Slady places his bionic hand on his temple, massaging it with a slight force. Raizer looks at Slady, worried, placing his hands on Elisa's back so the young woman doesn't fall from Slady's lap.
"You look a little bad, you need to go home."
Raizer goes to Slady, wanting to help him get up.
"I can do it myself, don't worry."
Slady stands up, holding Elisa in his bionic arm, turning around and heading towards the stairs to put the young woman in the bedroom.
Raizer observes the situation, worried about his friend, but trusting that he will take good care of his daughter, sitting in the chair and waiting.
"This man... why doesn't he accept any care? He's never changed anyway." Raizer sighs.
When he returns, Slady goes to the shopping bag and picks it up with his bionic arm.
"Slady." Raizer calls out to him.
"Hm?" Slady looks at Raizer.
"You look like you have a headache, don't you need help?"
"No."
He picks up his shopping bag and straightens himself, giving Raizer one last look.
"I just had... some thoughts, sorry about the scene."
Slady leaves La Taberna, Raizer lets out a sigh, recognizing his friend's stubbornness.
As he leaves, Slady feels the fresh air of the streets of Libretanhya, returning to walk through the huge city. The early morning sun was still warm, so he continued to keep his overcoat tied around his waist.
Since it was still early in the morning, Slady still had a good amount of Lynes to spend...
**Noon**
In the library, Shaphira had already woken up and was in her hybrid form, wearing an apron and cooking, waiting for Slady with lunch.
She looked at the door, her tail wagging slightly, her ears erect, ready to listen to any sound around.
Suddenly, the door opens, and Slady appears, carrying some groceries. Shaphira turns off the stove and goes to Slady, hugging him.
"Master!"
She rubs her face against Slady's chest, her tail wagging happily.
"Oh."
Slady puts down the groceries, putting her normal hand in her hair, stroking her ears and hair strands.
"Are you okay?" Slady asks.
"Yes, I'm fine."
Shaphira pulls away, adjusting her apron.
"Did you manage to buy the clothes?"
"Yes."
Slady puts the groceries on the couch, Shaphira immediately goes to look for the clothes.
"Oh!!"
She pulls out a dress, taking off the apron to try to put it on.
Slady goes to the kitchen, looking at the lunch Shaphira is making, continuing to cook for her.
Shaphira has a hard time putting on her clothes, considering that she was getting hotter due to her fur and her tail got caught in the skirt of her dress.
"Ahh!!"
Slady looks at the scene, seeming to enjoy the young woman's frustration, continuing to cook.
"Difficulties, huh?" He asks, emotionless
"Yes! I don't know how to put these things on!"
Shaphira picks up a pair of panties and a bra, showing them to Slady.
"Where do I put these, Master?" She asks innocently
Slady turns, looking at Shaphira and puts her hand on her chin.
"You put the panties on your private parts and the bra, you need to put on your breasts." Slady says in a casual tone.
"Grrr!"
Shaphira grumbles, having to take off her dress to try to put on her underwear.
**a few minutes later**
After finishing lunch, Slady turns around, seeing Shaphira sitting on the couch with her legs drawn up to her chest, her clothes thrown on the floor, crying softly.
Slady watches the scene in silence, he takes a pair of scissors from the living room counter and takes the dress he had bought, sitting next to Shaphira, starting to cut a specific area in a circle.
"Hmmmm~ hmmmm~ hmmm~"
The sounds coming from Slady calmed Shaphira in a way, she wipes away the tears of frustration and looks at what Slady is doing.
"What are you doing, Father?" Shaphira says without meaning to, covering her mouth and trying to correct herself.
"Sorry, master!" Shaphira says, feeling guilty.
"Why did you correct yourself?"
Slady asked, emotionless and without looking at Shaphira, busy.
"Yeah... because it's more respectful, I had read it in one of the books in the library."
"Hmmmm..."
Slady lets out a sigh, finishing the work and putting the dress aside, turning towards Shaphira.
"You don't have to call me master, I don't care about those things." Slady says, crossing his arms.
Shaphira looked surprised, but felt very relieved, smiling genuinely.
"I always wanted to call you father... in front of you."
She goes to Slady, sitting on Slady's lap, wrapping her arms, legs and tail around him, looking very happy.
