The Anime Trope System: Stone vs. Viper, #9 a LitRPG (ATS) Read online

  Chika sprinted toward them. Alice tilted her head. Were they old acquaintances of the silver-haired girl? And what were these humans about to do, anyway? Then she really took notice of the electric guitars and speakers. Another girl, one with white-blue hair set up drums.

  Alice was intrigued.

  **

  Downtown Lot City…

  On the way home, Clyde asked the system about his chaotic companions, just so he didn’t accidentally grin idiotically when thinking about Harumi. She was actually happy. His first slip up, but not mistake.

  He was almost a billionaire, so financial support bore no problems. Being a parent on the other hand…well, he’d have to learn before the time came. He’d aim to be a better parent than his own, although they were good people. They would be pleased with his goal of surpassing them.

  Fuck, Clyde really did slip, not that it should be a surprise. If one didn’t practice safe sex, consequences awaited. Responsibilities must be respected.

  The system answered Clyde’s query.

  [Whether you voiced them or not, there may be promises made to your chaotic companions that they’d expect fulfilled. Chika, your first, was to allow loss of control after the demon lord fell. You’ve fulfilled that multiple times over without knowing it. Ruri didn’t have a vocal promise, but the request to join Team Stone served as acceptable. Kanako is bound by a contract. Naoko is to be your teacher. Keep in mind that in the future, promises could become far more intense and complicated.]

  [Chaotic companions have special abilities that could change the tides of battle. Outside of battle, it is always recommended to keep improving your relationship with them.]

  As Clyde turned the corner of the Twenty-third street, he took notice of an enormous crowd that wasn’t there two hours ago. The music thrummed through the air, people moved to the beat, cheered or even danced. A daylight free concert? When he was into the mix, he finally caught sight of the performers on a somewhat makeshift stage.

  Chika skillfully rocked an electric guitar, while singing, two other young women at her side, appealing to the crowd. The drummer in the back made the young man’s bones vibrate. He realized this level of skill and sync was insanely good.

  He recalled the first time Chika came over to his apartment. This was her old garage band.

  “That’s hot,” he said softly.

  Chika noticed the young man and sang right at him. Clyde tried to blend into the crowd, but they parted, giving him no escape. He was close enough to the stage that she walked over, lyrics pouring from her mouth as if she’d been an idol her entire life. She sure had the skills in Clyde’s opinion.

  The black skirt she currently wore matched the metal theme, along with her current hairstyle: twin tails.

  Clyde took noticed that others such as Alice, Tear, Melody, and even the brat was in the crowd. He didn’t see Harumi, Yuki, nor her servants. He didn’t care if they had a girl’s day out, but sheesh, no invite?

  No, this didn’t seem like a planned event. Then again, maybe Chika invited a select few? Obviously not. There was no mention of this nor practicing before or after the inquisition attack. This wasn’t the idol trope…

  Clyde gave up on the thought and just enjoyed himself. After the concert ended, he walked over to Chika. The douche thing to do, which occurred in some idol-boyfriend tropes, would be to leave without acknowledging the idol or singer girlfriend. Sometimes that led into bad scenes and worst of all: netorare. Clyde was truly thankful that NTR avoided him like a rotten plague. Somehow, he felt completely immune to it.

  “Chika, that was so bad ass,” Clyde said as he pulled her into a hug. She smelled amazing as usual.

  “Really?” she said. “I…felt a little rusty.”

  “You call that rusty?” Clyde said.

  “That was amazing!” Alice agreed, approaching the duo. She also hugged Chika. “I didn’t know you were in a band?”

  “They’re old friends of mine,” the silver-haired girl. “I took the college route and they went on and got famous.”

  “Don’t sell yourself short,” one of Chika’s old friends said. A woman with spiky blonde, Final Fantasy -style hair, said. “Making top student and maintaining it. There are tons of companies trying to hire you for executive positions.”

  Chika giggled.

  “Too bad I’ve got quite the surprise for them.”

  After Chika said her goodbyes to her friends, Clyde and Team Stone headed home. Nobody brought up some of the problems of Post-inquisitor Lot City. It felt a little unsettling that no one remembered the attack. And the amount of memorial photos… The civilians weren’t piecing anything together.

