Hub World, Earth, Japan, Tokyo.
"Someone, please help me!" Olba screamed playing the victim. "This young man is trying to mug me!"
Hearing Olba's plea for help, Tatsuo simply stood there, an amused smile spreading across his face. Meanwhile, Olba pretended to struggle with all his might to escape from Tatsuo's hold. Yet, despite his shouting and struggling, no one came to his aid. There were not even any sounds of shock or surprise in the area.
"That idiot." The other presence Tatsuo felt in the area muttered to himself while face-palming as quietly as possible. "We picked this place because the foot traffic is low and there wasn't anyone around. Who does he think is going to come help him?"
Eventually, Olba realized the same thing. When he did, his struggling stopped. Then, without showing even a hint of embarrassment, he turned his head to look at Tatsuo.
"Hmm... I guess that isn't going to work." Olba said calmly. "Then, how about we take a step back. You weren't hurt and my shoulder is probably dislocated. I think that should be good enough compensation for you. What do you think?"
'Wow! He's just as shameless as he was in the anime.' Tatsuo thought to himself while continuing to smile at Olba's attempts at negotiations. 'At least he's not trying to make promises that he can't keep like he did with Urushihara and returning to Heaven.'
"Did you think I was an idiot because I'm young?" Tatsuo asked, the amused smile never leaving his lips.
"I was hoping you were, anyway." Olba replied in a disappointed tone. He then reached under his sweat shirt as he continued. "But since you're not, you leave me no choice."
*Crack!*
Without hesitation, Olba spun around, an exact reversal of how he ended up pressed against Tatsuo's chest. At the same time, he whipped his arm out from under his sweatshirt. And when he was once again facing Tatsuo, the barrel of a New Mambu M60 pistol was aimed at Tatsuo's chest.
*Crack!* *Bang!*
Yet, before Olba could even begin putting pressure on the trigger, Tatsuo's grip on his other arm tightened, resulting in his wrist breaking. Then, he stepped in quickly and threw a hard elbow strike into Olba's jaw.
*Crack!*
The force behind Tatsuo's strike, caused Olba to stagger. But thanks to the fact that Tatsuo still had a hold of his wrist, he did not fall or gain too much distance. Though, the hit did end up breaking several of his teeth. On top of that, because of the way he flailed after being struck, the gun was no longer pointed at Tatsuo's chest. So, taking advantage of that, Tatsuo reached out with is free hand and grabbed Olba's other wrist, as well.
"That wasn't too smart." Tatsuo said, his tone taking on a hint of mockery. "So, got anymore tricks?"
"What kind of monster are you?" Olba, after spitting out his broken teeth, said, his speech sounding much airier now, with blood leaking from between his lips. He then turned towards the alley where his companion was hiding and shouted for help. "Lucifer, what are you doing? Hurry up and help me! If I die here, you'll never be able to get back to Heaven."
"Damn moron." The one hiding in the shadows, Lucifer, spat through gritted teeth.
"Oh, are you gonna come out to play, too?" Tatsuo asked, turning to look in the same direction. "Well, I was actually waiting for you. I mean, you are stronger than this old man, after all. Besides, I think Maou-San would be interested in seeing someone with power so similar to his and Ashiya-San's."
"What!? You know the Devil?" Olba shouted in anger. "You heathen! It seems you need to be purified for associating with the Devil! Lucifer, hurry up! Take care of this brat!"
"Yes, please, Lucifer." Tatsuo said, his mocking smile growing wider as he spoke. "Why don't you come out here and purify me."
"Is that old man trying to get me killed?" Lucifer asked rhetorically while contemplating whether to escape on foot or through the air. "Even at my peak, I didn't have as much magic as this kid. And he's telling me to come help. Even worse, he let that monster know where I'm hiding."
Lucifer, before deciding how he would try to escape, poked his head around the corner to see just how bad Olba's situation was.
*Kya~~~~!" Lucifer screamed as soon as he looked.
*Thud!*
Then, he fell on his butt in fear.
The reason for that was simple. Without making any sound, Tatsuo had knocked out Olba and dragged him over to the corner where Lucifer was hiding. Then, as soon as Lucifer poked his head around the corner, Tatsuo was already crouching down to match Lucifer's height, which was just shy of 5' tall, and the two came eye-to-eye, which scared Lucifer enough to make him think that his heart was going to leap out of his chest.
Meanwhile, Tatsuo looked down at the flustered Lucifer, a short, skinny, fair-skinned young man appearing to be in his late teens with purple hair and fringes that cover a large part of the right side of his face and violet eyes wearing a black t-shirt, black jeans with the pant legs rolled up, black and white Converse tennis shoes, and two dark purple piercings in each ear, sitting on the ground with an expression on his face that said he would rather be anywhere but there.
