Gap Demon

Part 9 - Can Rats and Demons reaaally be friends?

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( Part 9: 07:39 Am - Z-City )

 

“ I see… you're quite serious about wanting my cooperation, Ms.Raty Doe. ” - Sitting on top of one of the foldable chairs they found in the supermarket while sipping a box of Apple juice, Yukari smiles watching the one sitting with her legs crossed In front of her.

 

‘ So, Zhu Yuan, Seth Lowell, and Qingyi…. Those are all of her close colleagues from the Criminal Investigation Special Response Team. Heh, even though it's a mouthful name. It does align perfectly well with what I remember. ‘

 

Also drinking a juice of her own, Jane Doe nods leisurely. She had been answering the questions the Youkai posed, one after another.

 

And each time she did the blonde visibly relaxed further, it was Jane’s reassurance that her point was getting across. 

 

The woman in front of her seemed to know the whole truth behind everything she had been saying, as well as whom she worked with.

 

So she stole one from the book of a certain cat coworker of hers and went full honest about anything that was inquired about. Where she worked, who she worked with, what she was sent here to do, what juice she liked the most, etc.

 

The last one was a question that came out of nowhere, taking Jane off guard at first as she answered, and a box of it dropped from a gap into her hands.

 

Yukari laughed at the mission the secret officer was given, Jane even followed, adding that the mission was stupid, to begin with.

 

As they went further in their interrogation, the blonde never touched upon her past, which the rat woman was grateful for. 

 

Well…

 

That was what she thought until at some point Yukari closed one eye as if in deep thought before questioning if the rat might also bear a past she wished to forget or be brought up.

 

It was a question that even forced Jane to straighten her back a little.

 

After giving a sigh and reluctant nod, Yukari shrugged, letting go of that part. 

 

There was no fun in making someone sad or potentially depressed. And so she said she wouldn't touch on that and asked for the info they had about the whole ant infestation situation.

 

For a moment, the rat’s ears did twitch a bit at the thought of the Youkai thinking of her as someone she could relate to. More so, feeling a sense they might have a lot in common more than she had first thought.

 

Just from her tone alone, Jane could tell Yukari had a bore a heft past behind herself as well.

 

So maybe comradeship was viable at the end of the day!

 

Their way of going about things further showed to be quite similar as well, all chances Yukari had she would poke fun at the rat, making fun of the same or striking subtle jokes.

 

Jane didn't fall behind, as she did so the same. Although in a more limited manner, since she wasn't in the position to act as if the one sitting alongside her was a great friend who would indulge in all her mischievous behavior.

 

The small jabs Yukari received did amuse her to a great degree, even with such a large gap in their strength levels and the situation they found themselves in, this rat still stood her ground.

 

At this point, it was not something to do with power, but the fact that the blonde found Jane simply fun to deal with in this small amount of time they have been interacting with one another.

 

Though on one side she was displaying her supposed ‘real’ emotions visibly a large portion of the time just so the rat could make her own conclusions, on the other side Jane was taking just about every hint she could get and translating to take any advantage of it.

 

Two heads who thought of how to make use of all situations they found themselves in, although the gap opening Youkai had won their little mental battle as Jane was taking all hints she threw like a rat eating the that was cheese was clung into a trap.

 

Finishing her box of juice before tossing it into a gap that led directly onto a trash bin, the blonde stood up, spinning her umbrella in place before taking a few steps closer to Jane. The other party remained sitting, just watching what was about to happen.

 

Not seeing even the slight display of tenseness, Yukari smiles, this time a more joyous expression, distinct from her usual playful ones. - “ I will give you guys a hand in whatever your needs may be.”

 

Those words broke Jane’s character for a brief moment, causing her to let out a small joyful smile before she put on her usual flirtatious face.

 

Before she stood up, though, Yukari tapped her fan by the rat’s nose, keeping her sat down. Their eyes met, and this time the blonde’s violet eyes shined menacingly. - “ Take it as my token of trust in you, Jane. But, just as trust can be fostered, it can be destroyed just as easily. So remember that~  ”

 

The coldness in her tone spoke more than a million words, if the other party betrayed this small show of trust, she could be expected to maybe face the same gruesome end as the ant she saw a few minutes ago that lying on the ground halved by the torso.

 

Eyes somewhat glistening, Jane shared a characteristic confident smile. - “ Don't worry. Quite the opposite from what rats are known for, I'm certainly not a snitch.”

 

Saying that got her new friend to break out of the serious gaze a bit and almost let out a loud chuckle. Quick to catch herself back up, the blonde shook her head, already taking a liking to her new rat friend.

 

Pulling her fan away from the other's face, allowing Jane to move however, she wanted once more before reaching her hand inside a gap. Yukari pulls out a purple smartphone she totally didn't steal from a tech store.