  **

  Yusuke awoke from an unpleasant nap. In the dream, he arrived home from school, only to catch some random guy ravishing the hell out of Undine. As if things couldn’t get any worse, he blew his load in her. Damn that Ruri, lending him a manga that turned out to be chockful of bullshit. She didn’t even want it back, claiming that she couldn’t get past chapter eleven. Well no fucking wonder, it was when the cheating first began. Hellhounds mated for life and had no concept of the genre, but that didn’t mean pass the damn atrocious work to him!

  Yusuke sighed. He noticed Undine wasn’t there, more than likely in the main room or off shopping. He figured he do some self-training, increase the power of his ninja arts, and learn new skills. The young man did not want a repeat of the inquisition again. Maybe he could create an art that would impress even Harumi, his most outspoken critic.

  He hoped that she’d forgive him one day. He didn’t mean to put the team in danger.

  Yusuke half-expected his dream to be a premonition, but when he walked into the living room, Undine was there, watching her favorite soap opera, while munching on a bowl of popcorn. One would expect for him to get mad, call her a freeloader, but in truth, Undine was rich. The house belonged to her. She even revealed a trap door that led to an old safe which contained ancient gold, jewelry, and incredibly rare objects, each worth a fortune. She bought everything using her own money.

  Undine gave the young man a warm smile.

  “Natoree! Come here,” a man on the TV shouted. He witnessed the woman he loved dive into another man’s arms, and they kissed wildly.

  Undine gasped.

  “That came out of nowhere. Poor Gaston. Such a good, hardworking man. Betrayed. She knew the new man for only fifteen minutes.”

  Yusuke shook his head.

  “I’m headed outside to practice some ninja arts.”

  Undine’s face lit up.

  “So you’re finally going to train the power I gave you.”

  “Natoree, you bitch! You traitorous wench!” Gaston cried.

  “Ugh, I lost interest in this. So I’ll help you train,” Undine said. “Sazuki should be over in a few.”

  Sazuki today of all days, Yusuke thought. He wasn’t in the mood for guests, especially after the inquisition attack. And the petrification…He shuddered.

  He knew of their training of course and how they became friends. Sazuki accepted the woman and more. Surprising for the ice queen. And no lectures.

  The knock on the door was most likely her.

  Episode 49 (Part 5)

  Strongly Guarded Throne Room…

  Lilith was actually having withdrawal symptoms. What did that warrior do to her? She tried to mimic the way he moved with his sword, but…he…was just too fast! Too fast for HER eyes to detect. Someone like that, avenging an entire city by himself. The inquisition could make even deities, at least of the mid-tier, think twice before engaging. They were created to be her ultimate enforcers. Taken down with one attack… The ultimate symbol.

  Lilith clapped twice. A guard answered her call, entering the room slowly.

  “How could I be of use to you, Imperial Majesty?”

  “I want you to send a message to the Queen of Hearts for me,” Lilith said. “I may need that Jabberwock sooner than I thought. Tell her to join me for some tea.”

>   The guard bowed.

  “As my Imperial Majesty ordered, it shall be done!”

  **

  Clyde’s house…

  The smell of perfect steak massaged Clyde’s nose as he entered his house. Ruri’s tail began to wag, but suddenly she growled. The young man blinked. He followed her as she hurried down the hall only to stop right in front of a…white tail that stuck out a few inches from beneath his door. The hellhound princess was seconds away from stomping the shit out of it, but the young man placed a hand in front of her. As a great man with a dragon familiar once said, “don’t start shit, won’t be shit .”

  He opened the door to see a cat girl, peacefully napping on his floor. Long white hair, cat ears and cat tail accompanied a slender frame.

  Alice groaned as she walked into the room.

  “Did you call for the cat?”

  “We should toss her in a box and ship her home while she’s asleep,” Ruri said. Alice patted her on the shoulder.

  “Or send her on a boat to some unmarked island in the middle of the ocean.”