"Hmm... So, you're the Lucifer this old guy was talking about?" Tatsuo said while looking Lucifer up and down. "You know, I was expecting someone bigger and more intimidating when I heard the name, Lucifer. I mean, he is kinda the big bad in Christianity. But you kinda look like you're on your way to an idol audition."
Having been on Earth long enough to know what an Idol is, Lucifer wanted to fly into a rage. But when he remembered just how much power he could feel coming from the young man in front of him, he bit his tongue.
On a side note, Lucifer was only able to sense Tatsuo's [Energy] because Tatsuo allowed it. He would not be a very good assassin if just anyone could sense his presence, after all.
"So... What happens now?" Lucifer asked, deciding to change the subject so that he did not lash out accidentally.
"Oh, I think we should go see Maou-San." Tatsuo replied in a sing-song tone. "I mean, since you two know his true identity, you're definitely from his world, too. So, I'll let him decide how to deal with you. But first, I need to do something with this guy. I mean, I can't be seen dragging an unconscious old man around the city, can I?"
"Uh... Right..." Lucifer replied in an uneasy tone.
In the next instant, Lucifer's eyes widened in dumbfounded amazement. Because what he saw completely went against what he knew about magic and its casting.
In front of Lucifer's eyes, threads were ejected from Tatsuo's fingertips. And thanks to his [Tailoring Skil], Tatsuo was easily able to weave them into a duffle bag big enough to fit Olba. Then, he securely wrapped up Olba with the same threads, gagged him, and stuffed him into the duffle bag. Next, with another application of magic, Tatsuo created a zipper to make the duffle bag look more authentic. Lastly, he slung the bag over his shoulder and turned around.
However, Tatsuo's use of magic was not the thing that surprised Lucifer the most. Though, that certainly did surprise him. Especially since both he and Olba had confirmed that the people of this world could not use magic.
Instead, the thing that surprised Lucifer the most was the fact that, despite watching Tatsuo use magic, he could not feel any magical fluctuations from the casting.
"Okay, we're ready to go now." Tatsuo said while looking over his shoulder with a smile. "Ayane-Neechan and Tio are waiting for me to come back with their orders."
With that, Tatsuo, with the duffle bag holding Olba slung over one shoulder, left the alley and started walking towards the MgRonald's in Sasazuka again. And Lucifer, although hesitant, eventually followed him with his head lowered while trying to calculate his odds of escape.
Unfortunately for Lucifer, however, the duo arrived at the MgRonald's before he could come up with anything. Though, he did consider taking the entire store hostages once they arrived. But when he remembered how Tatsuo just appeared in front of him without his notice, he scrapped that idea almost immediately. Plus, the way Tatsuo looked at him with a challenging smile when the idea popped into his head was an even bigger reason for him to let it go.
"Hello and welcome!" Chiho said as soon as Tatsuo stepped into the restaurant. "Ah! Tatsuo-Kun. Hi~~!"
"Hey, Chi-Chan." Tatsuo replied with a smile. "I was right, you were working today. I thought you would be so you could spend more time with Maou-San."
"Wha-wha-what are you talking about?" Chiho asked, her face turning read almost immediately. "I just need the extra money. There's no way it's because of M-M-Maou-San."
"Really?" Tatsuo asked in a knowing tone with a teasing smile on his face. "Well then, I guess I can tell Mai-Nee that it's fine to introduce her friend to him, right?"
"What!?" Chiho screamed, the pigtails she wore when working standing on end. "Absolutely not!"
"*Sigh* As fun as it is to hear you tease Chi-Chan about her crush, could you wait until she's off the clock, Soramoto-Kun?" Kisaki Mayumi, the branch manager of this MgRonald's asked after opening the door to the back of the store. "I'm afraid her shrieking might disturb the customers."
"Well, at least she's not planting potatoes." Tatsuo replied with a shrug. "Oh, and it's nice to see you again, Kisaki-San."
"Likewise." Mayumi replied with a small smile. "*Sigh* And I guess you're right about the dropping fries all over the floor part, too."
"Kisaki-San~!" Chiho whined. "I haven't dropped fries all day today."
"And what about yesterday?" Mayumi asked with a raised eyebrow.
"No comment." Chiho replied while looking away with a blush on her face.
"Besides, now that Soramoto-Kun is here, your odds of dropping food have gone up exponentially." Mayumi added.
"That's not my fault, it's his!" Chiho protested while pointing at Tatsuo with her right index finger.
"And just how is it my fault?" Tatsuo asked with a raised eyebrow. "I don't even bother you when you're working. I'm usually playing with my phone."
"I don't' know." Chiho replied while stomping a foot in frustration. "But I know it has to be you. Like Kisaki-San said, it happens more when you're around. So, it's your fault."
