Chapter 72

“You think she’ll let me take that cosplayer with me on my trip?” JJ asked as he and Henry waited in Strike Team Alpha’s meeting room. Emelia had sent the two of them there, via a rather confusing route, while she went off to make whatever calls she needed to make. JJ was still dressed in away team garb, though he had removed his mask, to snack on some sort of power bar he’d apparently brought with him. From the looks of it, it was cookies and cream flavored.

“Dude.” Henry sighed, shaking his head. His best friend had nearly died, and now was being sent off on some crazy mission to steal a sword from China. And all the Demon Hunter seemed to be thinking about, was bringing a hot girl with him.

“Look,” JJ said, still chewing. “It’s not just because I think she’s cute.”

“Oh?” Henry prodded, rising an eyebrow. He knew his best friend. That was totally the chase.

“Well, it’s not just that. And, it mainly isn’t that. Even though she is cute.”

“She doesn’t like short guys.” Henry cut in immediately. His friend had been through enough. Might as well save him that pain.

“Yeah yeah. But, maybe some one on one time could change that. Besides, she obviously loves anime. Power of friendship and all that mate. I’ll make her see past my height, and recognize my amazing powers.”

“I think you suffered brain damage from your fight.”

JJ snorted, nearly choking on his power bar. “You’re probably right. I got royally messed up. Probably the only reason I’m agreeing to such a crazy plan.” He sighed. “But really, I think it would benefit us both if she came with me.” His tone had shifted, and Henry prompted him to continue.

“Like, it’s obvious we aren’t going to be able to defeat the Old Ones by ourselves. We are going to need people to trust.”

“Yeah, I’ve been thinking about that.” Henry replied. He’d been thinking long and hard about who he could trust, and what type of team he could form. Granted, he doubted it would be enough, but they had to do something.

“Right. And while she seems completely oblivious at the moment, she’s got potential. If we can keep her from getting her rare D.E.D. killed off early on, I feel like she could prove a powerful ally. And if we can keep her from the clutches of the Exorcists for long enough, she may become someone we can rely on.”

Henry thought about that for a moment. It was painfully clear, the Exorcists were not a united front. Somewhere through time, they’d splintered, and humanity, he felt, had become second on their priority list. Emelia, at the very least, seemed completely devoted to the mission of keeping humans safe, but it was evident she was constantly having to walk a fine line. She was just as aware of the corruption as JJ was, and she was trying to battle the system from the inside. But, it was a battle she’d been losing. The death of JJ’s father was evidence enough of that.

So, if they could grow Cassie outside of the reaches of the corrupted exorcists, it could lead to another trustworthy ally. And if JJ thought she had potential, outside of just looking cute, so be it. Henry knew they’d need more than just the three of them, but it was a start. It was progress.

“Even if Emelia says you can take her with you, how are you going to convince her?” Henry asked.

JJ smirked. “Dude, she’s a cosplayer who loves anime.”

“And?” Henry replied, not quite following.

“I’ll offer to take her to Japan on the way there. China, Japan, come on, practically neighbors.”

There were some political and historical issues with that statement, and some gross generalization, but for the most part, JJ was right. It really wasn’t that much of a stretch, going from China to Japan, distance wise. And if JJ was confident, he had the resources and ability to sneak into China, and steal a national relic…then probably taking Cassie to Japan was child’s play. From his brief interaction with Cassie, Henry knew she would agree to it. Japan, plus the chance to get stronger. Oh yeah, no way was she saying no to that.

“Alright, I’ll help pitch the idea to Emelia for you.” Henry said after a moment. “And if need be, I can chat with Cassie about it. But you’re probably right. Dangling Japan and a chance to get stronger in front of her, is too much.” Henry let out a sigh and looked at his best friend with a half-cocked smile. “But, maybe try to keep a lower profile about your whole Demon Hunter existence and hate for the Exorcists? We’re trying to form a team here. Cooperation and trust are key.”

JJ snorted. “Skepticism is important for trust.”

“Asshole. Her brother’s an exorcist you know.”

“Yeah yeah. I’ll keep my qualms to a minimum. But I’ll make sure she doesn’t drink the kool-aid man. Besides, I’m sure her brother isn’t anyone we have to worry about. Doubt a B ranker who prefers to collect D.E.D. is of any interest to anyone anyways.”

“That’s… a bit harsh, don’t you think?” Henry still wasn’t sure how he felt about the fact Cassie’s brother had given him a rather volatile and dangerous D.E.D., without warning him, but still, the guy didn’t seem evil. Plus, the Chimera, for the most part, was managed now. So it hadn’t been a loss on Henry’s side. JJ was probably right though, because her brother was capped out based on his low resonation tier, it was likely all he served as, was a foot soldier in the scheme of things.

JJ cocked his head towards the door, pausing with his power bar to his mouth, and shot Henry a look. Without saying anything, his mask was back on, and he turned, waiting patiently, as the door slid open. Henry, had been expecting Emelia, but the form that walked into the room, was definitely not the director. Instead, it was someone he’d not seen in a rather long time.

The figure said, completely obscured in dark robes, his mask, the first ever mask Henry had seen. The unique, one-of-a-kind mask, that the strongest Exorcist he’d ever met, wore.

“Loki?” Henry half said, half asked. As far as he knew, Loki was gone. Sent away on a mission. What was he doing here?

“More or less.” The figure said, the masked voice the same as Henry remembered it. “I’ve not much time, so I’ll be brief.” He continued, only half glancing in JJ’s direction. “Please, do your best to actually listen, and heed my advice for once, yeah?” The masked figure chuckled. “Since obviously you didn’t pay attention to my instructions on keeping a low profile. This time around though,” the voice grew more serious, “I’m serious. If you don’t listen to me here and now, you will fail.”