  Clyde chuckled, then knelt down to Neko’s side. He couldn’t resist playing with her ears. Ruri glared at him.

  “You could play with mine, you know,” she said. “And a head rub or two. You know it’s how you treat a lady.”

  Clyde couldn’t stop himself. Something about Neko’s ears brought a sense of kid-like, amusement to him. However, when he squeezed the catgirl’s tail, she let out a short moan. Blue eyes gazed into his own. Clyde realized he still held the young woman’s tail when she purred. Ruri harrumphed then stormed out of the room muttering something about skinning cats.

  “Nya, I’m not sure how I feel about a public show.”

  Clyde shot Neko a blank stare.

  “It’s good to see you too.”

  The catgirl leapt up into his arms, delivering the young man a flowery scent.

  “Nyann. I’m so glad everyone’s safe. Yuki told me what happened yesterday. Nyasty inquisitors, no one likes ‘em.”

  She pulled back, still straddling the young man. She licked his face.

  “You have gotten ridiculously stronger. Nya, you better not be taking lewdnoids. I heard it’s nyaaaa-sty stuff.”

  Clyde laughed.

  “I don’t even know what those are. I’ve increased my level with old-fashioned training.”

  “It’s not about power level, nya,” Neko said. “It’s all about your techniques, team, and how you apply yourself during battle. Of course I don’t need to tell you that, since you were smart enough to always have a large team to gang up on one foe. Or Stone mode.”

  “What brings you here, cat?” Alice said. She barely got the words out before Neko anime-dove into her for the hug, snuggling against the half-demoness’s face. “Get off me you stupid cat.”

  “Nya, Lady Alice, you’re as lovely as always.”

  One thing that Clyde noticed was that Neko never, ever licked anyone else’s face. This was the first time he’d seen her show any kind of affection to the others, though doubted it’d go beyond the hugging.

  “How long will you be with us?” Clyde asked.

  “I’ve got a few days off, but I am permitted to go as long as you need me,” Neko said as Alice wiggled out of her embrace. “Besides, Gram Gram sensed that you required us.”

  “Us?” Alice said.

  “My sister Ako is here,” Neko said. “Yuki showed her to her room so she can go be a boring samurai all by her lonesome. Try not to go in there or sneak up on her. She’ll gut you like a fish.”

  “A samurai catgirl,” Clyde said, laughing a little. “Now I’m kind of curious.”

  “Curiosity always killed the cat,” Alice said, almost with a dangerous gleam in her eye. Of course, that washed over Neko, unaffected even by questionable threats or hints.

  “Are you hungry?” Clyde said to the catgirl, changing the subject.

  “Nya, sure am.”

  “Then let’s go have what is probably going to be the best-tasting steak in our lives,” Clyde told her. “Let’s go Alice. And stop pretending to hate Neko.”

  “I’m not pretending,” the half-demoness folded her arms and harrumphed. The twin tails only enhanced the tsundere effect. The young man wiped away the tiny nosebleed.

  “Yeah, yeah, don’t go all tsundere on me,” Clyde said. He kissed her. Alice melted in it. This restored her mood. The young man thought for a second. Was she mad about something? He decided not to worry about it.

  When he entered the living room, Naoko nodded to him.

  “Good afternoon, onii-chan. Who’s she?”

  Natalia almost appeared out of nowhere to hop on Clyde’s shoulders.

  “This is Neko, a friend of Team Stone’s,” Clyde said.

  “Nya, I don’t usually see elves in the human nations,” Neko said then froze. “Nyyyaa, you’re definitely no elf. I smell holy. Are you an entity?”

  “I am Naoko, his teacher.”

  “No, I’m his teacher,” Natalia said. “No one’s calling me an assistant. The nerve of her. Tell her pervy-nii, I’m not some dimwitted intern. In fact, I’ll prove it! Tomorrow, you’ll be surprised.” She hopped off Clyde’s shoulder’s and hurried off in the back. A half minute later, there was mini-chaos.

  “Waah! Onii-chan, help!”