"Whatever." Tatsuo replied with a nonchalant shrug.
Mayumi shook her head with a fond smile on her face, as well. She then turned to return to the back.
"Anyway, take their orders properly, Chi-Chan." Mayumi said. "Oh, and call them up to the counter to get their food. Hopefully that way we can keep your dropped fries count at zero for today."
"Okay~!" Chiho replied in a downcast tone. Then, she shifted into her upbeat professional voice as she raised her head to look at Tatsuo and Lucifer. "May I take your order? And can I interest you in today's special…"
With that, Tatsuo and Chiho went over Tatsuo's order. Meanwhile, Lucifer looked on dumbfoundedly. His first impression of Tatsuo was someone a bit unfathomable. Though, he felt that had he been in his prime, he could put up a pretty good fight against the young man. But seeing him interact so playfully with these two human women caught Lucifer completely off guard.
"And what would you like to order, Sir?" Chiho asked, snapping Lucifer out of his thoughts.
"Oh, nothing." Lucifer replied. "I'm just here with him."
"I see." Chiho replied with a smile. "Wel, I hope you do reconsider before you leave."
"Actually, is Maou-San here?" Tatsuo asked. "I found this guy wandering around, lost. He said he was looking for Maou-San because he heard he worked around here. So, I brought him here to meet the guy."
"Oh, you know Maou-San?" Chiho asked, her eyes lighting up slightly. "Unfortunately, he's not here yet. His shift doesn't start until later tonight. So, he's probably still at home."
"Oh, that sucks." Tatsuo muttered. "Well, whatever, I'll just drop this stuff off at home before taking him to see Maou-San. Oh, but before I go, Chi-Chan."
"Huh?" Chiho asked, tilting her head cutely as she did so.
"I'll be performing at Santory Hall on Friday night." Tatsuo said with a smile. "I'll be accompanying a violinist from Mom's company. She's gonna be a new student at Yagami, too. Anyway, if you wanna go, I can get you a free ticket. You'll have to wear formal clothing, though."
"Really?" Chiho exclaimed excitedly. "That's amazing, Tatsuo-Kun. And yes, I'd like to go. But I'll have to see if I can get someone to cover my shift that night. I'll let you know tomorrow, though."
Reaching that point, Chiho then lowered her head while ringing her fingers bashfully.
"By the way, Tatsuo-Kun." Chiho said, her face turning redder and redder by the second. "Do you think you could get a ticket for Maou-San, too? I know he doesn't work that night. So… I was thinking that maybe…"
"I mean, sure I could.' Tatsuo replied with a playful grin on his face. "But you know, that kinda sounds like a date. And I thought you just said you didn't like Maou-San that way, Chi-Chan~."
In response, Chiho sputtered for a retort. Unfortunately, her embarrassment was a bit too high. As a result, the only thing she could do was glare at Tatsuo with tears in her eyes.
"Fine, I'll stop." Tatsuo replied with a smile. "But you really should see your face right now, Chi-Chan. Oh, I'll just take a picture, that way you can see it, too."
"Stop it, Tatsu-Chan!" Chiho shouted.
Immediately, Tatsuo's smile stiffened. He then made a fake cough and continued.
"Anyway, I'll let Maou-San know about it." Tatsuo said, the teasing tone nowhere to be heard. "But I don't' know if he'll be able to go."
"Why not?" Chiho asked, once again tilting her head cutely.
"Well, it's because he's broke." Tatsuo said bluntly. "And I don't' think his househusband… *Cough*… I mean, roommate, Ashiya-San will let him buy a suit that he's only gonna wear once."
When Chiho heard the word "househusband," she started to bristle, her pigtails standing on end once again. However, when she heard Tatsuo change it to roommate and saw the playful smile on his face, she realized that Tatsuo was just making fun of Sadao.
"Yeah, I guess that could be a problem." Chiho replied. "But I hope he can go. It would be nice to see him dressed in something fancier."
"Well, I'll see what I can do." Tatsuo replied with a shrug. "I can't make any promises, though."
"Order up!" A shout came from the back of the store.
Turning around, Chiho went to pick up Tatsuo's order. Then, before long, she brought it back in a to-go bag.
"Well, I'll see you later, Chi-Chan." Tatsuo said as he took the bag. He then continued while turning around. "And hopefully I'll see you on Friday night. But if I don't, I'll find you at school after the break."
"Okay, see you later, Tatsuo-Kun." Chiho said cheerfully as she waved goodbye to Tatsuo. "Oh, and is Yakumo-Chan coming to your performance, too?"
"Probably. She said she'd get back to me after she talked to her sister." Tatsuo replied without turning around.
"Okay, I'll let you know after I talk to my parents, too." Chiho said just before Tatsuo and Lucifer stepped out of the restaurant.