Slady closes her eyes, running her hand over Shaphira's fur-covered back.
"It's nothing, I don't care about titles." Slady says, emotionless.
"I know, I'll start calling you father from today."
She rests her nose on Slady's neck, sniffing deeply, feeling calmer being in contact with Slady, with his scent, his fatherly figure.
"I love you." She mumbles to herself
Slady listens to Shaphira's words, he feels good, it was a pleasant feeling, he doesn't say anything, but in his mind, he says: 'I love you too, daughter.'
Slady places the dress on Shaphira's lap, who separates from the hug, picking up the dress, seeing changes that Slady had made to the fabric.
"Thank you, Father. I think it will work out."
Shaphira jumps off Slady's lap, grabbing her underwear and the dress, going to her and Slady's room to get dressed.
Taking advantage of this moment, Slady went to organize some shopping she had done (mostly food) and started serving lunch.
When she finished, Slady heard a cough, looking up to see Shaphira, who had finally managed to put on her clothes.
It was a simple dress, the skirt reaching the knee, with the changes made by Slady, her tail could come out through the hole in the skirt and there was a neckline so that Shaphira's breasts wouldn't itch against the clothes or get too hot.
"It worked!"
Shaphira does a 360 degree spin, showing how it looked to Slady with the skirt flying a little in the air.
"How did you like it, Dad?" Shaphira poses, smiling broadly.
"Hmm..."
Slady puts her hand on her chin, analyzing every detail.
"It looks nice." Slady raises the thumb of her bionic hand.
"I wanted more than that!"
Shaphira complains, not really angry, her tail swings calmly, showing comfort in not having it caught by the skirt.
"Did you like it?" Slady asked, emotionless, adjusting the eyepatch.
"Yeah... it's a little uncomfortable, but I found it very beautiful."
She sits on the couch, stretching her legs.
"It's your first time putting on clothes, besides the fact that your body is covered in hair, so it's normal to feel uncomfortable." Slady says, placing the plates and pans on the table.
"Let's eat, kid." Slady says, sitting at the table.
"I'm not a kid! You told me I'm already 18."
Shaphira says, getting up and sitting on the chair to eat, loving the food she had made.
Slady eats too, in silence, seeming to enjoy Shaphira's lunch, but he ends up getting lost in thoughts of the past, again...
**13 years ago...**
After the Second Renkai Awakening, Libretanhya was still rebuilding itself, Slady was going to a house, it was a simple dwelling, but very well taken care of. He knocked on the door carefully.
"Mr. Vick!"
Slady says in a firm and emotionless tone.
Suddenly, the door opens, revealing a lady, offering a kind smile.
"Yes, dear?"
It was the mother of the brothers: Natasha Vick and Jonhye Vick, she did not know that her two sons were dead.
Next to the woman, a man appears, the father of the brothers.
"Oh, what did you come here for, young man?" He asks in a calm but stressed tone.
In the corner, there was a five-year-old girl, sitting on the couch, watching a children's program, her attention focused on the cartoon.
Slady takes a deep breath, knowing that it would be difficult to talk about it.
"Your situation must be very difficult regarding what happened a few days ago..."
The two nod in agreement, looking at Slady.
"But unfortunately..."
Slady changes her voice, speaking more quietly, probably so as not to reach the ears of the five-year-old girl.
"Your children, Jonhye and Natasha, ended up being killed in the Second Renkai Awakening, defending everyone they could, dying with honor."
The two are shocked, the mother's gentle smile instantly dying, putting her hand over her mouth, tears starting to fall from her eyes.
"No... it's not possible!" She starts to cry.
The father is not at all happy, seeming to recognize Slady.
"You're their friend... they've already told me about you!"
He lunges at Slady, grabbing him by the collar of his shirt and lifting him into the air.
"Why didn't you save them?!! I know you could be strong enough to save them! They looked up to you!"
Slady looks at the man with a cold, emotionless gaze.
"I couldn't save them..." Slady says, wanting to hide the truth
"How dare you-"
He prepares to punch Slady in the face, the woman tries to stop him.
"No, please!"
But she doesn't stop him, Slady gets punched right in the face, being thrown to the ground, with blood gushing from his nose.
"You should have died instead of them!!!"