 

 “ I'll lend you my number, as a reassuring matter of fact, again, I hope you will follow your pledge truthfully, Jane. “

 

Pulling her contact list open, Yukari kinda expected the other party to try to find a way to track it so they would be able to meet again sooner.

 

The fact was, they couldn't track her if they had her smartphone data/number…. The reason? Well, because she usually stored the device in her gaps.

 

Hurriedly reaching into her back pocket, Jane brought out a phone resembling a pink Motorola Flipout, it was very likely to have some type of technology that made it untraceable.

 

Standing up and making a salutation jokingly, the rat earnestly awaited to type in the number while repeatedly tapping her phone’s screen rhythmically.

 

“ Again, you worry too much… Hmm… Now that I think about it, you're the only one calling me by my ‘name’ so far…. What do I put as your contact nickname? Gap Demon? Or perhaps another alias? ” 

 

Smirking, the blonde thinks while tapping her chin. Thoughtful, she should tell her, but in the end, there was no bad in doing so.

 

If someone from PubSec called her name the next time she met them, she knew who the culprit was, and that Jane had reported all the info she got back. They might have other ways, though, so she wouldn't be quick to judge if that ever happened.

 

But still, she hoped the rat wouldn't be so stupid.

 

Pointing her closed fan at Jane, the rat got her so anticipated answer from the smiling Youkai.

 

“ Yukari, Yukari Yakumo. Set that as my nickname, now as for the number….” - Speaking it out loud, Jane made absolutely sure not to miss any number until she finally saved the contact.

 

Once she did, in her Inter-Knot section of contacts the picture of the front part of the train having an edit of an ‘OWO’ face on it appeared, the contact was labeled ‘ Yukari-Chan ‘. 

 

That nickname and profile picture was Jane’s clue to maybe strike a joke.

 

But some things in life are better to leave untouched. The aura behind her new friend’s profile was one of them.

 

“ Yukari! So that's your name, calling you that weird name they gave you at PubSec never felt right. But I do hope we can meet on better terms than a city going upside down with an ant infestation.”

 

Sighing now that her mission was completed in a way, she still had to deal with the remaining bugs that were across Z-City.

 

She had already done quick math, and going at their current pace: PubSec, Heroes, and Yukari all working to end them across Z-City, they would most likely be done with all these mutated bugs by around 11 am to 12 pm.

 

She wholeheartedly expected to be right, this night and morning have been quite tiring so far.

 

Seeing her focus shift to the current situation, Yukari snapped her fan open. Opening a gap right beside herself, its length and width were perfect for Jane.

 

“ It's connected to the section I explored very little of for a bunch of reasons, there's also a PubSec group settled a kilometer or so towards the south of where this gap is connected to.“

 

As per usual, she hid her lower face under that fan after explaining where the portal led to, it left Jane speechless. She recognized the place on the other side, it would've taken her almost an hour of nonstop dashing like crazy to get there by foot.

 

Not refusing the free ride, the rat made her way towards it while smiling. Her hands held forward and her tail wagged back and forth.

 

Arriving in front of the gap and Yukari. Jane was taken by surprise when a smaller gap opened barely above her hands, and from it fell her set of knives.

 

The not-so-demon made sure they would fall sideways to not just cut the owner.

 

“ Take them, I'm pretty convinced you'll need them. “ - Forcing the wider gap to move forward, consuming Jane whole and forcefully teleporting the rat away before it shut tightly, Yukari laughed for a short moment following the action.

 

“ Her face is quite cute when she's surprised, I bet she never expected me to give her those back. What a cute little rat~ “ 

 

Grabbing another box of juice, and then just proceeded to shove the entire fridge inside her gaps. Yukari made her way towards the market exit before entering yet another gap Midway through her stroll, disappearing to yet another corner of Z-City.

 

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Having been forcefully teleported to the top of a store building without having the chance to thank her mysterious new friend, Jane looked around whilst storing away her knives.

 

“ What a hasty woman you are, Yukari. Didn't even let me say goodbye, huh~. “ - Leaving the Gap Demon affairs aside for now, she immediately began to swiftly move across the buildings while checking any noises or bug-like scents she could pick on.

 

The rat had a long day of work ahead, but she still made quite the acquaintance that might be the equivalent of a highly-ranked S-Class hero.

 

Having one similar to those monsters as a friend, and possibly sharing a lot in common with her…. She truly struck big this time!

 

Now all she needed to do was make sure she didn't screw this up, and the both of them might be grabbing a few drinks and chatting like old friends soon enough.

 

Then the chance to ask if Yukari would like to enter PubSec to be her partner would arrive! Being able to teleport whatever she wished to would be deadly beyond imagination.

 

‘ Just you wait, Yukari Yakumo. I'll make sure to have you on our side. ‘

 

Today's meeting with the blonde woman had put quite a lot in Jane’s mind, mostly the drill of having someone just like herself appear.

 

 It caused the rat woman to even lick her lips in anticipation.

 

Hell, in her eyes, the other party was even more cunning than herself.