  In a mad dash, Natalia dove into Clyde. A catgirl, dressed in a short kimono emerged from the hall. Long beige hair fell to her back, accompanied by cat ears. She also had a cat tail. The young man tried to keep his eyes off them, but the breasts were as big as Harumi’s. Neko’s sister…wow. The white-haired catgirl was nowhere near flat, above average, but Ako seemed to have gotten the better genes from her family. Clyde almost laughed at the subjective thought.

  “So, you are him,” Ako said.

  “She’s scary,” Natalia said. “Save me pervy-nii.”

  Ako’s eye twitched, but she remained composed, holding out a hand.

  “I’m Ako. It is an honor to meet you, Stone.”

  “I’m Clyde.”

  “Clyde,” Ako said, as if testing the word on her tongue. She had an air of dignity about her that made her sort of majestic or maybe like a queen. “Nya. Why do you have so many women in your living quarters.” Everyone nearly fell backward. Of all the things to ask… The catgirl continued. “It is tradition that the Stone could have his way with the Stone Maidens or observers, so that he isn’t clouded by enemy temptation during trial.” She looked around. “I suppose it is far too late for that.”

  “She’s serious, isn’t she?” Airi said. Harumi was already holding her curious friend back—no one who knew the purple-haired woman could miss the stars in those eyes. “Oh come on, just one question.”

  Ako sat on the couch, just an arm’s length away from Melody. Clyde half-expected her to take the floor. Samurai anime girls, sometimes even the ninjas, took their duties far too seriously.

  “I thank you for your hospitality,” Ako said. “Nya.” Even the way she made the cat sound had a trace of dignity in it.

  “You’re welcome,” Clyde said. Scary? Natalia exaggerated quite a bit. Ako continued.

  “If you come to ravish me tonight, please knock twice so that I can prepare, nya.”

  Everyone fell backward. “Anyone else that intrudes without permission, may suffer injuries. Don’t take it personal. It is training in—”

  Neko whacked Ako on the head with a paper fan. The entire room grew silent, surprised that just happened.

  “Nya, no threats or traps. Clyde’s place of power is considered holy grounds, anyway,” Neko lectured.

  Ako gasped.

  “You’re right. I’ve acted completely out of line. I shall commit seppuku to correct my mistakes.”

  “No!” the room shouted the moment she pulled out a dagger. Neko snatched it away.

  “Nyyaa, why did Gram Gram insist on raising you like this.”

  “It is you who do not follow our family’s traditions, nya,” Ako said, her voice t
aking on a tone of reminder.

  “Nya, I do, just not the unnecessary samurai stuff attached with it,” Neko said. “An observer’s job is hard enough. Do you know how many times I’ve almost died.”

  While the two sisters continued to bicker, Clyde joined Yuki in the dining room. Her minions were setting up the table, both dressed in maid outfits.

  “After today, I’d better not hear anything about eating out,” the demoness said. “I’ll outmatch them all.”

  Clyde chuckled.

  “Without a doubt.” He took a seat. “Sometimes it’s nearly impossible to give you the day off.”

  Yuki smirked, taking a seat in his lap. The boner shot into maximum overdrive. He thought about learning to control it, but the women loved the tease. Especially Alice. The half-demoness often drove him to the edge of release and then pulled away. Repeat.

  “Harumi’s really cheery today. What did you do? And I want it done to me.”

  The young man couldn’t tell if Yuki was messing with him or dead serious.

  “Harumi’s always cheery,” Clyde said. “I’ve—”

  “I can tell something happened,” Yuki said. “And it’s not because of that mysterious ring. She reminds me of a newlywed. Just do to me, whatever you did to her. Was it a new sex technique? Did you—”

  She paused at Kitome’s blank stare.

  “Oh, don’t mind me,” the magical girl said. “I want to hear it too.”

  Clyde knew at this point, the entire room would start listening in, so he changed the subject.

  “Never mind that, we’re going to relax today. Where’s Chika? Did you know she’s got the skills of a Rockstar?”

  Thinking about Chika’s sexiness on stage rose his boner even further. Yuki pretended not to notice.

  “It’s not quite dinner time yet,” Yuki said, “so I’ll take the time to show you a troublesome room that could use repairs.”