"Haaa... That was exhausting..."
Back to his hotel suite, Sam plopped down on one of the sofas after passing his coat to Ichigo.
"Good work today, Doctor." Nine said with her usual smile, bringing him a glass of iced water and a towel. "You were truly amazing. The world will surely understand your true brilliance now."
"I don't know about that." He glanced around but couldn't see Elina anywhere. "Maybe I'm moving a little too fast after all."
Nino teleported to the spot beside him.
"It would be more accurate to say we were always short on time." She said. "Things will move fast whether we like it or not."
"I guess you have a point."
Placing his left arm on her shoulder, Sam pulled the Japanese doll into his embrace. She had offered to give him a list of all the questions that might be thrown his way, but he refused to the very end, stating that he should face the people head-on.
The truth is, he didn't need future sight to know how the press conference would go. Most of the questions asked were easy to predict, and he made sure to practice answering them beforehand. Still, the whole event was stressful, to say the least.
It was much worse than the party from the previous day, and though he kept a tight grip on his emotions the whole time, it still felt like he would collapse from stress at any time.
"A part of me wishes we could get this done with a little faster. I want to have some fun already."
More time for preparation would surely lead to better results. Unfortunately, it was one of the many resources they didn't have much of.
"Now now, you should be a little more patient." Nino giggled a little. "We can have all the fun you want once we get home."
Sam could only smile as he looked down at his ultra cute fiance, but then he felt a pair of hands grab his face before turning his head around. It was Miku, and the look on her face seemed quite serious. Without saying anything, she placed her lips on his, shocking everyone around them.
When they finally separated, Sam felt a little confused. Before he could ask for the reason, though, his face was once again grabbed and turned to the other side. Nino kissed him this time and his confusion only grew.
"I see. Then, how about we discuss the suspicious individuals I caught earlier today?"
The mood in the room suddenly changed.
"Suspicious individuals?"
"You know of my ability, right?" Sitta's smile deepened as she placed a hand on Sam's shoulder and pushed him down. "Nana instructed me to use it when we arrived here. At first I believed such a thing was unnecessary, but then a group of uninvited guests arrived during the conference. Seeing that they were armed quite a bit I assumed nothing but bad intentions was on their minds."
Sitta's ability, "Walls Have Ears" as she calls it, allows her to perceive everything that's happening within the barriers she creates. Obviously it isn't as omniscient as it might sound, especially when applied on a wide range, but coupled with her skills in barrier creation it became quite the useful ability to have around.
"We intended to let the security handle them, but..." She whispered, bringing her face closer to his. "Just in case, Triska and Nana went to take a look."
The ginger Valkyrie proceeded to kiss him again. Thankfully, she seemed to understand that the mood had changed and kept it short. Sam already had an idea who the intruders were. Nino never mentioned anything about them so their influence on the timeline should be negligible, but after what happened with Selene he didn't want to let his guard down.
"Maybe I should go and check..."
Miku and Nino looked quite disappointed as they moved aside. Ichigo approached him with his coat in hand, but before he could grab it Sam felt his right arm being pulled back.
Before he could wonder who it was, Five jumped into his embrace and locked lips with him.
"Oh my~"
The Valkyries gasped in unison, the actions of their ponytailed friend taking them by surprise. Sam was the most shocked, the suddenness of her actions breaking the restraints he placed on his emotions just a few seconds ago.
"I... I'm sorry..." she said after separating, her face flushed red. "I... I couldn't hold back..."
Seeing her adorable expression, Sam couldn't help but kiss her once more. It had been quite some time since he gave her special attention so it only made sense that she would start acting like this.
"That's not fair." Nine pouted. "I want Doctor to kiss me as well."
After giving it some thought, Sam decided to grant the blond Valkyrie her wish. He made sure to kiss Ichigo as well, leaving her face glowing red, and though she seemed against it earlier, Venti soon gave in. Though he offered them a turn, both CS and Trenta refused, saying they weren't interested. That got them glares from the other Valkyries but the two didn't seem to care.