I leave you two alone for two hours, and this is what I come back to? Why does the action always dodge me?"

She met Lyric in their signature handshake, Ryder shooting the Miscreant a look quickly afterward. "You really did a number on that Demon, hotshot. I bumped into it on my way back through the woods... Poor guy was pretty much beggin' me to keep some 'Blue Devil' away from him."

"So I've got a name with them? That's step one checked off," Kyoya chirped and flashed his smirk. He'd have to establish some sort of reputation among the enemy before anything else, and with that done, all that was left was to build on the name.

Thoughts soon flowed into ideas. "Blue Devil... It's got a ring to it."

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"Eyes up, blue-top." Ryder tapped his shoulder, bringing his attention back to them. She then looked to Lyric. "So, you really think this guy's got what it takes?"

"No doubt about it. I was on the ropes myself, till I saw this guy's fire. There's nobody else who's even come close."

By this point, Kyoya didn't trouble himself thinking about just what it was that they kept on about. She said it herself: it'll come naturally soon enough.

Ryder let a rather long sigh escape her.

"That mean you're gonna get your little plan started?"

The Seraph shared her friend's sigh.

"If I don't, nobody else will. I'd have to now more than ever, with someone like him finally popping up."

There were a great many things that she could have meant by that. All he could put together from her explanation was that there was something bigger on her mind. He wasn't in any position to decline the offer of accompanying her, whether from owing it, or from a latent desire to pursue whatever it was she seemed so adamant on following.

As he'd told himself so many times before, there was an overwhelmingly faint familiarity to all of this. It seemed that Lyric, at least to some extent, knew exactly the source of his instinct, but her refusal to share it was enough to keep him from pursuing the thought.

Of course, now he'd been presented with an opportunity to act on the promises he'd made to Reika and Guran. Denying it then would have been the exact opposite of what he'd set out into the real world for in the first place. He'd defeated his first Demon, encountered envoys of fate, gained new allies, and even saved lives—all in a single day.

If this was the way of life that he was to bring unto himself by believing his newfound accomplice, he hadn't a worry in the world.

"Well, does she have you hooked, newbie? 'Cause if you don't feel all that comfy taggin' up with her, I'm sure I could accommodate somebody like yourself..." Ryder crept to his side and looked him over once more.

"Alley!" Lyric stomped. "C'mon, really!?"

Ryder burst into laughter, clutching her stomach as though the uproar were too much.

"I'm kidding! Easy, now, Seraphim. Get a grip; I wouldn't do that to you."

"Yeah, yeah..." the Seraph pouted.

She looked at Kyoya again. "Still want to come along? I understand if you don't really—"

"Chill out, I already said yes. Just tell me where we're goin'—I'll follow."

Allison crossed her arms and grinned, offering her partner a thumbs up.

"'Atta gal. I told you you'd find yours."

"Will you shut up!?"

"Claim up and cool it, already. After I saw that little event, I went ahead and let Alexandria know she'd have a particular pair of visitors, here pretty soon," Ryder noted. "That said..."

A pause preluded her looking around, then continuing. "...I've got a lot more on my plate now that girly over here's found her golden ticket. Thank me later, rats. I'll catch you lot when I catch you."

Lyric didn't have time to yell again before the Hunter was off from where she came, and was forced to quell the rage on her own. She was doing an alright job, too, until bits of laughter from a Miscreant made her gaze fall upon him.

"What's so funny?"

He didn't say a word. "What!? Spit it out, already!"

"...Golden ticket, huh?" he snickered, only partly holding back the laugh now.

"For the love of... I'm gonna remember that."

"Oh, please, do. It'll make things more interesting, girly."

Kyoya seemed to have won this one. Of course, there'd be many more, but even the smallest victory was one he'd have to cherish.

"SHUT IT!"