The man bends down and starts punching Slady in the face, doing this several times, trying to get some expression of pain out of Slady... but he doesn't get anything out, Slady remains motionless, impassive, cold.
"..."
The woman cries silently, unable to stop him, but the girl appears at the door, scared.
"Daddy?" asks the girl, scared.
The man stops hitting Slady, who just lies on the floor, looking at the man, without expressing any pain.
"Honey, don't look at this."
The man lets go of Slady, hugging his wife and daughter, bringing them inside the house, forgetting him there.
Slady just looks at the sky, forgotten by that family, the feeling of guilt covering his soul, it is painful, torturous.
'Really, I should have died, instead of everyone else.' Slady thought.
The rain that covered the sky fell on Slady's body and face, who remained impassive, he wanted to cry, he wanted to scream in pain, but he was unable to.
**present moment**
"Slady...?"
It was Shaphira's voice, kind, poking Slady's lips with a spoon full of food.
The smell of the food and Shaphira's voice brought him back to consciousness, shaking his head and opening his mouth.
"Better eat, Father. You can't have an empty stomach."
She puts the spoon in Slady's mouth, who closes his lips and chews the food, swallowing.
"Hmmmm..."
So, the two of them went back to eating together, the food making Slady forget the terrible memories of the past
**a few hours later...**
It was already night, it wasn't a very busy day, Slady was reading some books from the library, Shaphira was hunting and training in her Renkai Creature form, now, she was sleeping on the couch in her hybrid form, on her back, not wearing any clothes because the fur already covered everything.
Slady was on the computer, seeming to be reading some things, mainly some complaints regarding a gang in the city that was being investigated by the Criminal Investigation of Libretãnhya (C.I.L)
Letting out a sigh and reading the crimes committed by the gang, Slady settled in the chair, looking at Shaphira, knowing that she would have a long night of sleep, Slady feels relieved.
He enters a website on the computer, where he is managed by himself. The website has a simple appearance, with a few advertisements in the corners for Slady to receive money.
On the website, under several of Slady's contacts, there are requests for money for him to make and receive for it.
But most of them are requests to assassinate criminals who have committed crimes against the client or those close to him, so Slady sees one that he likes.
'Hello, sir or madam.'
Given the fact that no one knows Slady's identity on this website, it is common for people to refer to him as *sir or madam.'
'I have a friend who ended up being abused by a man, I don't know who he is, but from what I have of the evidence, he seems to be a criminal from a gang recently investigated by the police.'
'I know they will only arrest him, but I want justice, I can pay you (a large amount of Lynes) for his head, please.'
When looking at the evidence, the accusations were true. It was a video of what had happened to the woman's friend, it was very disgusting.
Slady researched the man, managing to access his data.
***
Yai Chang
Age: 28 years old
Criminal record: armed robbery, murder, sexual and physical abuse, drug trafficking and torture.
***
Slady just read this information, then returned to the website and replied to the woman.
'Okay, I'll send you the proof and you give me the money.'
A few minutes passed, the woman replied to the message.
'Thank you, sir or madam. You don't need to send me the proof, I know you are trustworthy.'
A few seconds later, Slady received a notification of a large amount of Lynes being transferred to Slady, he had been surprised by the woman's trust, he could easily keep the money and do nothing.
But he is not like that.
'Okay.'
Slady sent the message to the woman and turned off the computer, he took the two pistols from the drawer of the workbench and looked out the window, watching the rain fall in the sky, that moment was wonderful.
But wanting to focus on his work, Slady got up and grabbed a hat, placing it on his head, covering some of his face with the shade.
Before Slady, he looked at Shaphira, who was still sleeping on the couch, her tail wagging casually and her ears erect, ready to listen for any sound.
Slady bent down a little, running her normal hand over Shaphira's face, who licked it naturally and rubbed her face against Slady's hand, wanting to absorb the scent.
Slady remained still for a few seconds, then stood up and grabbed a blanket and placed it over Shaphida, turning off the lights in the library and giving Shaphira one last look.
"Sleep well, daughter." Slady said, emotionless.
Leaving the library, Slady felt the cold wind on her face, the rain falling on her body, then Slady began walking through the forest towards Libretanhya, her only thought about that night being...
'Tonight, I will spill the blood of the sinners of humanity.'