Unholy Pleasures

Kaoru

Key Twenty: Kaoru:

They should not be doing this. Still, Kaoru had to know how far down this rabbit hole was going to go. The angel took a look around before they got to work.

"You better make this work my while," they said to themselves. The computer booted to life. Kaoru typed in the password and logged in. Their desktop popped up. They couldn't just work strictly on Will's little project. Kaoru had other tasks to work on today. The angel went over their list.

Look for Allen Walker

Search for Komui (Off the record)

Check the Stats of War

Order New Weapons

File the Reports

Check Maintenance

Will's Little "Project"

Kaoru stretched their neck from side to side. Time to get to work. First came to mundane bullshit. They could do the paperwork in their sleep if they could. It helped that no one came in to bother them. All the more to get the typing done faster to get on to Will's "project".

The trick was getting everything done as efficiently as possible. Kaoru had mastered that well. They did the math. The boring stuff should be done by eleven with no breaks. Kaoru took in a breath.

"Right," they said.

Just as predicted, the tech angel was done on time. Kaoru sat back in their chair and breathed out. Time for the real work. The tech angel dove right in with the typing. First came the password. "Virgil". Access granted. Good. A box popped up on the screen. Kaoru looked behind them for a moment. That door stayed closed. The tech angel had a plan. Work, take a break, work, another break, work, another break, work, one more break, work, and leave. (Maybe a little bit more work "off the clock".)

Kaoru pushed up their red-framed glasses. They clicked okay. A program opened up on the screen. "Choose a name." Okay then. Kaoru typed in their name.

Access denied. Try again. Choose a name.

Kaoru frowned and typed in their name again.

Access denied. Try again. Choose a name.

Okay, that wasn't going to work. They typed in Will's name.

Access denied. Try again. Choose a name.

Kaoru tried different names around the Japan branch in Heaven. That followed the European branch. They even tried Biblical names. Still the same result.

Access denied. Try again. Choose a name.

The tech angel sat back and thought for a moment. Maybe they needed to try something a little bit different. This felt like a long shot. But they were out of options at this point. Well, here goes.

"Lucifer."

Access granted. Welcome.

"How about that?" Kaoru asked. An oni mask popped up on the screen. The tech angel raised his eyebrow.

"So it's that kind of search," they said. They clicked on the mask. The screen blinked black for a second.

Suddenly, the phone rang. Kaoru clicked their tongue. What now?

"Yeah?" they asked.

"Kaoru," a woman's voice said. The tech angel raised their eyebrow.

"What is it, Max?" they asked.

"Have you looked outside?" she asked. Kaoru furrowed their brow.

"No... why would I do that?" they asked. What she said next threw them for a loop.

"It's snowing," Max said. Now, Kaoru was even more confused.

"What?" they asked. The tech angel got up and walked over to the window for a look. They about dropped the receiver.

"What the hell?!" they shouted.

"Hello? Hello?" Max asked. Kaoru slowly picked up the phone as a question crossed their mind.

"Max, what month is it?" they asked.

"August," the other angel said.

"Uh-huh..." Kaoru said. This told them everything that they needed to know.

They are a team now. Kaoru, Linda, Max, and Will. They all gathered in Linda's lab. The snow came up to their ankles now.

"So... what do we have?" Max asked. Her fellow members had nothing to say.

"I am working on the program that Will sent me," Kaoru said.

"Okay. Anything else?" she asked.

"I still have that package to go through," Will said.

"Anything else?" Max asked. There were no more answers. She puffed up her cheeks.

"Right..." the angel muttered. She started tapping on her arm. Kaoru pressed their lips together.

"Max, I know that you a stressed," they said. "But we don't have much going on." She turned her head, looking annoyed. Kaoru quickly went quiet. Still, they had a point. They didn't have much going for them. However, there was still another issue at hand.

"What about Lenalee?" Linda asked. Everyone turned to her. No one said a word. Max could feel her temple pounding. Why did it keep on piling up? All of it. Kaoru looked out the window.

"It's really coming down out there," they said. The others came over for a look. When did the flakes get so fat?

"We don't have much time," Will said. That didn't need to be said. They could see the flakes for themselves. They had no idea how bad it was going to be.

All they knew was they had to act fast.